03-09-2021

A Lakeside cyclist was injured last Tuesday in an odd accident when he was hooked by a part of a pick-up truck.

According to San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, the event occurred because the bicyclist was trying to evade a garbage truck that was in a parking lot on Maine Avenue, near Mapleview Street, and headed in front of the truck, which contained the object that impaled him. The event occurred around 8:20 a.m.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that the object in question was a hook with which the truck (a 2017 Chevrolet) was equipped. It hooked the neck and right part of the jaw of the 54-year-old man. The man was impaled for about 20 minutes while firefighters decided whether the best option was to cut the hook or unhook him. Firefighters finally got the man off the hook.

Despite the apparent severity of the incident, the man was taken to the hospital with no serious life-threatening complications.

Travis Garrow, California Highway Patrol (CHP) Officer, emphasized the rarity of an incident like that, highlighting how blissful the rider was. His exact words: “He’s lucky right now. I haven’t seen that in almost 20 years of doing this job. I haven’t seen someone impaled like that and actually still be conscious, awake, oriented, alive, so definitely a strange one”.