By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
A 40-year-old man was airlifted with severe injuries after a two-bicycle accident near the skate park in Napavine yesterday evening.
It happened on West Washington Street near Haywire Road.
The 15-year-old Napavine boy with whom he collided escaped with just bruises, according to police.
Police and aid were called just before 5 p.m. to what looked like a pretty much a head on accident, according to Napavine Police Department Officer Silas Elwood.
Elwood said the teenager was heading home from the skate park when he crossed the road.
“The other gentleman was riding into town on Washington / Highway 603, it’s a downhill slope,” Elwood said. “He was one of those kind of serious bicycling guys. Witnesses said he was probably going 30 to 35 mph.”
Ronald Pollack, 40, of Winlock, apparently went head first over his handle bars and landed on the pavement, Elwood said. He was wearing a helmet.
Pollack suffered severe head trauma and an apparent broken neck, according to responders. A LifeFlight helicopter picked him up from a nearby field and flew him to Southwest Washington Medical Center in Vancouver.
Elwood said Pollack was in surgery late last night, but in stable condition and expected to wake up today.
Someone had told the young man the safest way to ride a bike was to face traffic, but that’s not the case, Elwood said.
The sun was in his eyes, and “the kid was probably looking for cars, not another bike,” he said.
He said he wasn’t blaming the teen, but the collision points up a need for some local bicycle safety training.
Bicyclists are supposed to follow the same traffic rules as motor vehicles, according to Elwood. The speed limit there is 25 mph.
It was definitely one of those “freak” things with a number of contributing factors, Elwood said.
“I don’t even want to think about how bad this would have been if he hadn’t been wearing a helmet,” he said.