Township Police Seek Witnesses to Tuesday Morning Bike Accident on West Oak Street

The Bernards Township police were on Tuesday asking for witnesses and information about an injured bicyclist who may have been struck by an unidentified vehicle at about 8:16 a.m. on West Oak Street near Mt. Airy Road.

Police said they responded to a report of an injured cyclist that morning and found a woman in her early 30s laying on the sidewalk, with a red mountain bike at her side, at the base of a telephone pole on the south side of West Oak Street. The woman was semi-conscious, and spoke very little English, police said.

The woman suffered significant head and facial injuries, and was transported to Morristown Memorial Hospital, police said. Despite a language barrier, she was able to indicate at the hospital that she had struck by a vehicle while riding her bicycle, according to police.

Township police said earlier on Tuesday that the woman's injuries and the language barrier had prevented a positive identification. Police Lt. Ted Reese said at about 4 p.m. that police had identified her on a preliminary basis, but were not able to release a name at that time. She was being treated at Morristown Memorial Hospital later that day, police said.

Reese said the woman was in an altered state of consciousness when she described the accident, and police remained unsure whether she had been struck by a car. "Right now, we're taking her at her word," he said. He said she had been discovered by a passerby who did not witness an accident.

Police described the injured cyclist as a woman in her early 30s, who was wearing a black t-shirt, black spandex pants and carrying a yellow purse. Anyone with information is asked to contact Township Police Detective Tim King at 908-766-1122.