Bloomington cyclist upgraded after collision with car

[Kevin]

Bloomington cyclist upgraded after collision with car

Bloomington - An Indiana University student underwent surgery Wednesday night after being hit by a car.

He was the most seriously injured of three students struck while riding bicycles on a curvy, rain-soaked roadway. Eric Brodell was upgraded to good condition Thursday.

Monroe County Sheriff's Deputy Mike Pershing says the members of the Cutters bicycle team were hit just north of Lake Monroe on State Road 446.

Photos taken at the scene show a mangled bike wheel, the smashed windshield of a car, and a student on a stretcher.

Police say there were four students biking Wednesday evening, all members of the Cutters, a perennial favorite cycling team at the Little 500 in Bloomington.

Teammates got news of the accident right away.

"It was unnerving because we had a teammate get hit last week. It was kind of like, 'oh, not again'. It was kind of like my heart dropped into my stomach, really," said IU Sophomore and Cutters teammate, Sam Harbison.

Eric Brodell, Eric Young, Thomas Walsh and Mike Schroeder were riding two-by-two along the winding road around 5:30 pm.

Police say the driver of a 2005 Honda Accord, 24-year-old Stephen Torrance, was coming the other direction, when he lost control, slid on the wet pavement and hit three of the four bikes.

"He hit the brakes and just slid right into them, crossed lanes," Harbison said.

Walsh wasn't hurt.

Young and Schroeder were treated and released from Bloomington hospital with minor injuries.

But 19-year-old Eric Brodell, a Cutters rookie, was rushed there in critical condition with a serious leg injury.

"He's having surgery. He has about a ten-inch gash on the inside of his left leg. Probably cut some muscle probably have to get some therapy. Probably not gonna be on the bike for three or four months," Harbison said.

The teammates are now staying positive as their friend recovers, feeling thankful the accident wasn't worse.

Police say alcohol was not a factor in the crash.

They say the driver wasn't going over the speed limit, but he was going too fast for the wet conditions. He was cited for going over the center line.

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