A car crushed Robert Quan's ankle. He can no longer cycle competitively.
In 2016, the year before a teen in a one-ton sedan rolled over his right ankle, Robert Quan, 59, of Hicksville, competed in nine bicycle races across the New York City metro area.
He trained hard, riding as much as 100 miles per week.
"It was a big part of my life," Quan said.
But the June 3, 2017, crash "basically ended my amateur racing," Quan said in a March 13 interview at his lawyer’s office in Mineola. "I could never go back to the level I was at. There was a little bit of fear."
Quan was one of about 10 cyclists participating in a regular Saturday morning group ride when he and another rider were struck. They were in Dix Hills on Buttonwood Drive near Parkside Drive at 8:08 a.m. when the sedan accelerated from behind, the driver later telling police he’d intended to hit the brakes, according to a police report.
When the vehicle rolled over Quan’s leg it fractured his ankle. He needed surgery and months of physical therapy.
There was no police investigation beyond a short incident report, Quan said. He sued and, in early 2021, won a settlement he said paid for his medical fees and replacement of his bike.
As of 2016, the last year of available state data, being struck by a vehicle caused cyclists a yearly average of 36 deaths, 637 hospitalizations and 3,795 emergency department visits. On Long Island, according to the latest published federal Department of Transportation data, 153 cyclists were killed in crashes from 2008 to 2022.
"There’s not a single person who rides who doesn’t know somebody who’s been hit," said Quan’s lawyer, Daniel Flanzig.
"I understand that people do make mistakes while driving," Quan said, endorsing better cycling infrastructure on local roads. "However, I wish that more was done."
When he bikes on Long Island now, it’s just for exercise, and he’s installed front and rear cameras on his bike.
Nicholas Spangler is a general assignment reporter and has worked at Newsday since 2010.
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