Man in critical condition after bike wreck on Louisville Road hill

State Journal Staff Report, Published:

A Frankfort man who crashed on a bicycle Sunday on Louisville Road hill remained in critical condition Tuesday morning.

Andrew Smith, 46, was riding a bike eastbound around 11 a.m. on Louisville Road hill when he lost control and crashed, Frankfort Police spokesman Maj. Fred Deaton said. Smith was wearing a helmet.

Paramedics transported Smith to Frankfort Regional Medical Center and then airlifted him to University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center, where he remains.

“There is suspicion that alcohol may have been a factor,” Deaton said.

Deaton also said wet road conditions could have contributed to the crash.

No cars or other people were involved.

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  • My thoughts and concerns go out to Mr. Smith and his loved ones, and I wish him the best in his recovery. ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 1965 obviously has never ridden a bike (since tooling around their neighborhood during childhood maybe), but this place is full of hills. There is NO WAY into Frankfort that is on flat ground. The hills and curvy roads are why people like to ride bicycles around here...and if you think these hills are something, go to the mountains and look at all of the bicyclists out there. ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ This accident could have happened on any one of the larger ones, where speeds can be over 45 mph. When you are going that fast on anything you'd best be paying close attention, much less on a bicycle with 1" wide tires with 100 lbs. of pressure in them. You don't have to be a "nut" to do it, but you'd better be skilled, alert and on good equipment. But bicycle wrecks occur often in the Tour de France...it happens. ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Nobody knows what happened to Mr. Smith at this point, but it could have been an equipment failure. There is often debris in the road on that hill. The fact that he was out on a solo Sunday morning ride would indicate that he was a serious cyclist who possessed the necessary skills to negotiate Louisville Road hill. It also would mean that he didn't knock back a few beers that morning before climbing on the bike...he is a bicycle enthusiast, not a "biker" on a hog. That really just isn't done very often at all by bicyclists, as pumping a bicycle is hard enough without taking a depressant like alcohol. Think oil and water. ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. I don't know why the police thought that there may have been alcohol involved other than they smelled it on his breath. I do not drink, but I know that some of my friends who do still have beer on their breath from the night before, which in this case was a Saturday evening. They don't seem to be impaired but they sure do smell like it. That would not be totally out of the question here.

  • Steve_Fry

    ONE bike lane. On the uphill side, where the rocks fall anyway. This accident happened on the downhill side (near as I can tell? Eastbound on 60 would be downhill, right?).

  • @1500 Sensitive on the alcohol issue, are we? I do not believe the police haphazardly announce "suspicion of alcohol" unless they have enough evidence at the scene to support such a comment. Maybe you should stay tuned for the rest of the story instead of making rash and angry assumptions based on your personal speculation. Also, interesting where this accident occurred, is it not? Alcohol or not, this accident should be remembered the next time some nut wants bike lanes on Louisville Hill.

  • well, it won't do mr smith any good, but i will have him in the back of my mind the next time i go speeding down a hill on the bike. i have a couple of favorite routes that i let it loose. and there is no margin for error.

  • 1500, the SJ was only reporting the Deaton quote, don't blame them.

  • N-man (?), what I know is that it is not a "motorcycle helmet". There are helmets already being marketed for mountain biking as below, but there are other helmets that are lighter still that could/should be adapted to road cycling. No helmet is gonna protect someone from getting their neck broken in a high speed crash, but they will protect the head, which is all any helmet is designed to do...jeeze! ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... http://www.xsportsprotective.com/fullface-mountain-bike-helmets.html ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ http://gori.maviqocoje.info/cascade-full-cut-kayak-helmet-w-face-mask.aspx

  • Response to 1713 - and what, black, white, adult, child, narrow road or bike lanes - what helmet protects these riders from a broken neck from impact? What education will prevent these deaths or life-long paralysis?

  • Why would one publish "suspicion" that alcohol was involved, when the rider was not able to address that issue? Irresponsible reporting from police dept. to media, and media to public. What was the point? Sensationalism? Nothing like a guy knocking back a few on a Sunday morning - or was it just Communion?

  • Isn't it interesting that no one ever insinuates that cars don't belong on the road after a driver loses control and has an accident? There are two take-aways from this-- one, it's just as stupid to drink and ride a bike as it is to drink and drive and two, education for both riders and motorists is needed more than ever!

  • D-man, that is called a full face motorcycle helmet, but you already know that.

  • And why did someone want to put bike lanes on this hill?? No cars were involved but he is airlifted........

  • Unfortunately, a bicycle helmet does not protect the head very well as it only covers the very top and forehead, leaving exposed the side and entire front of the face and chin. It would not be difficult to design a lightweight helmet that covers the whole head with a cage on the front to protect the face and chin. It only makes sense.