Cyclist struck at 11th & U

[brendan]

http://www.princeofpetworth.com/2012/02/cyclist-struck-at-11th-and-u-st-nw/

The thread comments from people who saw the accident scene afterwards indicate it was a rather severe incident.

Brendan

Topic

[off2ride]

I just saw that on News 7. They’re reporting that the cyclist will be okay. Be careful out there folks.

[baiskeli]

@KLizotte 15449 wrote:

Oh my god, the driver wasn’t even aware he’d hit someone!? How is that possible.

I’ve seen at least two cases of trucks doing that to small cars:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sz5Rmq8Lytc

http://www.cw56.com/news/articles/world/BO138425/

[baiskeli]

@KLizotte 15528 wrote:

I just want to choke the cyclists saying they routinely blow thru red lights though on the newscast.

Everyone who runs a red on purpose thinks it is safe to do it, or else they wouldn’t. That includes the ones who are hit. The moral of the story: sometimes you’re not safe even when you think you are.

[Tim Kelley]

@baiskeli 15542 wrote:

I’ve seen at least two cases of trucks doing that to small cars:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sz5Rmq8Lytc

http://www.cw56.com/news/articles/world/BO138425/

From London with a “Cycle Hire” bike: http://www.londoncyclist.co.uk/secure/want-to-cycle-safely-stop-focusing-on-high-vis/

[DaveK]

I don’t know what happened here but there’s a disturbing trend of MPD talking to the motor vehicle driver then ticketing the injured cyclist or pedestrian in the hospital, and never even getting their side of the story. Based on that, without a video I have about zero confidence in the ticket as a determination of fault. –

http://www.tbd.com/blogs/tbd-on-foot/2010/08/rollerblader-gets-hit-by-van-wakes-up-in-hospital-with-jaywalking-ticket-51.html

Quote:

She soon found a clue, in the form of a traffic ticket issued by the Metropolitan Police Department. The nurses told Wiseman it had arrived with her in the ambulance. She had been cited — while unconscious, as far as she knows — for crossing against a “don’t walk” signal, or jaywalking. The fine was $25.

http://dailycaller.com/2010/02/04/struck-down-feds-refuse-to-explain-how-agent-injured-daily-caller-writer/

Quote:

Indeed, Washington, D.C., police drove to a local emergency room to serve Medlock with a jaywalking citation as he lay prostrate in a hospital bed, while a man who identified himself as “special agent” stood by watching and taking notes.

[KLizotte]

@baiskeli 15543 wrote:

Everyone who runs a red on purpose thinks it is safe to do it, or else they wouldn’t. That includes the ones who are hit. The moral of the story: sometimes you’re not safe even when you think you are.

And even if it is safe, we’ve just lost an advocate for our cause (and gained a possible case of road rage in the future) if a driver sees a cyclist act so irresponsibly. This is one of the prime reasons why Mayor Bloomburg in NYC is having such a hard time getting support for his bike lane initiatives. Since most New Yorkers consider it too dangerous to bike, the people who do so are born risk-takers and act accordingly; therefore, most people associate *all* cyclists as law breakers.

[Arlingtonrider]

Exactly, with regard to both Baiskeli’s and KLizotte’s points.

[KLizotte]

Newport Coast woman pleads guilty in fatal crash
February 28, 2012 | 8:11 p.m.
http://www.dailypilot.com/news/tn-dpt-0229-miller-20120228,0,2756904.story

A Newport Coast woman who killed a cyclist while driving drunk and texting pleaded guilty Tuesday in Orange County Superior Court to one felony count of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.

Danae Marie Miller, 23, was sentenced to four years in state prison for killing Amine Britel of Newport Coast, according to a statement from the Orange County district attorney’s office.

Her driver’s license will also be revoked for three years for the Feb. 21, 2011 crash.

Miller drove her Volkswagen Jetta into the bike lane on San Joaquin Hills Road in the Spy Glass Road area and collided with Britel, who died at the scene. He was 41.

At the time of the accident, police said Miller was drinking at her workplace, Zinc Cafe & Market in Corona del Mar, before driving home that evening.

Court records show Miller had 15 traffic citations prior to the fatal crash that killed Britel.

Two hours after the crash, Miller had a blood alcohol content of about .10 — above the legal limit of .08, police said at the time.

Britel, who emigrated from Morocco, earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from UC Berkeley and an MBA from Harvard, according to a website created in his memory. He ran a travel agency in Newport Coast.

