H1449-6

A guy I worked with was killed yesterday in a hit and run accident involving an SUV or pickup truck and his bike. He was 25 +/-. I didn't know him well but I do know that he was a nice guy and a very skilled coder.

Couldn't find any further details online, but should emerge in a few days, I would imagine.

Our CEO (I work for a small company) did a nice eulogy for him at work this AM.

Mauriceloridans

When you get details, please share. I'd like to think the cycling community would be concerned if I were taken down by a hit and run.

10 Wheels

Google his name.

walnutz

Here is a link: https://www.statesman.com/blogs/conte...hitandrun.html
Terrible news.

I don't understand how you can be so distracted that you hit someone and then either drive off knowingly or unknowingly.

10 Wheels

Thanks

ladyraestewart

The bulk of hit & run accidents when the Defendant is in custody after turning themselves usually fess up with "I was scared and didn't know what to do so I ran." Those who get caught because they are tracked down tend to say things like "I didn't know I hit someone/something" and more times than it should it later is learned they had been drinking, no license, or had outstanding warrants.

ladyraestewart

Unfortunately too, considering the traffic on this street, this young man was probably using his bike to commute. People tend to not ride Lamar for any other reason. How very sad this happened.

Mauriceloridans

More about the victim: https://austinontwowheels.org/2011/04...783a76ee61%2C0

exile

When people you know or acquainted with die senselessly it really hits home. I hope they find the guy who did it.

Digital_Cowboy

I'm sorry for your loss. I hope that as others have said that the driver turns themself in. Sadly, though as has been said it'll probably turn out that driver was stoned, high, drunk and/or didn't have a license or had a suspended license at the time of the crash or had one or more warrant out for their arrest. Any or all of which induced them to run after hitting your co-worker.

How is his family doing?

Hopefully the police will keep on this and that the justice system will harsh with him or her when they're caught.

rensselaer80

kvue ran a story last night:

https://www.kvue.com/news/local/Ghost...120748504.html

Chris516

They took the story off-line.

dougmc

Memorial ride tomorrow ...

https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=181095808607787

Andrew Runciman was killed by a hit and run driver last weekend while riding home on his bicycle.

Please join us on Saturday to honor and remember him.

We will be starting at the Pfluger foot bridge in downtown Austin at 6:30 PM, and at 7 we'll ride to the dedication site (3508 S Lamar - right in front of Red's Porch). We will be putting up a ghost bike in his memory, and riding back up Lamar to the bridge around 8.

In memory of Andrew, bring a glowstick or glow bracelet and we'll wear them on the ride. Also, since we'll be riding at dusk, please be safe and equip your ride with the proper lighting.

Come out to remember the amazing person that Andrew was, and to help raise awareness and promote safety and coexistence of cyclists and motorists.

musikguy

Dang, I am so sorry to hear about this.
I'll be there tomorrow evening with a glowstick tied around my neck.

Just when I start to think that this is a really safe city to bike in...

Hippiebrian

I'm sorry for the loss, and send my best to the man's family and loved ones.

I have to say, Austin (and most cities, believe it or not) is a safe place to ride still. I wonder if anyone ever said, after a motorist death "Just when I start to think this is really a safe city to drive in...". It doesn't happen that way. Unfortunately, here in America, when a cyclist gets killed by an automobile, we worry how safe bicycles are instead of lamenting on how dangerous automobiles are. It's years of training by the auto industry and the oil industry. Reality is that, although tragic things like this happen, cycling is still the safest mode of personal transp[ortation, and everyone who gets in a car every morning is statistically taking a much higher risk than I am.

Once again, I send thoughts to the universe for the loved ones of this man, and if you are one of them, my deepest sympathies.

H1449-6

Ghost bike placed today. I am NOT the guy in the middle of the pic scratching himself.

dougmc

Only if you're really creative in how you calculate this (such as assuming that cyclist are fit and drivers are not, and including health benefits).

For example, in Austin, in 2010 4% of the traffic fatalities were cyclists but in general when they come up with figures of how many people are biking rather than driving, the figures they come up with are in the neighborhood of 1%.

For 2009, cyclists were 2% of the fatalities.

2008, 2% again.

(they don't seem to have this report for 2007 or earlier.)

This isn't precise enough data to say that "cycling is more dangerous (likely to kill you) than driving in Austin" (after all, we usually only one or or two die each year, so one death will totally change the figure for a year), but it certainly throws a monkey wrench in anything regarding "a much higher risk" for driving.

Looking at nation-wide data, about 40,000 people die in traffic related collisions each year, and around 700 of those are cyclists -- a bit under 2%. Deaths are easy to count, but biking trips/miles/hours/etc are not -- but unless whatever figure you look at has biking more than 1% of what cars do nationwide -- biking is more likely to kill you than driving.

Hippiebrian

I don't buy that biking is more dangerous, statistics can be bent to whatever someone is trying to prove at any given moment. If you look at the 700 vs. 40,000 numbers and compare them with the per centage of bike trips vs. car trips in the U.S., they come out almost equal, which would make both equally dangerous. If it really is that dangerous to bike in Austin, maybe people shouldn't do it. I believe, however, with the greatly improved infrastructure you have there (Long Beach is catching up, thanks!) that cycling there is safer than it is in most cities, and cycling is pretty safe in most cities to begin with. Just sayin', and please, I mean no disrespect to the tradegy that happened, but do want to mention that the reason this is news is not becarse of the frequency of bicycle deaths but because it is outside the norm, and doesn't happen often.

dougmc

That wasn't my argument, though perhaps my wording was a bit odd. (The post I was commenting on said that biking was less dangerous, that drivers are "taking a much higher risk" than he is, and I don't think the statistics really support that.)

Actually, I covered that.

40,000, 700 ... these figures are well known and likely quite accurate. When somebody dies, it's counted.

Number of bicycle miles/hours/trips and car miles/hours/trips figures are much harder to come by. But whatever method you choose to use, be it miles/hours/trips/whatever, if the ratio between doing it via bicycle and doing it via car is over 1.75%, then biking is less dangerous. If it's lower, it's more dangerous. That's what I said in my post.

Of course, this also assumes that "danger" only means killing you. If you include being hurt or maimed, things change, but unfortunately these things aren't tracked nearly as well as deaths.

As for Austin being more dangerous than other places, well, it seems that historically about 2.5% of traffic fatalities here are cyclists. That's higher than the 1.75% figure, but this is also a college town with a lot of cyclists -- we probably have more cycling going on here than average. But still, the miles/hours/trips/whatever figures are hard to accurately come by.

Hippiebrian

I think you are making a good point in a different way. The real numbers that are hard to come by are the millions of miles cycled in which nothing at all happens. No injuries, no deaths, just a good time had by all. I think this covers a high enough per centage (obviously this is just an opinion, as I have no numbers) to render considering bicycling a pretty mundane and safe activity which, when you add in the positive health aspects which could put a dent in the obesity related illnesses in this country, should be emphasized instead of the potential for injury which is comparatively miniscule.

I guess I'm trying to say we need to let the public know that cycling is safer than they think it is and not necessarily emphasize the relatively tiny risk.