Brian Ratliff

...being that the cyclist hit was CEO of InFocus down in Wilsonville. The article says that cops are still trying to find the guy who knocked him off his bike.

https://www.localnewsdaily.com/news/s...08459415721900

donnamb 

I wondered the same thing. On the other hand, the motorist was witnessed deliberately hitting the cyclist, that difference in intent from the other collisions could be why the police seem more interested. Then again, I'm sure the witnesses are also well-connected. Would the police have taken more plebian witnesses as seriously? Probably not. Yeah, Brian, I think he is getting special preference.

I suppose I'm glad it happened to someone so "important", if it had to happen at all. Anyone else and I think it would have been blown off in the same grand tradition as all the recent deaths.

randya

The flip side of the coin is that the motorist involved in the recent Beaverton death of Mike Wilberding is a scion of the influential Hessel clan.

https://lcb.uoregon.edu/honors/details.php?id=90

Brian Ratliff

It probably helps that George Hincapie was in the same group. If I were to critcize the organizers of the MS 150, I'd merely ask that they post more signage along the route indicating specifically that there will be very many more cyclists on the road than normal. There was only one I saw, at the intersection of 210 with 219, and it merely said that there was a cycling event taking place that day. I was doing some errands that took me along that route, and there were tons of cyclists. It was an awesome sight. But it made driving down the two lane rural roads a bit more difficult, or rather, require more patience. I'm sure some of the locals would have appreciated the heads up.

I should say that I commute from work to home along the same road that this incident happened. I've certainly seen some agression on the road. It is narrow, but the uphill section is perfectly straight and people try to blow through there at 60+ mph (that's passing speed. they have to slow from 75 mph).

UmneyDurak

They mentioned this on an article:
So I guess there is some evidence that it was intentional. Although I still think case will get special preference. No way around it, the guy is rich and has more connections. Thats just how the world works.

KnhoJ

I think the police are too understaffed to take on anything less than immediately witnessed in progress crime, unless it's a special project to focus on witnessing specific in progress crime for a day or two. If the evidence doesn't fall right in the police's lap, it's too much work to go out and investigate. It's up to the victim to do the work after an incident like this one. Wealthy victims have the advantage; legal help on call to kick a police officer into action.

donnamb 

Yep, and this wealthy, politically influencial cyclist is most likely going to walk away from this thinking the "system" responded adequately to what happened to him, while the rest of us (here in Portland at least) are told they won't bother to investigate unless you suffer a class 1 traumatic injury. If he is the kind of person who might lend some advocacy assistance to the community, what about his experience is going to make him think there is something wrong with the "system" as it relates to cyclists?

unkchunk

Hey, maybe this cyclists having an adversarial relationship with the cops isn't so cool after all.

oscaregg

Maybe a cycing organization should take up a collection for a
"bounty," paid to anyone in the Northwest who can turn Bill Gates, Paul Allen, or Phillip Knight into a cyclist. This thread proves the value of having socially prominent economic fat cats on bikes.

Brian Ratliff

I wonder if John Kerry or Robbin Williams (they are both road cyclists) have every been hit by a car on a ride?

trackhub

Is that like the Kennedy's of MA?

webist

Of course he gets special attention. He's getting special attention right here in ths forum. Should he become a cause celebre' regarding safe cycling, I'm all for it. Did not Lance and Michael Fox get special attention for their diseases? Special attention can be a good thing.

oboeguy

WTF, big group ride and nobody got a plate number? That's ridiculous.

Brian Ratliff

Not badly said. Perhaps people read contempt into the title of this thread. I don't intend it. My point is that maybe the police are unduly influence. I have no wish to blame the well connected for being who they are. It is the government which is charged with the responsibility of treating everyone equally. It is not the CEO's responsibility to lower the standard of his or her defense to that which the janitor can afford.

In this case, I do hope that the guy makes some hay about this. Perhaps it will teach some people about the seriousness of "brushing" a cyclist off the road (or even threatening to). I think that sometimes people locked in their cars think that the cyclists they pass with too little clearance or even hit are some sort of cartoon or Buffy the Vampire Slayer like character who, when smashed into the ground going 20 mph, will immediately jump up with hardly a scratch and continue the riding. No, actually, it hurts a lot to hit the ground...

LittleBigMan

As bad as this was, the good side is that it can only bring sympathy towards cyclists.