Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price says she is feeling much better and plans to be back at city hall on Wednesday, just five days after suffering a concussion and broken right collar bone after a fall on her bicycle.
Mayor Price says she's had falls before in her 25 years of riding, but none as serious as this one.
"I'm doing good, I'm doing real good," Mayor Price told NBC 5 by phone on Tuesday. "My shoulder is still sore and I got a little bit of blurry vision but they say that's to be expected after a concussion."
Price says she suffered a mild concussion in a previous crash, but never a broken bone. She says it will take five to six weeks for her broken right collar bone to heal.
Despite the seriousness of her injuries and the crash, which was caused when she hit a rut in the gravel trail near Interstate 30 and Beach Street, her husband Tom remained calm as he called 911 for help.
"She fell, she was unconscious, she's regaining consciousness now," Tom Price is heard in the 911 call to Fort Worth Fire and MedStar. "But I think she needs to go to the hospital to be checked out. She was unconscious."
The mayor canceled a scheduled appearance Saturday night following the accident and did not go to work on Monday and Tuesday as she recovered from her injuries. She said she's thankful for all the well wishes from the community and that support is helping her heal faster. She's also grateful to the quick response of emergency workers who reached her, according to the fire department, in three and a half minutes in part because of 911 locators along the trail.
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The Tarrant Regional Water District spent $20,000 over the last year to install the 911 locators with a numbered locators along the Clear Fork and West Fork of the Trinity River. Mayor Price's husband, when asked the address of their emergency, told emergency operators exactly where he was next to one of the signs.
"WF 2210," Tom Price told a MedStar operator during the 911 call.
TRWD spokesman Chad Lorance says the signs did exactly what they were designed to do on Saturday.
"You may go long stretches without seeing bridges or anything else, so these signs help determine where you're at and in turn the 911 and fire departments know how to reach you if you're at a certain sign," Lorance said.
Mayor Price said the signs are an excellent investment.
But while she won't be on her bike for a while, her weekly rides will continue. She says she'll be at this Wednesday's ride at the T&P Tavern downtown to send the riders off, but not to participate. She does hope however that her accident will teach others about the value of safety.
"I want everybody to realize how crucial helmets are," Mayor Price said. "Mine did exactly what it was suppose to, absorb the majority of the impact."
The Mayor says her helmet will have to be replaced, but she might show it off to youngsters and others to stress the importance of wearing the protective head gear. She also said she may avoid hitting the gravel trail, or at least going that fast.
