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The Dripby Baltimore Brew12:00 pmMar 7, 20110

Support ride Wednesday for Hopkins student struck by car, plus other updates

Above: The University Parkway bike lane where Krasnopoler was riding when the crash occurred.

Baltimore city cyclists are planning a Wednesday gathering at the scene of the Feb. 26 crash that left Hopkins sophomore Nathan Krasnopoler pinned under a car after an 83-year old woman struck his bicycle while making a right turn. They will be meeting at 5:30 p.m. in front of The Broadview apartment building on University Parkway, just east of the intersection with 39th St.

Mitchell Krasnopoler, the boy’s father, is scheduled to say a few words at the event before the group rides to Johns Hopkins Hospital in support of Nathan, who remains in a coma. Those interested in attending can register for the event here.

The family has been using Nathan’s Facebook page to post updates on his condition (which is little changed at last report) and to settle some of the questions that have arisen about the crash, such as whether he was wearing a helmet at the time of the incident (he was).

That last point was reinforced in the March 3 print edition of the student newspaper, the Johns Hopkins News-Letter.

That story includes quotes from Hopkins students who said they came upon the scene and crouched under the car to check on the pinned-down cyclist.

“I checked to see if he was breathing, bodily movement, and I checked for a pulse,” Junior Henry Ma told the News-Letter. “I didn’t get a pulse.”

“I thought maybe he was just lying under the car and we could move it or something,” junior Hannah Joo said. “But he was trapped by his head. His helmet was against the pavement. It was really good that he was wearing a helmet.”

Meanwhile, the city’s bicycle coordinator, Nate Evans is calling for cyclists to stay calm while the police continue to investigate what happened and make a decision about whether the motorist should be charged.

“This is not a time for a witch hunt or taking over the streets,” he said in a blog post recently.

He lays out the options city law enforcement officials have in this subsequent post and notes that the Baltimore Police Department apologized for misconceptions based on their earlier statements.

“The Public Affairs Section apologized for any misinformation that may have come from the police department. The statement that ‘the driver will not be charged’ should have been followed by ‘at this time.’ It is important that the police conduct a thorough investigation.”

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