A motorcyclist who was run over and left in an I-405 lane last month is sharing her story as Washington State Patrol searches for the two hit-and-run drivers.
KING COUNTY, Wash. — A 44-year-old motorcyclist from Sammamish who was run over and left in the HOV lane on Interstate 405 last month is speaking publicly for the first time, as Washington State Patrol continues to search for two drivers who never stopped.
Adrienne Calderon was riding her motorcycle to work around 5 a.m. on May 13 in the southbound HOV lane near Sunset Boulevard when she says a vehicle drifted into her lane. As she moved over to avoid it, her motorcycle hit standing water, sending her sliding into the barrier. Lying in the HOV lane and trying to get up, Calderon said a van then ran over her right leg, shattering her ankle.
“It was raining outside, so I geared up like I should have, got on my bike and was headed to work,” Calderon said. “Never did I think that would have been close to my last day.”
Calderon, who has about 20 years of riding experience, said she has had close calls before because drivers did not see her, but nothing like this and never a crash until now. She described looking down and seeing bone exposed in her leg before she began army crawling to get herself out of the lane to avoid being hit again.
“I kept saying out loud, ‘No, no, no, no, this can’t be happening,’” she recalled. “I still see headlights. I have to get myself out of this lane, people are still driving here and people don’t see me. Just in ‘save myself’ mode.”
Once she made it off the roadway, a driver finally stopped, called 911 and stayed with her until help arrived. Calderon described that person as “almost like a guardian angel,” saying the driver coached her through breathing and helped keep her calm at a moment when she thought she was going to die.
Troopers with Washington State Patrol are looking for the two drivers who did not stop after the crash, which they are investigating as a felony hit-and-run, a crime that can carry up to 10 years in prison or a $20,000 fine in Washington.
Calderon said the most painful part is knowing people chose to keep driving.
“The biggest thing for me is the people who chose not to stop,” she said. “Honestly, how do you continue to live with yourself? That could’ve been someone, and you continue to go on. That’s hard to sit with.”
Calderon, who works as a commercial truck driver, is expected to be off the job for several months while she recovers from her injuries. Her friends have set up an online fundraiser to help her during her recovery.
Anyone with information about the crash or the vehicles involved is asked to contact Washington State Patrol.
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