Advocacy & Safety - Boy, 7, Killed When Bicycle Is Hit By Pickup

This accident occurred on a bike path, where the path crosses a road. The crossing has a "railroad track" style pedestrian crossing. I looked it up on Google maps, which now has "street view". I can't believe some of the comments. The crossing is not a blind curve, it has at least 800 to 1000 feet line of sight.

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/dec/26/262026/2-dead-separate-hillsborough-wrecks/#comments

Quote:
"A 7-year-old bicyclist was killed this afternoon when he was hit by a pickup while riding on a bike trail that crosses U.S. Highway 301 north of Stacy Road, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Rohan A. Berringer of Zephyrhills was riding with two other bicyclists – his mother and sister –when he rode into the path of a 2002 Ford F-150 about 2:11 p.m., according to investigators. The truck, driven by George D. Thomas, 79, of Thonotosassa, hit the boy, who died at the scene.
Neither Thomas nor his passenger, Mary J. Thomas, 75, also of Thonotosassa, was hurt.
The road was closed for more than two hours as the crash was being investigated.
The incident remains under investigation."

I see some people still believe everything is an "accident". Nice site there. Kenny seems to be popular, several people want to meet him in person. A pedestrian crosswalk on a US Highway does sound like a lass than adequate design. The speed limit there might be fairly fast. That might be a good spot for a pedestrian/bicycle bridge.

Great place to let a 7 y/o cross a highway. NOT

10 Wheels: Who is Ryan and what happened to him?

not many people get ran down during the chrismas season the roads is so icey and whatnot not many people are out biking lol, course he was ran down in florda. the little boy was not lucky. the old mans gone have alot of greef to live with. is that red truck the one that hit him? i guessing the mother is rich now

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Highway+301,+Tampa&sll=28.352583,-82.681732&sspn=0.04449,0.090981&ie=UTF8&ll=28.079615,-82.283499&spn=0.001392,0.007725&t=h&z=18&layer=c&cbll=28.079615,-82.283501&panoid=HCjr_iLwVij1HiWgpXleDA&cbp=11,90.08823962955387,,0,-2.1786384414969975
This already provides an interesting perspective. Sun blindness at 2pm could be quite a possibility this late in the season.


Anyway, I don't see this as any real design issues, when people mix things happen, it's sad, but you can't prevent them all, as I see it, you got a decent amount of visibility both ways, as far as sober adults go, this is a trustworthy option for transportation.


I see some people still believe everything is an "accident". Nice site there. Kenny seems to be popular, several people want to meet him in person. A pedestrian crosswalk on a US Highway does sound like a lass than adequate design. The speed limit there might be fairly fast. That might be a good spot for a pedestrian/bicycle bridge.
Yeah the kid made an error on purpose, it wasn't an accident, right?

<troll mode>


This accident occurred on a bike path, where the path crosses a road. The crossing has a "railroad track" style pedestrian crossing. I looked it up on Google maps, which now has "street view". I can't believe some of the comments. The crossing is not a blind curve, it has at least 800 to 1000 feet line of sight.


Lrn2Read, some comments were pointing out reports of other crossings.

</troll mode>

I really don't think the driver was out to run some child over that was out on a bike, nor do I think the mother didn't care what her 7 year old was doing. The mother was on a trail with her children for goodness sake. Maybe a barrier across the MUP at the road that would cause someone to stop before entering the highway... who knows. A truly tragic incident. I don't think anyone involved wanted this to happen. A hard look at the design might be in order from the photo.

i guessing the mother is rich now

You cannot be serious. The mother lost a child - no amount of money will compensate for that loss.

Caruso

Thanks for the Google link, StrangeWill.

If you "look around" with street view, it looks like there is a stop sign for the bike trail, in both directions, which was my main concern. The sight lines appear okay. To elaborate on Dchiefransom's point, perhaps the design is lacking in that motor traffic speed may be too high to give adequate reaction time and stopping distance to activity on the crosswalk, especially combined with the slow speed at which kids may be crossing the road (comparable to a pedestrian, but without a pedestrian's maneuverability). Of course this is probably not significantly different than many such crossings all over the country. The question is, is it an acceptable level of risk?

Condolences to all, of course.

