Yuriko Marshall is hoping to raise awareness about road safety after a crash she said was caused by a close-passing driver on July 7.
At shortly after 2 p.m. in the afternoon on Monday, Marshal was riding on Dog Creek Road, heading back towards town and nearing Chimney Valley Road.
It is a route she said she has ridden regularly for years. Marshall took up road cycling five or six years ago and found she really enjoyed it. Last year she competed in the Seniors Games and won gold and she's travelled to Sarajevo and Scotland to participate in Grand Fondo world championship events. She said she averages about 300 km a week on her bike.
She likes the route to Spring House and back because during the daytime it usually has very little traffic, but even low traffic can provide hazards if drivers aren't mindful of vulnerable road users.
Her usual afternoon ride on an overcast day with little wind and dry roads should be been perfect riding, but it was cut short not long after 2 p.m.
Her bicycle computer let her know there was a vehicle approaching from behind which she came to realize was a truck pulling a trailer and she said she could tell it was coming closer and closer and not slowing down.
"However, the distance between me and the trailer got smaller and smaller, and I was in danger of getting caught in the rear wheel. I tried to slow down and move to the shoulder of the road, but my bicycle wheel got caught on the edge of the shoulder," recalled Marshall.
As a result, she crashed at a fairly high speed, hitting her head and suffering cuts, bruises and extensive road rash on her body.
Her bike handlebars, shift lever and helmet were damaged as well.
"When I got up, the trailer didn't stop and drove away, so unfortunately I couldn't see the license plate," said Marshall. A vehicle operated by Alkali Resource Management Ltd. workers pulled over to help her and drove her to the hospital for her to get checked out.
"I am very grateful to them," she said.
She did not break any bones, but she did require stitches and her wounds will need regular medical care for some time.
"I was so lucky," she said, adding she is glad her helmet was on and took a lot of the impact.
She said she is sore and can't do a lot without pain medication yet.
Marshall reported the incident to the RCMP, but was given little hope they would be able to get anywhere with their investigation.
The Tribune reached out to the RCMP for comment, but had not heard back by the end of day.
Marshall said she was on a downhill section and so was going fairly fast, which makes her less of a conflict for vehicles.
She said there was no opposing traffic, so there should have been room for the driver to slow down and move around her when it was safe to do so.
B.C.'s new Safe Passing Law, which came into effect June 3, 2024, makes it an offence for drivers to fail to maintain a minimum safe passing distance when passing vulnerable road users.
This means drivers are supposed to slow down, move over and only pass vulnerable road users when they can provide a minium of 1m on roads with speed limits of 50 km per hour and lower or 1.5m when the speed limit is higher than 50 km per hour.
Vulnerable road users are those road users outside of vehicles such as pedestrians, cyclists, horseback riders and others.
Marshall said she hopes someone may have seen the truck and trailer and know who it was and can let the police know, or if it was a company vehicle, maybe the company knows of a black truck pulling a trailer which was heading towards town just after 2 p.m. on Dog Creek Road.
"I am always super careful," said Marshall. While she said she will eventually get back on her bike, this makes her less comfortable on what was one of her regular routes.
She said he hopes her painful experience helps raise awareness among drivers, cyclists and everyone, how important it is to be mindful of other road users.
"This can happen to anyone, not just me. Even those who follow the rules," said Marshall.
Anyone who may have information on the incident can contact the Williams Lake RCMP at 250-302-6211.
This incident comes in the same week two cyclists were hit from behind in what police described as a hit and run in Prince George. The two cyclists were training to take part in the Cops for Cancer event in September, and one was a member of the RCMP.
In the Prince George incident, both riders were taken to hospital with serious injuries and a driver had been taken into custody after a suspect vehicle was located.
