On Thursday, as I wound my way through midtown, late for an appointment miles away already, I found myself at the intersection of 17th and K Streets.

In front of me, stopped at the stop sign, was a compact blue car. I know it was stopped because I stopped behind it, and I’d have rolled up to the stop sign if it were moving.

Suddenly, this cyclist slams into and bounces off of the side of the blue car. The cyclist jumps up, ends his cell phone conversation (as evidenced by him having the phone at his ear, shaking his head in disbelief, and then hitting a button and pulling the phone from his head), and kind of shakes himself out. The driver, a woman with brown hair, gets out of her car, I get out of my car, and other lunchtime passers-by rush over.

Some clarifying points before I continue the story: the cyclist was riding on the sidewalk (though my angle behind the car involved may have resulted in some parallax error, there were cars parked on K Street, at least one car-length from the corner), the cyclist did not slow down for the intersection, the cyclist was not wearing a helmet, the cyclist was on the phone.

Now, as soon as the driver stepped from her vehicle, some random woman who had hurried over to check the scene started SCREAMING at her, calling her stupid, and several other not-nice things, and yelling about how the driver had hit the cyclist and how it was her fault and she caused “bodily injury,” etc. The cyclist meanwhile, aside from looking a bit stunned, repeated that he was fine, and seemed concerned only over his bent front wheel. I yelled over the screaching harpie of an on-looker, saying “look, it’s an accident, more importantly, does anyone need medical help? Are you [the cyclist] okay? Do you need an ambulance? Are you sure? Do you need me to call the cops?” By this point, there are probably 10 cell-phone carrying people on scene (including the cyclist).

Once I knew help had already been summoned, I proceeded on my way, but I’m really regretful that I didn’t hand the driver my card in case the cyclist tried to blame her. I called the police department (and after a mere 10 minute hold time), spoke to a dispatcher who confirmed that they knew of the incident already (the driver had called as well) and were responding. I told her that I wanted to leave my information in case I was needed, since I witnessed the accident. I left her my name, phone number, and office address. I saw the cyclist hit the car, not vice-versa. He didn’t roll across the hood of the car. He didn’t end up in the street in front of the car. The car had stopped at the stop sign, and at the point of impact, was preparing to turn onto K Street by moving forward to see around parked cars on K Street. But she was stopped when the cyclist hit the car. And the cyclist hit the car, just to be extra, extra clear. From where I stood, it appeared that the point of impact was between the passenger door and front fender - unless the car was moving laterally, it would’ve been hard for her to have hit the cyclist with the side of her vehicle.

The cyclist was breaking many rules - legal and common sensical. He was riding on the sidewalk - and/or at the very least against traffic since he was coming east on K street, and the girl was about to turn right to head west along K Street. He had no helmet and was chatting on the phone.

Aside from wishing I’d left my business card, I wish I’d told that screaching woman to stuff it - she was not helpful laying blame. Unless she was a lawyer, doctor, forensic specialist, or the mother of the cyclist, she should have shut the f up and just inquired about people’s well-being. Falsely accusing the driver of causing the incident (especially when she was, I believe, across the street and probably not watching when it happened) helped no one remain calm and deal with the situation.