The woman is in her 80s and is a well-known and respected former civil
servant in Bristol. At the town level and in the opinion of the Bristol
Select Board, there is culpability for this accident and it lies at the
feet of the Green Mountain Stage Race.
The Green Mountain Stage Race is an extremely well-run organization that
has put on a well-staged, well-attended and very successful race for a
decade. Notice of the race was posted in Bristol, spectators and
supporters were in the village during the race and a police car with a
siren came through ahead of the bike pack, followed by the pace car.
Race organizers have asked Bristol for permission to run the race and
complied with the town's conditions regarding safety and law
enforcement, as well as routes, etc.
The woman's insurance has covered her medical injuries but not her
dental. The Bristol Select Board wants the woman's dental injuries
covered and wants it to come from the stage race insurance. Said
insurance noted that race organizers complied with all safety
requirements, noted that no bikers actually hit the woman (and managed
to warn her before she got hit by a pack of cyclists going 45 mph) and
found no liability.
If someone doesn't make things right for this woman, the town of Bristol
will refuse to allow the event to run through the village in the
future. The town has the ability to do that because state Routes 17/116
where they run through several miles of Bristol Village are actually
classified as town roads versus state roads. That section of road is
maintained by the town versus the state and the town has the authority
over the road.
On this side of the mountain, the stage race represents a serious and
significant financial boon for The Valley. On that side of the mountain,
the race is less well regarded, and now, even less so. Routing the race
through Bristol is critical to its success.
The question arises as to whose job it is to make things right for this
woman. If the stage race took all the required precautions, is it fair
to hold its organizers or its insurance company liable? Is the question
of legal liability moot when a well-known elderly woman falls down in
the street, startled by cyclists coming at her at 45 mph? Does Bristol
own any responsibility for failing to tape off parking in the downtown
area?
Is it reasonable for the town of Bristol to get involved in this legal
conundrum and use the issue to hold The Valley hostage as far as its
ability to host an important and well-run event?
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