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Cyclist Thrown Into Pickup Truck After Yet Another Crash On Milwaukee Ave.

By Joe Ward | October 24, 2016 5:57am
 Jacob Lockemy collided with a pedestrian while on his bike in early October.
Jacob Lockemy collided with a pedestrian while on his bike in early October.
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Provided/Jacob Lockemy

AVONDALE — Cyclist Jacob Lockemy said he's lucky to be alive after colliding with a pickup truck on Milwaukee Avenue. He was helped at the scene by a man who himself had been in a serious bike crash.

Lockemy was riding south on Milwaukee Avenue during the morning rush hour recently when a man walked into the street, and they collided, he and police said.

After being propelled into the back of a pickup truck stuck in traffic, he was aided at the scene by Andy Pielet, who was riding directly behind him and had just returned to the streets after being in a September accident, also on Milwaukee Avenue, he said.

Sadly, their experiences are getting a little too familiar for city cyclists, who have seen at least six cyclists killed in accidents this year alone. In addition, there have been numerous serious accidents resulting in major injuries.

Chicago cyclists are a close-knit community and have taken the deaths hard. Lockemy lives in the same Logan Square three-flat as Lisa Kuivinen, an art student killed by a truck while cycling on Milwaukee Avenue.

"I've cried over a few of these" deaths. Lockemy said. "It's really sickening."

In Lockemy's Oct. 7 morning accident, his shoulder broke the light of the pickup he landed in.

"If I didn't have my helmet, I would have died," Lockemy said. "My head came into contact with a truck."

Lockemy was taken to Community First Hospital, and the pedestrian was not ticketed for the collision, police said.

Pielet, who was riding immediately behind Lockemy, saw the accident.

"They didn't see each other and collided," Pielet said.

Lockemy, 33, left the collision in an ambulance with a shoulder and leg injury, he said. His left arm is still in a sling, and his leg injury kept him bedridden for days, he said.

Pielet got off his bike and attended to Lockemy. The two of them, as well as the man who walked into the street and collided with Lockemy, waited for professional help to arrive.

As it turned out, Pielet knew exactly what to do in the situation. The day of the collision was one of the first times he had been back on his bike after a five-week hiatus due to his own accident, he said.

Andy Pielet [Provided]

In September, Pielet was hit by a car near Milwaukee and Sacramento avenues in Logan Square. He was riding through the intersection when a woman stopped on Sacramento "jumped" the green light and hit him, he said.

The impact sent him onto the hood of her car, Pielet said, but he was injured mostly from his bike flying out from under him. Pielet was able to "limp away" from the crash, he said.

"I had to calm her down, actually," he said of the driver. "She was like, 'I have a 25-year-old son who bikes everywhere, and I can't believe I did this.'"

It was the third time Pielet had been in a crash on his bike, the 41-year-old said.

"I wasn't scared, wasn't worried," when he saw Lockemy's collision. "I'm almost immune to it."

Being a bicyclist in Chicago, there's a very real possibility that you can get into an accident at any moment, Pielet said.

That doesn't mean the city's not worthy of its title as the best bicycle city in America, a honor bestowed on the city this year. It just shows that Chicago is a dense city with a robust biking culture, he said.

"I don't have too many concerns" while cycling, Pielet said. "I'm now hyper, hyper vigilant.

"Every blind spot, I feel someone is gonna come out," he said. "Every single [car] door is going to open.

Lockemy has not been able to return to cycling, but when he does, he said he will be aware of the dangers he faces.

"I always wear my helmet, always have my lights. I'm constantly paying attention," Lockemy said. "These last-minute things, there's not much you can do."

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