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Monday, April 13, 2009

Cyclist hit on Loop 360 in ICU

Cyclist hit on Loop 360 in ICUBy Pamela LeBlanc | Monday, April 13, 2009, 11:37 AM
From Fit City Blog on Austin 360

Anthony Kaim, the cyclist hit on Loop 360 at the Pennybacker Bridge Saturday morning, is scheduled for three surgeries this week but has no brain injuries, according to his wife.

Kaim broke several ribs and his left hip, shattered his pelvis, fractured his spine in four or five places and broke his jaw in three places, Heidi Kaim told me this morning. He’s in intensive care at University Medical Center at Brackenridge.

“I think it’s a miracle he’s as good as he is,” she says. “He’s actually conscious and talking and in his right mind. He’s asking a lot of questions because he is a lawyer.”

Anthony Kaim was riding southbound on Loop 360 when he apparently ran over debris or hit a bump, which caused him to lose control of his handlebars and hit the cement barrier on the right side of the road. He bounced back into traffic on the left and was hit by a car.

“It wasn’t like anybody was at fault, it was just a freak accident,” Heidi Kaim says.

Anthony Kaim is a Category 3 cyclist who rode on the University of Texas cycling team and now competes with the Gulf Coast Cycling Association team. He had recently finished law school and works as a clerk for a Fifth Circuit Judge in Austin.

He is scheduled for two surgeries Tuesday and another on Wednesday.

“He would just want to thank everybody for keeping him in their thoughts and prayers,” she says. “He’s touched by everybody rallying around.”

She’s sure he’ll be back on the bike as soon as he can. “It’ll take physical therapy for a long time. They’re thinking in six months he can be slightly active again. It’ll be maybe a year before he’s able to ride.”

Joseph LaFico was in a group of cyclists about 15 minutes behind Kaim’s pack. When he arrived at the accident scene, emergency crews had closed the roadway.

He describes Kaim as a “very experienced cyclist, definitely not a newbie. Just a good, solid guy who rides under the radar.”


Hang in there Anthony!