County Circuit Clerk Von Nida recovering after bike ‘face-plant’ | Belleville News-Democrat

Madison County Circuit Clerk Mark Von Nida is recuperating from a bike crash that left him with a mild concussion, a sprained wrist, a black eye and a shredded sport coat.

Von Nida said he was riding his bike home from work Tuesday — downhill on an Edwardsville street — when he realized he needed to stop for traffic ahead. He clamped down on the front brake, instead of both the front and back brakes.

“The front brake grabbing and sliding in the gravel took me over the handlebars, and I face-planted in the concrete,” Von Nida said Thursday from his home, where he’s recovering for a couple of days before returning to work.

“It was a fairly bad accident, but I came out pretty lucky,” he said. “I ended up going to the emergency room and getting a CT scan. There’s no brain-bleed and I didn’t break any bones.”

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He said he’s suffering some “pretty bad headaches” due to a mild concussion, and has “bumps and bruises all over the place.” His left wrist was sprained.

Von Nida said one of his mistakes — aside from applying only the front brake — was not wearing a helmet. He said he had opted not to wear a helmet, partly out of fear it “would look dorky” with his dress pants and sport coat.

“I guess the message is, ‘Kids, wear your helmet,’” Von Nida said.

He said his pants and sport coat are ruined. He hopes that his shirt, though bloodied, can be salvaged.

“Oxyclean,” he said.