Letter: The other victim in the bike crash

Your March 12 package, “When lifestyles collide,” was very informative, covering the problems we have with drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.

It included a discussion of who is at fault in the lives lost in the tragic accidents, quotes from relatives of those who died, and the situations that involved alcohol. Nothing was said about the other victims — those who were driving the vehicle that struck the people who were injured or died.

One of those other victims was my daughter, who will soon be 45 years old.

Twenty-five years ago, she left work about an hour early to run some errands. On her way, she hit a man on a bicycle who ran a red traffic light. She did not have the time to stop. The man died at the scene. Later in the investigation by the police, including an autopsy, it was determined that the man was intoxicated. This was a tragic accident that could have be avoided if the cyclist had not run the red light.

The other tragedy is what my daughter has had to live with this past 25 years. She relives this accident every day of her life. She turned to alcohol to try to forget, but found that was not the answer. She is now a recovering alcoholic. She has been diagnosed with PTSD, she cannot work to support herself, and has not yet been able to qualify for Social Security disability.

She is the other victim.

This story was originally published March 16, 2017 at 4:31 PM with the headline "Letter: The other victim in the bike crash."