I presume and hope there is a stop sign and/or a "cross traffic does not stop" sign on the trail. An unmetered crosswalk can provide a false sense of security to those using it. I presume the speed limit is 50 or 55mph and that is unrealistic to try to lower it, but I would like to know more about typical traffic volumes.

alls im saying is shes gone be rich. its reel bad her son passed away an nothings gone replace but i know how lawyers are.
i just hope they put that gap toothed bugger that hit him behind bars for a long time. he lived his life already an now he killed a child

[QUOTE=StrangeWill;8086329


Yeah the kid made an error on purpose, it wasn't an accident, right?

[/QUOTE]

Actually, I was pointing out that people will defend the driver, no matter what the conditions are. In my lifetime I've listened to quite a large number of people state that even if they had plenty of time to stop, they'd just keep on going because they have the right of way. They sometimes laugh when they say it. That's why I don't ascribe to the "he'll have to live with it" line of thought.

not many people get ran down during the chrismas season the roads is so icey and whatnot not many people are out biking lol, course he was ran down in florda. the little boy was not lucky. the old mans gone have alot of greef to live with. is that red truck the one that hit him? i guessing the mother is rich now

What an offensive post.


alls im saying is shes gone be rich. its reel bad her son passed away an nothings gone replace but i know how lawyers are.
i just hope they put that gap toothed bugger that hit him behind bars for a long time. he lived his life already an now he killed a child

As if your previous vulgarity wasn't enough!

-Kurt

Up Date:
The boy was 20 feet behind his Mom and sister trying to catch up with them.

http://www.tbo.com/video/xml/MGBG16KP7PF.html

Up Date:
The boy was 20 feet behind his Mom and sister trying to catch up with them.

I've seen that too often. You would think that people believe that so long as the child is behind them, no harm will ever befall said child. Nonsense.

-Kurt

alls im saying is shes gone be rich. its reel bad her son passed away an nothings gone replace but i know how lawyers are.
i just hope they put that gap toothed bugger that hit him behind bars for a long time. he lived his life already an now he killed a child

You are an idiot. And I'm not just basing this on your lack of capitalization, bad grammar, and horrific spelling. No, I'm addressing your ability to pass judgement on a situation in which you do not have a full grasp of all the details.

They should put the driver in jail for what exactly? How much money makes you "rich" btw?

I do so hope that you are a 12 year old, to think that an adult "thinks" in this way just makes me sad.

alls im saying is shes gone be rich. its reel bad her son passed away an nothings gone replace but i know how lawyers are.
i just hope they put that gap toothed bugger that hit him behind bars for a long time. he lived his life already an now he killed a child

Your post demonstrates not only insensitivity but also shows a profound ignorance of how the American legal system works.

On our local trail there are flashing yellow lights and a road sign that says SLOW at the major road crossings.

There are also gates before the road that make you slow way down before you cross.

The crossing is a traffic design problem, and should not exist in its current state. Take a look at this link with the motorist traveling southwest.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Highway+301,+Tampa&sll=28.352583,-82.681732&sspn=0.04449,0.090981&ie=UTF8&t=h&layer=c&cbll=28.079801,-82.281883&panoid=S1vf-h8Qp48W9SyAhwgopw&cbp=11,280.9330757222268,,0,5&ll=28.079758,-82.2825&spn=0.000438,0.001711&z=20

Add some glare from the sun, and there will be more injuries/deaths in the future.

The warning sign also only indicates motorist should be watching for horseback riders. No indication that cyclist may be present.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Highway+301,+Tampa&sll=28.352583,-82.681732&sspn=0.04449,0.090981&ie=UTF8&t=h&layer=c&cbll=28.079644,-82.28308&panoid=59HiEDqY8GVrH-2gm2U2Cw&cbp=11,334.677213945425,,0,5&ll=28.079655,-82.282912&spn=0.000438,0.001711&z=20

Couple of issues here. The mother should have stopped and waited at the crossing... she should have had the judgment to evaluate the intersection as a problem.

Second... there should be warning and slowing in that area of the crossing. Perhaps a signalized crossing or something. An unaided crosswalk on a 50MPH road is a bit outlandish.

Second... there should be warning and slowing in that area of the crossing. Perhaps a signalized crossing or something. An unaided crosswalk on a 50MPH road is a bit outlandish.

