A cyclist on the Legacy Trail got lucky this week when a vehicle which careened off the Trans-Canada Highway narrowly missed hitting her.
Sarah Pearson was commuting to work from Canmore to Banff, Monday (Aug. 22) morning just after 8:30 a.m. on the popular trail.
She had just come down seven mile hill when she said a vehicle veered off the Trans-Canada right beside her.
“Had I been one second slower he would have hit me… it happened really quickly,” Pearson said. “By the time I recognized what happened, I heard a crunch and then (the car) was gone.
“It was literally so close.”
Banff RCMP Const. Patrick Cavanagh said the car was traveling eastbound past the water tower when it left the road and struck a cement barrier very close to Pearson.
When it struck the barrier, he said, the car was launched into the air, flipping over and landing on the other side of the trail in a ditch.
“The car hit the cement barrier and lifted into the air and onto the other side of the bike path into a ditch which had water in it,” he said.
Cavanagh said two occupants of the vehicle were transported to hospital with minor injuries.
He added speed was not a factor, but could not comment on whether the driver had fallen asleep. The Calgary driver has been charged with careless driving and is set to appear in traffic court on Nov. 3.
Pearson quickly got off her bicycle and ran down into the water-filled ditch to help the driver and passenger out of the vehicle.
She said there are certain sections of the trail, which she rides three times a week, where cyclists are close to the roadway and aware of vehicles.
While always diligent in those places, Pearson said she was never worried a car would almost crash into her.
“I think I was in the right spot at the right time – I was not hit and I was able to help,” she said, adding she will continue biking the Legacy Trail regularly. “You just have to keep living your life… I rode (the trail) this morning.”
