Biker Struck While Cycling Urges Riders to Share the Road

Kurt Zwally’s bike after he was struck while riding it along Route 108 near Laytonsville. PHOTO BY | Kurt Zwally

Kurt Zwally of Silver Spring was riding his bike east on Route 108  about 1:50 p.m. Aug. 9 when a car tried to pass him near Rocky Road. In an attempt to avoid colliding with another car coming the other way, the driver swerved back from the westbound lane into the eastbound lane hitting Zwally on his bike.

Zwally said he felt the SUV’s mirror press against him and seconds later heard the crunch of his bike under its tires. Zwally was thrown into the embankment, knocked briefly unconscious and woke to another driver holding his hand.

“I am lucky to be alive,” Zwally told MyMCMedia. “I am amazed that they tried to pass me.”

Zwally, who was wearing a helmet, was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and later released.

Police said the driver didn’t stop.

“If they don’t give a crap about my life I am not surprised they didn’t stop,” he said, adding directly to the driver that hit him, “What would you have told my wife, my mother and my father and my brother if I wasn’t alive. What if it was you that had to make that call?”

Witnesses say the car that hit Zwally was a gray or silver SUV.

Zwally is hoping speaking out about his experience will make more people understand the importance of sharing the road. He is a member of the Potomac Pedalers, an organization of bicycle enthusiasts.

Anyone with information about the hit-and-run accident is asked to call the Montgomery County Police non-emergency number at 301.279.8000.

About Krista Brick

Krista Brick is a multi-media journalist with Montgomery Community Media.

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