'She's lucky to be alive,' Merced police say of bicyclist caught underneath truck

A bicyclist suffered head injuries and road rash after she collided with a tanker truck in Merced, police said.

A woman was riding a bicycle at 5:40 p.m. Thursday, east across the East Childs Avenue bridge over Highway 99, when she lost control of her brakes and blew through a stop sign at the intersection with the Highway 99 exit, Merced Police Sgt. Eddie Drum said.

The bicyclist collided with a tanker truck that was turning left from the Highway 99 north off-ramp, Drum said. The driver of the truck stopped the vehicle and the woman was found underneath the back axles of the tanker trailer.

Their identities were not released Thursday.

The woman was flown to a Modesto area hospital for treatment of road rash and lacerations to the head, Drum said.

"She's lucky to be alive," Drum said.

Bystanders in the area said the collision was like nothing they've ever seen.

Marcus Tullis, an employee of Burger King, located across the street from the crash said he was alerted to the crash by a customer.

"And then that's when I come out ... and then all I seen was her laying on the floor and stuff so we rushed to the scene and tried to get help."

This story was originally published June 28, 2018 at 7:12 PM.