Advocacy & Safety - Bicyclist struck and killed in Virginia Beach

By Alicia P.Q. Wittmeyer
The Virginian-Pilot
© April 19, 2009
VIRGINIA BEACH

A bicyclist was killed this morning when he was hit by an S.U.V. while riding on Shore Drive.

The man was riding eastbound on Shore Drive near Starfish Road when he was struck by the right side of a Ford Explorer also traveling east on Shore Drive, said Virginia Beach police spokesman Officer Adam Bernstein.

The man was taken to the hospital, but was pronounced dead around 9 a.m.

Alcohol and speed do not appear to have played a role, Bernstein said. No charges have been filed against the woman driving the Explorer, although the crash is still under investigation.

The identity of the bicyclist is being withheld pending notification of his family, Bernstein said.

Link?

Here is a link to the story.
http://hamptonroads.com/2009/04/bicyclist-struck-and-killed-virginia-beach
second link updated at 5:37 today.
http://www.dailypress.com/news/dpnow-vbfatals.0420,0,7052387.story

Speculation alert!

Here is a Google Maps street view near where the incident went down.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=starfish+rd,+virginia+beach&sourceid=ie7&oe=utf8&ie=UTF8&hl=en&ll=36.910527,-76.07735&spn=0.001019,0.002736&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=36.91057,-76.076389&panoid=IpJQCkNt4VZDEAIQkkBfnw&cbp=12,250.34617916531243,,0,5

Sunup today was 6:30 AM so the crash happened in the dark, though the cyclist may have had a chance of being silhouetted in a potentially brightening sky in front of the motorist.

Was the cyclist in the lane, on the shoulder or in a right turn only lane? Did he have reflectors and lights?

If he had lights, then the motorist failed in her duty to avoid the cyclist. May a lawyer become rich in the civil lawsuit.

If he did not have lights on his bike or person then the cyclist made a tragic mistake.

But we will probably never know. The cracker-jack investigative reporters Alicia P.Q. Wittmeyer of the Virginian-Pilot and Dan Parsons of the Newport News, Va., Daily Press, failed to include these and other relevant details in their reports. (With so many reporters and journalists out of work, this is really pathetic. And newspapers wonder why they are losing subscribers!)

Speculation alert!

Here is a Google Maps street view near where the incident went down.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=starfish+rd,+virginia+beach&sourceid=ie7&oe=utf8&ie=UTF8&hl=en&ll=36.910527,-76.07735&spn=0.001019,0.002736&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=36.91057,-76.076389&panoid=IpJQCkNt4VZDEAIQkkBfnw&cbp=12,250.34617916531243,,0,5

Sunup today was 6:30 AM so the crash happened in the dark, though the cyclist may have had a chance of being silhouetted in a potentially brightening sky in front of the motorist.

Was the cyclist in the lane, on the shoulder or in a right turn only lane? Did he have reflectors and lights?

If he had lights, then the motorist failed in her duty to avoid the cyclist. May a lawyer become rich in the civil lawsuit.

If he did not have lights on his bike or person then the cyclist made a tragic mistake.

But we will probably never know. The cracker-jack investigative reporters Alicia P.Q. Wittmeyer of the Virginian-Pilot and Dan Parsons of the Newport News, Va., Daily Press, failed to include these and other relevant details in their reports. (With so many reporters and journalists out of work, this is really pathetic. And newspapers wonder why they are losing subscribers!)

There's no automatic get out of jail free card for this driver if the cyclist had no lights or reflectors. A jury, not the VB police, should decide whether the driver should have seen the cyclist.

I wouldn't blame the press. Police often do not make note of whether a cyclist had lights or reflectors. The press reports what the police tell them.

memorial ride (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z-JptXpT2ao/Se4mKHrqP9I/AAAAAAAAAgU/D4k0wU2loaA/s1600-h/dan+hersh+memorial.jpg) for this cyclist

Sunday, April 26th, 8am
Conte's Bicycles
1805 Laskin Road,
Virginia Beach
25-30 miles,
Ghost Bike to be erected in memory of Daniel Hersh

unterhausen,

Thanks for the prompt announcement. VBF encourages everyone to come out for the memorial ride. I'm sure our own Bill Hart will be there, possibly more of us too.

There's no automatic get out of jail free card for this driver if the cyclist had no lights or reflectors. A jury, not the VB police, should decide whether the driver should have seen the cyclist.

I wouldn't blame the press. Police often do not make note of whether a cyclist had lights or reflectors. The press reports what the police tell them.

A jury may never get the chance... too often in cases where cyclists are hit and killed and alcohol is not a factor, a DA decides not to prosecute, citing "remorse" on the part of the driver as punishment enough.

Or worse, they find that the cyclist "was riding improperly..." due to a motorist view of the law.

Or "the cyclist swerved." The classic defense.

Or "that's just my driving style," a defense used when a motorist plowed down a grandfather and granddaughter in Missouri a couple years ago. :mad:

That is a interesting stretch of road right there, and there is a bike trail that runs along Cape Henry Trail one block off of Shore Drive. Shore Drive is particularly busy and right at that point of the road there is a decent curvature that could result in a less then normal visibility, but the speed limit is 35mph I believe, maybe 40mph. I ride that portion of the road every now and then.

-Matt