Mattie Daughtry, a two-term Democratic state representative from Brunswick, was riding her bicycle with a friend around town last Friday afternoon. It was a beautiful spring day and they talked about how it might be cool if Daughtry biked every street to meet voters during her re-election campaign.

Minutes later, Daughtry collided with a car on Federal Street near the former Hawthorne Elementary School. She tumbled over the hood of the car and landed on the ground.

Mattie Daughtry

Mattie Daughtry

 

“I guess you could call that ironic, in the Alanis Morissette sense,” Daughtry, 29, said Thursday by telephone, referring to the 1995 pop song.

Daughtry, who was wearing a helmet, declined to talk about her injuries but described them as “serious.” She is using crutches to get around and doesn’t know when she’ll be able to get back on her bicycle.

She said she’s more interested in using the experience to remind people to be aware of their surroundings while on the road.

Advertisement

“Brunswick is a very bicycle-friendly town but I think people aren’t always aware that people are using the roadways in a variety of ways,” she said.

According to Brunswick Police Cmdr. Marc Hagen, the man who struck Daughtry was Gary Babine, 71, of Brunswick. He was issued a summons on a charge of failing to yield at a stop sign.

Daughtry said Babine was “incredibly apologetic” after the accident.

“But it doesn’t change the fact that you really need to be watching,” she said. “This could have been someone else or it could have been much worse.”

Hagen agreed and said Brunswick is a town with a lot of bicycle enthusiasts.

Less than two months ago, Joseph Lamothe, a 34-year-old man from Lisbon, was struck and killed by a pickup truck while riding his bicycle on Route 196 in Lisbon.

Daughtry said bicycling has always had a special place in her heart. Many years ago, her father embarked on a cross-country bicycle trip from Brunswick to Mexico. He only made it as far as Beaufort, North Carolina. That’s where he met Daughtry’s mother.

Daughtry said she will still campaign about bicycle and pedestrian safety, even if she can’t ride her bike through her district.

 


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.