John injured while on bike tour in Southern Illinois

During one of his regular multimodal bike tours of the Midwest, John Greenfield was injured while bicycling and is currently in a hospital in Carbondale, Illinois. The crash happened around noon on Friday. Many details of the crash are unknown and we are withholding what may be known but unconfirmed while John’s family and attorney attempt to learn more.

Streetsblog Chicago readers are well aware that editor in chief and co-founder John Greenfield goes on a couple of multimodal bike tours in the Midwest every year, and 2023 is no different.

He rode Amtrak from Chicago to Carbondale on Thursday and started the bike tour on Friday morning, posting a photo of his bike in front of a house with two Egyptian gods statues.

John’s brother Dave informed me that John was in a medically-induced coma for most of Saturday as a precaution because of a possible head injury. Last night John’s doctor stopped administering the anesthesia. John is also opening his eyes and appears to be slowly awaking from the coma. The doctor is emphasizing we won’t know the extent of cognitive effects until he wakes, but there are many signs for optimism.

Update April 24, 11 AM: Dave said that John’s condition is steadily improving and that the doctors hope he will be off of the ventilator in the next few days. 

Also surrounding John are four Chicago friends.

Regular publishing on Streetsblog Chicago will be paused until further notice.

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

John transferring to Chicagoland rehab hospital this week

|
John Greenfield, who was injured while cycling near Carbondale, Illinois, has progressed in his recovery enough that he is transferring to a rehabilitation hospital in suburban Chicago on Thursday. The crash occurred on Friday, April 21, when an unsecured pipe hit John in the head. John was incapacitated, and upon arrival at at SIH Memorial […]

Today’s Headlines

|
City Puts Out New RFP for a Development Team to Manage the Riverwalk (RedEye) CTA Removed 10 Miles of Slow Zones in a 1-Month Period (Tattler) Amtrak Considers Expanding Chicago-to-Carbondale Service (Crain’s) 5th Person Dies Weeks After Semi Crash on I-55 in Suburban Elwood (ABC) Police Will Target Drunk Drivers in Pilsen This Weekend (DNA) […]

Today’s Headlines

|
IL Supreme Court Dismissed Class Action Lawsuit Against Red Light Cameras (DNA) State Legislators Say They’ve Reached a Deal on Regulating Ride-Share (Sun-Times) MPC Roundtable Discussed the CREATE Program to Address Rail Congestion LFT Crash Survivor Calls for Better Bike/Ped Separation on the Trail (Active Trans) Park District Plans to Hike Metered Parking Rates in […]