A top Democrat in the Colorado Senate suffered a head injury Tuesday in a bike crash.
Assistant Senate Majority Leader Faith Winter underwent surgery to relieve pressure on her brain, according to a statement released Wednesday on the Westminster Democrat’s account on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“She is now resting and recovering with a good prognosis,” the statement, drafted by friends and family, said.
Winter was riding her bike to the Capitol when she crashed into a curb while trying to “avoid being hit by a large truck,” the statement said. Winter was wearing a helmet.
“We can’t express enough gratitude to her incredible care team and the hospital staff at UC Health,” the statement said.
Winter, an advocate for multimodal and clean transportation, was elected assistant Senate majority leader earlier this month. She is in her second, and final, four-year term as a senator.
“The entire Senate Majority Caucus is sending lots of love to Sen. Winter and her family during this scary time, and we’re all praying for a fast and full recovery for our friend,” Senate President Steve Fenberg, a Boulder Democrat, said in a statement. “Knowing Sen. Winter, she’ll be back up on her feet in no time, and we look forward to working alongside her to move Colorado forward once she has recovered.”
Winter had an unrelated health scare last year.
She wrote in a Colorado Sun opinion piece that she fainted while boarding a plane and was found to have abnormal blood pressure and an irregular heartbeat. She was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease which she said “led to the development of pulmonary hypertension and put incredible stress on my heart.”