Injured Bicyclist Lobbies Park District To Warn Riders About Lakefront Dropoff
(CBS) -- Chicagoan Jennifer Kraft says her life changed forever after a ride along Chicago's lakefront. Now paralyzed below the ribs, Kraft is making it her mission to make sure others do not suffer the same fate.
CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot reports.
Kraft says she was an avid biker, hiker and skier. But on April 25, a typical lakefront bike ride at dusk left her with a disability.
"I looked up and I saw the path, that it was continuous, and the next thing I knew I was down on the ground and I had no idea what happened, whatsoever," she says.
Kraft says she didn't know the breakwater wall she was riding on ended, sending her crashing to the ground.
"I had landed on my helmet. My helmet totally shattered, and I had like blood, coming down into my mouth and I realized right away that I couldn't move my legs at all," she says.
The high school chemistry teacher had been biking north on the lakefront, about six blocks south of 31st Street Harbor.
Kraft says she's now making it her mission in life to get a warning sign about the dropoff posted.
"I think it's extremely important this never happens to anybody, ever again," she says. "If there was a sign, I wouldn't have been on that path, in that area."
Kraft posted a video on social media and started a petition. She's also filing a lawsuit.
"Anyone that would just go out there and look, you would say, 'Oh my God, I can't tell that there's this drop off! And there but by the grace of God, go I.' And so I really hope this effectuates a change and some warnings," attorney Patrick A. Salvi says.
A spokesperson for The Chicago Park District says they have no comment on this story.
For more information about Kraft's petition, click here.
