Triathlete Kristy Gough competed in events around the world.
The deputy admitted fault, stating that he was driving north on Stevens Canyon, which is a popular route for recreational cyclists. He crossed the centerline and hit the cyclists who were riding south, reportedly single file in the bike lane. A 29 year old man died at the scene and a 30 year old woman died enroute to Stanford Medical Center.
Update: Video report on KTVU, which reports one death. The Mercury News and San Francisco Chronicle report two fatalities, and a third bicyclist critically injured. The Chronicle identified the deceased as Kristy Gough, 31, of Oakland and Matt Peterson, 29, of San Francisco.
More: Discussion at Slowtwitch.com. Post from a friend of Matt Peterson. Another friend of Matt Peterson. Word from a friend of Kristy. Notes from Amanda Lovato.
12 comments:
Shit.
If you can't trust law enforcement personnel to avoid cyclists, who can you trust? Geez!
In law we trust? Please provide the media links, thanks.
Jack
Charges? You can bet there'd be some if a distracted dub in a car crossed the centerline and killed a sheriff.
There is video of the crash site on www.ktvu.com.
The north bound police car crossed over the center line, then crossed through the south bound lane, then through the south bound bike lane, then crashed in to a hill on the far side of the road. This was a wide road with wide bike lanes on both sides of the road. The cyclists were reportedly riding single file in the south bound bike lane. The video shows broken bike parts scattered in the bike lane and sticking out from under the police car.
...what a horrific, tragic shame...healthy, purposeful folks out enjoying a beautiful spring day by sharing a bike ride...
...the cop allegedly stated at the scene that he had fallen asleep behind the wheel & it would seem to be born out by the fact that his crown vic did, as anon mentioned, go completely across the road, the bike lane & up unto the hillside, on the opposite side from his direction of travel...
...it looked by the photos of the car placement that there was no attempt to correct direction...
...i may be wrong but pure extrapolation says to me that by simply being distracted, the vehicle path would have been different...
...as bad as this is, hopefully electronic records will dispel the idea that he was simply on his phone or in-car computer...somehow that would make this even worse...
...whatever the facts, while they will be of little comfort to the victims family & friends, knowing might help clear the air to some degree...
...at this point, my heart goes out to everyone involved, including the negligent cop...he had to have the presence of mind to try & help the victims, knowing full well he created the situation...
...i know my feelings will change if it's proven he was operating any form of electronic devices at that crucial moment...
Anon8:22, thanks for the video link. I've also posted links to the stories in the Chron and Merc News that provide additional details.
Local riders are also talking about an accident on Skyline Blvd this afternoon near Woodside, CA.
If you ever want to kill somebody, wait until they are on a bike and run them down. There will be no charges filed against you. You can get off scott free! Cyclists have to start demanding that drivers who injure cyclists are punished. Until other drivers start to hear about drivers getting long sentences, this will continue.
If somebody had crossed 4 lanes of traffic and mowed down a mother with a baby in carriage, you can bet charges would have been filed. These cyclists deserve the same respect. Charges need to be filed whenever vehicle operators lose control of their vehicle and injure others.
My bet's on text messaging while driving. I see it all the time. It's a tragedy for everyone involved, though.
In regards to the accident on Skyline Blvd, Sunday afternoon. I was one of the first on the scene. It appeared that a car travelling north on Skyline took a left turn into Morse Lane and didn't see four cyclists traveling southbound on Skyline. One of them took a rebound off the hood and windshield of the car and ended up on the road. Road rash to the arm and maybe a factured plevis. I ended up holding his head still in case his neck was factured. Another rider took a concussion and was unconscious for a good 15 minutes or so. Though thankfully the rider regained consciousness and was able to sit up. Another rider appeared to hurt his hip. The rider on the road mentioned that he didn't expect to hit a parked car but no way with the amount of damage to the car. The car had to be travelling or the bicyclists were travelling at a fast clip.
Remember, there's no cell service on stretches of Skyline that complicates getting medical service in time. Luckily a couple motorcyclists came up and I sent them on to Alice's and the CDF station down the road to summon help. Also please don't wear green cycling jerseys like these guys. Its hard to differentiate between a cyclist and the forest when the cyclist is essentially wearing camouflage. Bright green just doesn't stand out as much as international orange.
Thanks for that info about Skyline, Anon5:06. I'll need to keep your tip about green jerseys in mind -- I have one and often ride in the Santa Cruz Mountains. If you read this is there a chance you can contact me?
There was another serious car vs. bike altercation this past weekend. My teammate was hit and run by a White truck or SUV around 6am. Friday on MacArthur just south of the Laurel district.
Note I said altercation...the driver fled the scene leaving my unconcious teammate lying in the gutter.
One note about the Merc's account...said the driver both applied CPR and called the accident in..neither are true according to eyewitness reports that I've read elsewhere.
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