Britel was an avid sportsman, who at one time played soccer in France, competed in the 2002 and 2009 World Triathlon Championships, and was a member of the 4-by-400 relay team at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, according to the site.

[Riley Casey]

Herein lies the really galling element to this entire thread from my perspective. Do some thing stupid on a bike, as the original news report covered, and you might kill yourself. Do something stupid in a car and you not only get 15 more chances to keep doing it but you probably, eventually wind up killing someone else . I see a profound difference in the out come. I also see a profound difference in the perception of bikes versus cars that makes this both possible and unending unless there is a sea change in how the public is educated about transportation and personal responsibility. So I’m perfectly willing to countenance the suggestion that it’s just not as serious an issue that cyclists run red lights or flout other traffic laws as it is that cars do the same. Risk taking / stupidity on a bike is somewhat self regulating. In a VW Jetta or a Hummer less so.

@KLizotte 15554 wrote:

Newport Coast woman pleads guilty in fatal crash
February 28, 2012 | 8:11 p.m.
http://www.dailypilot.com/news/tn-dpt-0229-miller-20120228,0,2756904.story

A Newport Coast woman who killed a cyclist while driving drunk and texting pleaded guilty Tuesday in Orange County Superior Court to one felony count of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.

[Arlingtonrider]

I think we’d all agree with you on that point!

[JeffB]

Following the New 8 story last night on the cyclist was a story on the PG Councilwoman who was observed speeding 100 – 105 MPH along the beltway and rapidly changing lanes. A police car went into pursuit and so she left the beltway and blew through several lights before finally stopping. Police report that she was verbally abusive to them demanding did they realize “just who she was”.

I guess the officer finally did because he gave her the mildest ticket you could think of – improper lane change :mad:. So yes – very dangerous drivers are allowed to continue until they finally kill someone. It’s the American Way.

[Riley Casey]

Actually I think I was confabulating this thread with the Channel 7 running red lights thread in my ‘hot under the collar’ ness. No matter. Still bugs the living SH*T out of me to read things like “15 prior citations”. Where is the big red letter of shame when you really need it?

@Arlingtonrider 15560 wrote:

I think we’d all agree with you on that point!

[baiskeli]

@Tim Kelley 15544 wrote:

From London with a “Cycle Hire” bike: http://www.londoncyclist.co.uk/secure/want-to-cycle-safely-stop-focusing-on-high-vis/

Great post. Drivers should also understand the blind spot.

[arinkus]

Hi, I am a long-time friend of the cyclist who was struck, Shawn.

Shawn is doing well, considering what had happened. He was left with several broken bones, some nerve damage and a lot of scrapes. But luckily he is alive and there was no head trauma.

Since the incident there has been a massive outpouring of support from the friends and family who have known Shawn for years. He was an incredible member of his community — a homeowner in Columbia Heights and an employee at the American Legacy Foundation where he worked on anti-smoking campaigns for youth as part of the TRUTH campaign.

Shawn is also an alumni of American University and the Delta Chi fraternity there. Since the incident, fraternity alumni have set up a donation site and begun reaching out to everyone we know to help Shawn with his long road to recovery. We have seen an incredible level of support for him with 100+ donations and more than $2500 donated in the past 24 hours.

If you all could consider please helping him out on his long road to recovery we would really appreciate it.

Any amount — $5, $10, $20 — would be a huge help and a lift for Shawn’s spirits. You can access the donation’s page here:

https://www.wepay.com/donations/276178

Thank you very much.

Alex

[Terpfan]

@DaveK 15546 wrote:

I don’t know what happened here but there’s a disturbing trend of MPD talking to the motor vehicle driver then ticketing the injured cyclist or pedestrian in the hospital, and never even getting their side of the story. Based on that, without a video I have about zero confidence in the ticket as a determination of fault. –

http://www.tbd.com/blogs/tbd-on-foot/2010/08/rollerblader-gets-hit-by-van-wakes-up-in-hospital-with-jaywalking-ticket-51.html

http://dailycaller.com/2010/02/04/struck-down-feds-refuse-to-explain-how-agent-injured-daily-caller-writer/

I was thinking the same thing. Ever since I fought MPD to correctly classify assault rather than hit and run, I realized they tend to have a predetermined bias against cyclists. There are certainly some MPD officers who are cyclists themselves both on the job and off the job, who were quite helpful, but by and large they have a pretty aggressive attitude that prohibits them from doing their jobs effectively.

[Author]

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