Whack to head leaves bicyclist unhurt in ditch

Bella Vista resident Jordan Border, 18, was riding his hand-me-down Diamondback bicycle down Lancashire Boulevard, making a trip to the Dollar General by the Highlands Gate, when he felt a sudden blow to the back of his head.

Late in the afternoon on Thursday, Border was struck by the mirror on a pickup truck driven by Bella Vista resident Alan Gio. Border ended up in the grass in front of Duffer’s Cafe.

Police and EMS personnel arrived to find Border in far better condition than one might expect after a run-in with a truck’s side-view mirror. He was not transported, though officers suggested he go to the hospital to make sure he didn’t have any less obvious injuries.

Officer Dillon Pruitt responded to the collision. Gio was not issued a citation, he said, but will be considered at fault in the accident record.

“People need to pay attention,” Pruitt said. Pruitt said that, while bicyclists do legally have the right to be on the road with cars, a fast-moving street may not be the ideal place.

Cars passing cyclists, he said, are required by Arkansas law to leave three feet between their vehicle and the bicycle for safety.

Border said that he’d appreciate it if cars would slow down, and he’d really prefer a sidewalk or bike path. “Since we moved here, I been biking through here,” he said.

His mother, Renea Taylor, said cars drive far too fast on Lancashire, but the lack of side streets or non-automotive infrastructure in this part of town makes it difficult for her son to use his bicycle.

“There’s just nowhere to ride a bike here,” she said.

Gio said he couldn’t see very well because the sun was in his eyes. While he did see Border, he said that the combination of poor visibility and Border moving to the left during the curve contributed to the accident.

“I clipped him with my mirror,” Gio said. “Thank God it was a breakaway mirror.”

Officer Pruitt said he believed Gio couldn’t see.

“The sun was bad,” he said. “It was so bad you couldn’t see nothing.”

Gio said he was shaken after the collision.

“I’m hoping he will be fine,” Gio said, “and I apologize to the family.”

Keith Bryant/The Weekly Vista Officer Janice Wilson directs traffic after a collision between a truck and a bicyclist on Lancashire Boulevard.

Keith Bryant/The Weekly Vista The truck Alan Gio was driving ended up with a smashed side mirror after colliding with a cyclist on Lancashire Boulevard.