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US teen cyclist seriously injured in collision to be charged with riding through red light

Incident happened in town in upstate New York

A teenage cyclist hospitalised with serious injuries when she was hit by a car while riding through an intersection in a town in New York state on Monday evening will be charged with running a red light prior to the incident, police have confirmed.

Ashley L Vandervanter was hit by a vehicle driven by 63-year-old Chong Neiswonger shortly before 10.30pm on Monday at the intersection of Twin Cities Memorial Highway and Wheatfield Street in North Tonawanda, located around 15 kilometres from the Niagara Falls on the US-Canada border.

According to a report on Tonawanda News, the teenager was hit by the front of the car, was thrown onto the windscreen which shattered and then landed on the sidewalk, suffering injuries to her head, hip and left eye.

Police were informed by two witnesses that they believed the cyclist was at fault because the motorist had a green light.

Police Captain Roger Zgolak commented that the cyclist “is in serious but stable condition."

Police found headphones next to her, leading them to believe she may have been using them at the time, potentially contributing to her riding through the red light.

Tonawanda News added that no charges had been brought against the motorist involved in the incident.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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7 comments

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downfader | 11 years ago
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OK very limited information... how big is the intersection, how cyclist "friendly" ??(I'm sure many of us know some dodgy ones in the UK where the light changes before you've had a chance to get all the way through)

If after all the variables have been accounted for and the light was indeed jumped then yes I would agree that charging is the way to go.

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mr-andrew | 11 years ago
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does this mean deaf people aren't allowed to cycle?

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mrcheerful replied to mr-andrew | 11 years ago
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mr-andrew wrote:

does this mean deaf people aren't allowed to cycle?

A deaf person would not be distracted/hypnotised by the enclosing noise from the headphones. Many die every year by making themselves 'headphone zombies'

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sparrow_h | 11 years ago
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Perhaps they think she was wearing them over her eyes?

If a car ran a red light noone would seriously suggest that the in-car radio had anything to do with it...

Never good when people get injured though, and it seems a bit rough to fine the poor kid on top of it all.

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aslongasicycle | 11 years ago
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Regards headphones, music is distracting. Our senses work in tandem, not separately.

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downfader replied to aslongasicycle | 11 years ago
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aslongasicycle wrote:

Regards headphones, music is distracting. Our senses work in tandem, not separately.

True, but it kind of makes you wish that everyone who comes out with such comment wouldnt then get in their car and whack on the ICE...

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mad_scot_rider | 11 years ago
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Without having much more information it's very difficult to have much sympathy for the cyclist in this case

This bit made me laugh tho'

"Police found headphones next to her, leading them to believe she may have been using them at the time, potentially contributing to her riding through the red light."

Quite how wearing headphones made her miss SEEING the red light is a bit beyond me

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