OHIO CITY, Ohio — The owner of Joy Machines Bike Shop was struck by a car while riding home from work. He and other local groups continue to advocate for safer streets in Cleveland.

What You Need To Know

  • Alex Noose is the owner of Joy Machines Bike Shop off Detroit Avenue in Cleveland’s Ohio City

  • While riding his bike home, he was struck by a hit-and-run driver at the intersection of Fulton and Lorain

  • Being a lifelong cyclist, he has seen the streets of Cleveland become more dangerous for cyclists

  • Noose and advocacy groups like Bike Cleveland are fighting to see change on the streets, making them safer for cyclists who must share the road

“I just saw headlights coming at me,” said Alex Noose.

That was the first thing Noose saw when he traveled through the intersection of Fulton and Lorain Avenue. Noose owns Joy Machines Bike Shop in Ohio City he commutes to and from work on his bicycle. In early October, Noose was heading home and was struck by a hit-and-run driver.

“They spun me and I slammed down, hit the pavement really hard,” Noose said.

Noose posted security camera footage to his twitter account. 

In the video, Noose enters the intersection at a green light just as a white Nissan, with its turn signal on, ignores the red light and slams into him.

“I have a sprained shoulder and sprained collarbone,” Noose said. “I thought my collarbone was broken, and it was painful, but luckily, the X-rays came back negative. I'm still dealing with a lot of mobility issues, but it wasn't anything that I won't recover from, hopefully.”

The driver didn't stop, but another person did, trying to help. Noose walked his bike home to get a ride to the emergency room. 

Jacob VanSickle is the Execuctive Director of Bike Cleveland, an advocacy group for riders like Noose.

“Our work is really about advocating for safe and connected bike networks,” VanSickle said.

VanSickle said incidents like this are exactly why their group continues to fight for cyclist safety.

“We really just need to prioritize safe mobility in our city, that involves infrastructure and involves enforcement,” he said. “It really just it takes all of us, but we really just need to get, get moving quicker.”