A well-known Des Moines cancer doctor wasbadly injured in a bicycle crash over the weekend, but is now recovering at Mercy Medical Center.
Dr. Richard Deming, a radiation oncologist, was on a training ride with a group of cyclists Saturday riding between Altoona and Elkhart.
Mercy Medical Center Spokesman Gregg Lagan said the doctor described the ride as a straight line of cyclists with only a few inches of clearance between the back tire of one bicycle and the front tire of the next.
"One of the bicycles made contact with the rider in front of him," Lagan said. "Since you've only got an inch to 2inches ofclearance, it's tough to stop. So Dr. Deming ended up going down."
Saturday's accident left Deming with a concussion, six broken ribs, a broken shoulder blade, a broken collar bone, multiple abrasions and a punctured lung, Lagan said. The doctor also lost consciousness.