HILLSBORO, Ore. (AP) - To the disappointment of a cyclist, a jury has found that she shares the blame for a collision with a bus because she was in a crosswalk.
     
Kay Mattson, 49, sued the mass transit agency TriMet after her three-wheeled bike and a bus collided in May 2005.
     
She'd hoped for $85,000 to use for her medical bills. After a four-day trial, a jury awarded her $12,000.
     
Mattson testified she was pedaling home from her Hillsboro business, the Artfull Garden, when she stopped at an intersection and pressed the button for a walk signal. As she began to pedal across the street, the bus turned and hit her - although the driver wasn't aware of it and drove off.
     
TriMet attorney Jana Toran said Hillsboro bans cyclists from riding on sidewalks in that section of town, and a crosswalk is an extension of the sidewalk.
     
She also said Mattson rode into the bus and was partially responsible because she didn't look for the bus before crossing.
     
"You can't ride blindly," Toran said.
     
Mattson said the accident scraped skin off her forearm, wrenched her shoulder and neck, and caused pain that shoots down her right leg.
     
She said her medical bills are accumulating, and she probably will need treatment for the rest of her life. She takes painkillers daily. Toran argued that Mattson's pain was caused by pre-existing injuries.
     
Mattson said that having twice been grazed by cars when riding in the streets, she said she thought her strategy would be safer.
     
"It just doesn't seem right," she said after the verdict. "I was in a crosswalk."
     
Mattson said she can no longer drive.
     
"I ride the bus," she said. "It's kind of ironic."
     
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)