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A Boulder bicyclist remained in critical condition late Thursday after she and two other cyclists were struck head-on by an SUV that swerved into the shoulder of the oncoming lane of traffic on North Foothills Highway, according to the Colorado State Patrol.
The crash occurred around 8:50 a.m. near Nebo Road, north of Boulder.
State Patrol spokeswoman Heather Cobler said the three Boulder women — Amy Howard, 56, Jane McConnell, 47, and Susan Graves, 39 — were riding north on the shoulder of North Foothills, also known as U.S. 36.
Albert Gehorsam, 52, of Boulder, was driving a Ford Escape southbound, toward Boulder, when he swerved across the oncoming lane into the shoulder, hitting all three cyclists, Cobler said.
Master Trooper S.S. Schwanke, who was at the accident scene, said it appeared that another southbound vehicle slowed down to turn right into a private drive, at which point Gehorsam swerved around that vehicle.
Howard was airlifted to St. Anthony’s Central in Denver and remained in critical condition late Thursday, while the two other cyclists were taken by ambulance to Boulder Community Hospital, Cobler said.
Graves remained hospitalized in good condition, while McConnell was treated for minor injuries and released.
Reached by phone after the accident, McConnell said the three friends often ride together and had decided to head north toward St. Vrain Road.
“We were just going out for a nice morning bike ride,” she said. “We were riding a road that is very popular with cyclists, and we were all in single file, well within the right shoulder.
“All of a sudden this black car swerved from behind another car and hit us head-on,” she said. “There wasn’t any time to react. The car just flew out of nowhere.”
Howard and Graves — who were the first and second riders in the column — hit the car head-on, while McConnell said she glanced off the car and fell into a roadside ditch. She got up and immediately called 911 and went to check on her friends. A woman who said she was a nurse as well as several other drivers stopped to help Howard and Graves, who McConnell said were both conscious after the crash.
McConnell said all three were wearing helmets, and they consider themselves experienced riders.
“I think it was a freak accident,” she said. “It wasn’t a case of us drifting into the road. You just don’t expect a car to cross the center line and come towards you. If there had been a car in the other lane it would have plowed into it. But there wasn’t, so it hit us.”
She added that she doesn’t consider the stretch of road to be dangerous, but that accidents can happen anywhere.
“Anytime you mix motorists and cyclists there is a potential for accidents,” she said.
Reached Thursday evening, Gehorsen declined to discuss the accident. Troopers said he was not injured in the crash.
The accident remains under investigation, and Gehorsen has not been ticketed, Cobler said.
North Foothills Highway was closed from Nebo to Lefthand Canyon Drive for nearly two hours Thursday morning as emergency crews dealt with the accident.
