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Cyclist severely injured in solo accident

Richard Kadet, 67, of Redwood City crashed his bicycle and was unconscious when he was admitted to Stanford Hospital with a severe brain injury that required emergency surgery on Sunday, May 29.

Mr. Kadet crashed about 12:30 p.m. while headed east on Woodside Road near the intersection with Northgate Drive in Woodside in what a witness said was a solo accident, according to a San Mateo County Sheriff's Office report.

He was in the bike lane when his bike began to wobble and he fell over into the lane of traffic, the witness told deputies, adding that she had seen the accident through her rear view mirror.

The witness had traveled about 100 feet past Mr. Kadet, Lt. Ray Lunny told the Almanac. "She was shocked because the bicyclist appeared to be in control of his bike," he said.

Mr. Kadet was wearing a helmet, deputies said. He and his riding partner had a regular Sunday morning routine of a 25-mile-to-40-mile bike trip, deputies said.

The partner returned to the scene after discovering Mr. Kadet's absence when stopped at the Alameda de las Pulgas, deputies said.

Deputies are estimating Mr. Kadet's speed at the time of the accident as having been between 30 mph and 40 mph, deputies said.

The Sheriff's Office has no details on Mr. Kadet's condition.

Medics from the Woodside Fire Protection District treated Mr. Kadet at the scene and took him to the hospital.

Posted by Reality Check, a resident of another community, on Jun 8, 2011 at 11:57 am

It would be interesting to know if there was anyone who observed how closely this "shocked" motorist witness drove her vehicle past Mr. Kadet.

There must be a reason why Kadet, evidently an experienced and practiced bicyclist, would crash in this wide and straight, and relatively flat part of Woodside Road.

Motorists who "buzz" (deliberately pass very closely) bicyclists watch their rear-view mirrors closely to see what effect they've had on the object of their scorn.

So a scenario in which this motorist was, perhaps genuinely, "shocked" that her "buzz-pass" triggered Kadet's crash is not implausible. Realizing that he'd crashed and fearing possible witnesses, she may have figured her best strategy would be to stop and serve as a "shocked" witness that just happened to be watching a bicyclist she had just passed in her rear-view mirror as he inexplicably crashed.

Just a possibility that a good, thorough investigation should check out ...