Early Saturday morning near the town center, just 35 feet from the finish line, a lead bicyclist who was racing in the eighth annual Ken Harrod Memorial Road Race crashed into the trunk of a stopped car.
According to Harvard police Detective Daniele Fortunato, cyclist Shanta Keller of Brighton, 29, was conscious and alert when he was transported to Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer around 10 a.m.
The accident happened in front of the old inn at 11 Fairbank Street on the fourth and final leg of a 10-mile loop. According to the police report, Littleton County Road resident Charles Grimm, 69, was heading to the Transfer Station via the town center on Oak Hill Road. As Grimm neared the town center, he said he saw a car behind him, honking and with its lights flashing. Then he saw several bicyclists coming up on him at high speed. As he rounded the corner near the finish line, Grimm pulled over to the right side of the road and stopped to allow the cyclists to pass. He reported that one cyclist was unable to avoid his car and collided with the back of it.
Cyclists sprint up Oak Hill Road near the site of the accident, just yards from the end of the race. (Photo by Ivan Tatarev)
Later in the police report, Keller, the injured cyclist, reportedly said that the incident happened so quickly that before he was able to react, he collided with the rear of the sedan.
“Instantaneous decisions were made by well-intentioned people,” said volunteer firefighter and race committee member Robert Curran, who was at the scene.
Police Chief Ed Denmark commented that the accident was unfortunate, but that it is a byproduct of holding races on public roadways. To that point, Mingori explained that cyclists are accustomed to being on the lookout for road hazards even while racing. Unexpected actions such as parked cars with opening doors, walkers crossing the street, animals off leash, and cars turning left in front of racers are expected, though not particularly welcome, challenges.
Should a situation like this happen in the future, Dave Mingori of the Minuteman Road Club, cosponsor of the event with the Harvard Firefighters Association, advises drivers to stay calm, pull over to the right, and wait 10 to 15 seconds for the racers to pass. A review of race protocols is scheduled next week, said Mingori.
The accident remains under investigation, says Detective Daniele Fortunato.
