[media-credit name=’BRYAN FAUST/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]Mills Street residents were alarmed late Sunday evening by the sound of screeching tires when a car hit a man riding his bike near the intersection of Mills and Spring streets. After being hit by the first vehicle, the victim was thrown into the opposing lane and run over by another car.

The condition of the 19- to 22-year-old victim was unknown as of press time.

According to witnesses, the victim attempted to cross Mills Street, heading east on a city bike path.

"We were in our apartment. … We saw a male had been hit by a car coming from the north, and then he was lying in this other (opposite) lane," said UW sophomore Kelley Redding, who, along with others, called 911. "He must have flown into the other lane, and he was motionless."

Seconds later, he was run over by a red vehicle driven by an elderly woman heading north, who dragged the victim roughly 40 yards before onlookers were able to signal the driver to stop the car.

Witnesses said the rider was wearing all black and was difficult to see.

Nonetheless, Madison police and fire officers were praised for their rapid response. Madison police officer Laura Walker said eight squad cars responded immediately after receiving a call at 8:45 p.m.

The victim did not yield to a yield sign in the bike path, Walker added.

"It's fairly clear. … There is a yield sign there, and anyone who's taken any sort of drivers' course or bicycle-safety course would know that when you're entering into another roadway, you're the one required to yield," Walker said. "There is a yield sign there and the bike did not yield."

In fact, Walker, who responded to another bike accident earlier Sunday, said bike accidents in Madison were relatively common.

"[They occur] quite a bit. Nothing this horrific or this bad, but quite a bit," Walker said. "Madison is a college town and there's a lot of people on bikes — an exorbitant amount of people on bikes. You have cars on the road. Sometimes they collide."

However, Redding said both drivers and cyclists had to be more alert of each other.

"It didn't look like he had any kinds of lights on his bike or anything," Redding said. "As a driver, you have to watch out for bikes especially. Bikes are fast moving. … People just don't pay attention to the bikers."