Cyclist Injured After Squirrel Fatally Jumps Into Spokes During Charity Race
SANTA ROSA (KCBS) -- A small squirrel sent a cyclist in the Levi's GranFondo charity bike ride in Sonoma County to the hospital on Saturday.
The squirrel ran across the road, at the exact moment one of the cyclists was traveling by on the Bohemian Highway, at about 9:45 a.m. and leapt into the spokes in one of the bicycle's wheels, Monte Rio Fire Chief Steve Baxman said.
The squirrel was killed instantly and cyclist was thrown over his handle-bars.
Baxman told the San Francisco Chronicle, that the Oakland man, in his 40s, suffered a head injury and was "very disoriented."
Baxman said he's worked many bike races, but this is the first time he ever heard of a rodent tripping up a cyclist.
"I feel bad for the squirrel and for the guy on the bike, but who has ever heard of such a thing? There were thousands of bicycles riding by. What are the odds?" he told the Chronicle
The victim was transported to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital and was one of at least ten cyclists who required hospital care during the ride but the only one who became entangled with a squirrel.
