Woman, hit while cycling, now at home

While riding her bike home on August 15th, Loretta Madsen of Grants was hit by a car on the corner of High and Nimitz Streets. The accident left her with a broken pelvis and a lot of pain but she says "I'm very glad to be alive." — © 2008 Gallup Independent / Brian Leddy

Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Jim Tiffin
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — Loretta Madsen, who was struck by an errant driver while riding her bicycle one night in August, has returned home with a repaired fractured pelvis.

Madsen, who turned 45 in the hospital, said she was extremely depressed and crying most of the time, especially on her birthday.

“The nurses told me it was OK to cry,” she said, “which helped some, but not much.”

Madsen is now walking, slowly and timidly, with the use of a walker, and has a lengthy brace on her left leg where most of the muscles were damaged when she was thrown more than 10 feet off her bicycle when struck by the car, she said.

She said the prayers and support from her family and friends have helped her become less depressed and is feeling a little better physically, but still has to take pain medication around the clock.

“I don’t know when I might ever be able to go back to work,” she said. She has been a cook at McDonald’s in Grants for some time.

“They told me they are holding my job open for me when I can return.”

Madsen also said she will probably never ride a bicycle again, she is too afraid.

“If I do, it will not be on the roads and definitely not at night,” she said.

Her father, Robert Martinez, said the family was shocked when the accident occurred.

“We are coping, it’s getting a little better now that she is home,” he said.

The accident
On Aug. 15 William Campbell, 32, of 217 Harrison St., struck Madsen while driving a Jeep Cherokee at the corner of Nimitz and High streets, Grants Police Detective Sgt. John Castaneda said.

Campbell is charged with one felony count in connection with leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in great bodily harm, Castaneda said.

Madsen she was thrown about 10 feet from the bicycle she was riding home to meet a friend after visiting her mother earlier that night.

“He didn’t have any lights on his car and was driving on the wrong side of the road ... ” she said.

She underwent more than seven hours of surgery recently, with orthopedic surgeons at University of New Mexico Medical Center in Albuquerque, where at least one plate and several screws were used to repair her fractured pelvis.

Grand jury
According to the New Mexico Judicial Web site, the case was continued from an Aug. 26 preliminary hearing in Cibola County Magistrate Court.

A new preliminary hearing for Oct. 14 has been set, however a motion to bind the case over to 13th Judicial District grand jury in Grants was made and the case will most likely not be heard in Magistrate Court.

Police arrested Campbell at his residence and smelled alcohol on his breath, according to Magistrate Court records.
Police also observed, in a report filed in court, that Campbell was not able to stand very well.

The hood of Campbell’s Jeep, which was parked in the front yard, not the driveway, was damaged, court records state.

Campbell faces up to a maximum of 18 months in state prison, a fine of $5,000 or both, if he is prosecuted and convicted of the felony.

To contact reporter Jim Tiffin call (505) 285-4560 or e-mail: jtiffin.independent@yahoo.com.