Cyclist treated for life-threatening injuries after being hit by driver in the Centre Region
A cyclist was treated for life-threatening injuries Sunday after being hit by a driver in the Centre Region, Ferguson Township police wrote in a press release.
The driver of a Kia Spectra 5 hit the bike rider about 10:25 p.m. Sunday near the intersection of North Atherton Street and West North Hills Place, police wrote.
The driver of the hatchback “failed to see” the cyclist, police wrote. Poor visibility due to weather conditions contributed to the crash.
The bike rider was flown by medical helicopter to Hershey Medical Center. The 18-year-old driver from Northampton County was transported to Mount Nittany Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries.
North Atherton Street was closed for more than two hours.
Sunday’s crash remains under investigation, police said. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Ferguson Township Police Department at 1-800-479-0050 or 814-237-1172.
Patton Township police, Centre Life Link EMS, Alpha Fire Company and Alpha Fire Police assisted at the scene.
“That’s a super dangerous area. There’s just absolutely no real pedestrian or bike infrastructure on that stretch of North Atherton,” Penn State assistant public policy and sociology professor Andrew Fenelon said Monday. “It’s kind of frustrating in some ways because that stretch of Atherton has been an issue for at least a decade.”
Centre County tallied 13 crashes that involved a bicycle and resulted in either serious or fatal injury between 2011 and 2020, according to state Department of Transportation data.
All but one were reported in the Centre Region. Seven were reported in State College; Ferguson Township reported three; Harris, Patton and Spring townships each reported one.
PennDOT maintains and recently reconstructed the four-lane road. Fenelon and Matt Herndon, a State College resident, each placed blame on the highway agency.
“It’s still an area that really is inhospitable to anyone except people driving,” Fenelon said. “... It’s not surprising to see a crash in this area. It’s demoralizing a little bit because it’s something that could have been fixed just a couple years ago, but really wasn’t addressed.”
Added Herndon: “This is bad road design. ...This section of Atherton is by far the worst.”
PennDOT largely stayed mum on the criticism, writing in a statement that it will review the township’s investigation once it’s complete.
This story was originally published October 25, 2021 at 11:45 AM.