Two bicycle riders were injured when they slipped on the roadway of West Avenue downtown on Saturday, April 23 after diesel oil spilled from a pickup truck.
When a police officer was alerted to the accident by a passer-by at about 12:25 p.m., the officer found both cyclists sitting on the roadside curb not far from the Darien Railroad Station. They were both holding ice to their heads that an employee of a nearby business had given them.
Both riders, who are Stamford residents, had facial and arm injuries. One, a 30-year-old woman, had worn a helmet but had the more significant injuries. The other, a 40-year-old man, hadn’t worn a helmet. A Darien EMS-Post 53 ambulance took them both to Stamford Hospital.
A “large amount” of diesel fuel had spilled on the roadway. Firefighters cleaned it up. Not far away, on Mechanic Street, police located a 2002 Ford F-350 (a large pickup truck) that the oil had spilled from.
The vehicle’s diesel fuel filter had just burst for some reason. The vehicle is owned by a 55-year-old Stamford man.