Even The NYPD Get Involved In The "Action"

June 24, 2006 -- A fitness-focused Manhattan doctor was clinging to
life yesterday after being knocked off his bicycle on a busy bike path
along the West Side Highway by an NYPD tow truck, cops said.

Dr. Carl Nacht, 56, a marathoner who runs an average of 80 miles a
week, was listed in critical condition last night at St.
Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital with severe head injuries suffered late
Thursday, cops said.

The doctor, director of internal medicine at St. Luke's-Roosevelt, was
riding north at around 11:30 p.m. along the bike path west of the
highway when the southbound truck cut across it to get into the lot,
cops said.

Cyclists who use the busy Hudson River Greenway bike path said the
entranceway was one of several dangerous areas where vehicles often
cut across without sufficient warning.

"I see a lot of people going through here, mostly with caution, but
also the tow trucks barrel through here," said Michael Lipp, 34. "I
recognized before this morning that this was a dangerous spot."

The bike path is the busiest in the country with as many as 10,000
riders using it on an active day, said Paul Steely White, executive
director of Transportation Alternatives, a cycling advocacy group.

Henry was an amazing man who was loved and respected by many many
people. Please do not turn this into a debate on whether a helmet would
have saved his life. It WOULD NOT have. His injuries were concentrated
at the brain stem. We all know that bike helmets make us safer. Wear
them. Please do not judge Henry for not. He was an experienced cyclist.
The world was a better place because of the way he lived his life. He
will be missed.