Woman injured riding bike wants to thank stranger who helped her

RIVERVIEW - A woman out for a bike ride is recovering after getting injured hitting a pothole.

Now wincing in pain and looking down at her bruised arm, 62-year-old Maureen Bokatzian never got to thank the stranger who helped her, after being thrown from her bike.

Bokatzian was thrown from her bike in Riverview two and a half weeks ago after hitting a pothole.

"I opened my eyes and I thought I've got to get out of the street before someone is going to run me over," she said. "He was nice enough to notice that something was wrong and decided to lend a helping hand."

On Sept. 12th, Bokatzian, who is a fitness instructor and avid bicyclist, says she was riding along Jefferson near Sibley when she hit two large potholes.

"When I saw the pothole coming I couldn't react fast enough," she said. "It came up on me and it just twisted my bike."

She was thrown over her handlebars and landed on her side, breaking her arm. Bokatzian says she was lying in the middle of the street when a Wayne County worker stopped to help.

"He looked at me and said 'Are you okay?'" she said. "I said no I'm not. He got off the tractor and came over."

Helping Bokatzian up and getting her an ice pack, she says they both realized just how bad she was hurt.

"I was just so stunned, I knew I broke something," she said. "I just went down so hard."

Bokatzian says since the accident with medical bills and lost wages, she's lost nearly $8,000.

Now pursuing legal action, Bokatzian, looks at the potholes which are now filled and says she's lucky her injuries weren't worse.

"It's a minefield out there on the roads," she said. "It's just horrible."

"This is such an enormous problem not just for drivers, even for pedestrians."

While Wayne County officials say they are looking into the matter, Bokatzian has a message for that supportive stranger.

"I just think he was my hero that day," she said. "I would like to personally say thank you to him."