Bicyclist Ends Up In Back Seat Of Convertible After Crash In Cohasset
COHASSET (CBS) - As he surveyed the mangled handlebars on his bike – just retrieved from police – 65-year-old Ed Jones still found some humor in the accident that could have easily killed him.
"There I was riding a bike," mused the semi-retired inventor and consultant, "and then I was upside down in someone's car."
Jones has ridden his bike down Route 228 in Cohasset countless times over the last two decades as part of his regular loop of 20-something miles. He considers himself an incredibly careful cyclist. But on Sunday afternoon, he was hit by a silver Mercedes trying to turn into the Corner Stop restaurant.
"I'm so careful," he says shaking his head. Ed doesn't remember seeing the car or sensing the threat – but does recall the impact. "I remember the sound" he says. "Hauntingly so."
His flying body shattered the car's windshield – breaking Ed's wrist, ripping open his chest, and battering his legs. What followed, though, was both fortunate and comical.
"The next thing I remember, I'm upside down in someone's back seat with my feet in the air."
Indeed, instead of tumbling under the car or into the street, Ed found himself upside down in the back seat of the very convertible that had hit his bike – where he admits to uttering a handful of naughty words.
"If you just saw the pictures of me upside down in his car," says Ed, "I bet it would've been hilarious."
Witnesses can't believe he's okay – not even held at South Shore Hospital overnight.
"I think it's a miracle after what I saw yesterday," says Miriam McDonald from her house across the street. "I really do."
"I'm very happy I'm alive," ads Ed.
Thing is, not many folks understand how – including the nurses who stopped to help him, a doctor at the hospital, and the guy who owns the wrecker company that towed the Mercedes. "And he said 'My God, you should be dead. Dead!'" says Ed with a smile.
Instead, he's on the mend – hoping to recover the cost of his medical bills – but not necessarily bent on suing the Quincy man who hit him. "I'd like to talk to the guy and see what happened," offers Ed. "People make mistakes. It's okay."
Still, he wishes the driver had visited – or at least called to apologize. John Plunkett, 62, of Quincy, has not yet been charged in the accident – but Cohasset police indicate that's likely.
Plunkett's 2004 Mercedes has been impounded. He was overheard at the scene saying the sun was in his eyes.
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