Especially with Warning Signs of Horses Crossing.

Actually, the speed limit on this highway is 55 MPH.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Highway+301,+Tampa&sll=28.352583,-82.681732&sspn=0.04449,0.090981&ie=UTF8&t=h&layer=c&cbll=28.085355,-82.272376&panoid=0Me707zqlRah5N0IeGGE0Q&cbp=11,248.4295591356668,,1,-1.2059765316780686&ll=28.084674,-82.272658&spn=0.001751,0.006845&z=18

Couple of issues here. The mother should have stopped and waited at the crossing... she should have had the judgment to evaluate the intersection as a problem.

Second... there should be warning and slowing in that area of the crossing. Perhaps a signalized crossing or something. An unaided crosswalk on a 50MPH road is a bit outlandish.

I looked further down US301 on Google maps streetview, and the speed limit is 55MPH.
It's a poor design, as there are no warning signs to let drivers know the crossing is ahead. The signs are equestrian signs, and are located right-at the crossing.

The bike path does have STOP signs, where the bikes are supposed to stop.

That the driver and passenger were not hurt...:D

Condolences to the parents

Oops got cut off

Glad to see....that the drivers were not hurt:D

I looked further down US301 on Google maps streetview, and the speed limit is 55MPH.
It's a poor design, as there are no warning signs to let drivers know the crossing is ahead. The signs are equestrian signs, and are located right-at the crossing.

The bike path does have STOP signs, where the bikes are supposed to stop.

None of that probably would have mattered, most likely the kid darted while trying to catch up, you know the whole "kid following a ball into the middle of the street" type of deal.

Let's see...

Sun blindness? Possibly, but this is Florida at 2 in the afternoon, and the sun isn't going to be terribly low in the sky even though it's December.

The boy was hustling after his mom and forgot to look? Very likely.

55 (plus) mph on that road? In either direction, even if a trail user stops and looks, there isn't much time between seeing a car and getting across quickly enough. 800-1000', as estimated earlier, isn't very far, time-wise, at highway speeds. I've spent enough summer days at the dragstrip watching not-so-fast street cars (and driving my own slow one) to realize how quickly such a distance can be covered.

Figure at most 12 seconds (1000' at 55 mph) to less than 8 seconds (800' at 65 mph) from seeing an oncoming car -- or a car seeing the trail crossing -- and the moment the car arrives at the crossing. Also figure how long it takes to look left, look right, look left again, and decide that it seems to be clear enough to cross. Then add some time for either starting to pedal across or to start pushing the bike while dismounted. Add a couple more seconds to cross the shoulder, and remember that you'll have to cross all three lanes at this crossing. Those eight seconds are looking pretty short, aren't they?

The mom should have waited for a better gap. The boy should have waited for the truck to pass (at least). The 79-year-old pickup driver should have seen the whole family and wagered that the boy would chase after his mom. Maybe the trail should cross at the Stacy Rd. intersection where it could be safer (that's where drivers are expecting cross traffic more often).

Too many "shouldas" in this one. I'd say it was bound to happen sometime.

You're right about the "shouldas".

I would be leery about crossing that one. We have several crossing on the Little Miami bike trail here and, for the most part, drivers are watching out for the intersections (locals mainly). Bikers have to watch out too though. There is a marker at one of them, but that biker didn't stop.

Glad to see....that the drivers were not hurt:D

A big grinning smiley does not apply here. Just because one party was not injured does not erase the tragedy of the other party's death.

-Kurt

not many people get ran down during the chrismas season the roads is so icey and whatnot not many people are out biking lol, course he was ran down in florda. the little boy was not lucky. the old mans gone have alot of greef to live with. is that red truck the one that hit him? i guessing the mother is rich now


alls im saying is shes gone be rich. its reel bad her son passed away an nothings gone replace but i know how lawyers are.
i just hope they put that gap toothed bugger that hit him behind bars for a long time. he lived his life already an now he killed a child


That the driver and passenger were not hurt...:D

Condolences to the parents


Oops got cut off

Glad to see....that the drivers were not hurt:D

If you aren't trolls, could you please be a bit less cloddish, and a bit more sensitive?

East Hill
Forum Moderator

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