Cyclist runs neck-first into HDMI cord tied across bridge, Wisconsin photos show
_fitted.jpeg "A cyclist crashed after running into a cord that someone apparently tied across a commuter bridge near Madison, Wisconsin. Returning several days later, he found another cord (pictured) tied at the bridge.")
Gregg Goldstein didn’t see the trap in time.
There was a brief flash, something in front of him illuminated by his bicycle’s headlight, and then he was on the ground in pain, he told McClatchy News.
“I went from 15 miles an hour to zero, instantly,” Goldstein said. “And I did not stick the landing. The whole left side of my body hit the pavement so hard.”
The Verona, Wisconsin, man had crossed this bridge along the Badger State Trail countless times, getting up before the sunrise to bike to his office in Madison. It was no different on Friday, Aug. 26.
The section of trail is heavily wooded and dark, especially in the early morning hours, he said. It was before 5 a.m. when he made it to the bridge and ran neck-first into a black HDMI cord.
Someone had tied it taut, about 5 feet high, with strong knots on each side of the bridge’s chain link fencing.
“My neck broke the cord. The cord didn’t break my neck and that’s just lucky,” Goldstein said.
He was, however, left bruised, aching and shaken.
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When he returned Monday, he coasted slowly across the bridge, weary that another trap may have been laid. And there was, he said. He discovered a gray cable for a push-button telephone, stretched like a clothesline across the bridge.
He took it down and later contacted the police.
The next morning, Goldstein said he found a third cord, thinner than the last. He removed it, added it to his growing collection.
Goldstein has turned to social media to bring attention to the issue, in part to warn others. But ultimately he wants the problem resolved, one way or another, before someone else gets hurt, he told McClatchy News.
Tuesday, the Madison Police Department said it is “looking into (the) matter. We encourage cyclists to monitor their surroundings as officers investigate.”
This story was originally published August 31, 2022 at 1:43 PM with the headline "Cyclist runs neck-first into HDMI cord tied across bridge, Wisconsin photos show."