Advocacy & Safety - Cyclist killed on Long Island changing tire in bike lane

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=6925914

damn that totally sucks! awesome bike too!

Wow, looks like the kid was on a completely separate trail parallel to the road. That asshat had to cross a good deal of grass to hit him. Hope prison isn't kind to him.

F-ing awful... AWFUL. :(

horrible, just horrible.

Wow, looks like the kid was on a completely separate trail parallel to the road. That asshat had to cross a good deal of grass to hit him. Hope prison isn't kind to him.

Srsly. Drunk on a Harley. Whodda thunk. I've had close calls with Harley's riding two abreast while passing me. There aren't a lot of Harley riders I like.

Wow I ride this trail every night. This is horrible.

The path is 4 miles each way and runs parallel to a parkway down to the beach. You're pretty much right next to the cars but I never thought that one would come across the grass. There are no guard rails between the road and the path.

Wow, looks like the kid was on a completely separate trail parallel to the road. That asshat had to cross a good deal of grass to hit him. Hope prison isn't kind to him.

You are correct, this is not a bike lane on a shared road. This bike lane is seperated by at least 15 feet of grassy field.

takes an extraordinary moron to decide to ride a motorcycle drunk.....

And my GF wonders why I'm not comfortable riding my bike down at her place (on LI)...

I was running on the that trail with my wife past that spot 15 minutes before this happened. I saw the emergency vehicles go by just before I got to Cedar Creek Park.

Where this happened is just South of what is called the Goose Creek Draw Bridge. That bridge is brand new, just finished in May. The path is also brand new in that area and was actually moved further from the parkway than the original. It is also on a slight sweeping curve with the path on the outside of the curve.

On any given summer day (or night) I would guess that several 1000 people use this MUP.

The Newsday account stated that the motorcycle was traveling at a high rate of speed. The posted limit is 55, the average is probably closer to 65, and I have seen many vehicles go by in triple digits, so this doesn't surprise me much.

horrible. i ride this path a lot. sad to see it happen but unfortunately it is not surprising with the way people drive and the setup of the trail.

Wow I ride this trail every night. This is horrible.

The path is 4 miles each way and runs parallel to a parkway down to the beach. You're pretty much right next to the cars but I never thought that one would come across the grass. There are no guard rails between the road and the path.

Actually, the Goose Creek Draw now has a barrier that might have saved the kid if he had been behind it, but he stopped about 50 feet short. You are correct that the actual trail is unprotected. But then, who would have thought that some drunk would run off the road and right over you. Plus, it is just a knee high guard rail, so it might not have done anything at the speed the motorcycle was supposedly traveling.

It is funny how so many of us on this board use this trail and probably see each other all the time and have no idea who the others are.

wow. Horrible.

The Newsday account stated that the motorcycle was traveling at a high rate of speed. The posted limit is 55, the average is probably closer to 65, and I have seen many vehicles go by in triple digits, so this doesn't surprise me much.

A drunk at 50 is as dangerous as at 90

Its not the speed its the inattentiveness and carelessness

Damn idiot. Geeze.

hopefully they throw the book at this guy, and he doesnt wind up out on parole in 6 months.

What a ******bag.

It's one of those stupid train of coincidences that seem innocuous at first and then end up in someone getting killed. If the rider hadn't got the flat, he wouldn't have been there. If he had gotten a flat a minute earlier he would have been at a different spot. If he had been 50 ft up the road, the divider might have protected him. If the guy wasn't drunk, he probably wouldn't have run off the road. If he'd lost it 1 second later, he would have hit a different spot. None of us know how many times we've avoided dying just from one coincidence in a train of coincidences going the other way. Unfortunately, sometimes they all come together.

It's crazy when you look back on it. He heard that innocuous pop (or fsss, fsss, fsss) of his tire puncturing and of course there was no way he could know it had started the clock ticking on his death.

It is funny how so many of us on this board use this trail and probably see each other all the time and have no idea who the others are.

I have noticed that too. One day we need to setup a group ride to the beach for fun. I can only imagine how many times I have seen someone off this forum and had no idea.

It's one of those stupid train of coincidences that seem innocuous at first and then end up in someone getting killed. If the rider hadn't got the flat, he wouldn't have been there. If he had gotten a flat a minute earlier he would have been at a different spot. If he had been 50 ft up the road, the divider might have protected him. If the guy wasn't drunk, he probably wouldn't have run off the road. If he'd lost it 1 second later, he would have hit a different spot. None of us know how many times we've avoided dying just from one coincidence in a train of coincidences going the other way. Unfortunately, sometimes they all come together.

It's crazy when you look back on it. He heard that innocuous pop (or fsss, fsss, fsss) of his tire puncturing and of course there was no way he could know it had started the clock ticking on his death.

I agree 100%. The sequence of events seems to be so unimaginable you give it no thought but unfortunately it happens a lot. Although when I pull over to fix a flat or change my setup for whatever reason I always pull off on the inside because these cars whizz right by you. Still not safe though.

On a side note I have had many instances while riding here. I was hit by a car about 2 weeks ago in Cedar Creek Park and a lot of close calls on the MUP with dumb riders and cars screaming stuff at me. For a "bike trail" it is probably the most dangerous place I ride.

Man this blows, so sad.

intense

It's one of those stupid train of coincidences that seem innocuous at first and then end up in someone getting killed. If the rider hadn't got the flat, he wouldn't have been there. If he had gotten a flat a minute earlier he would have been at a different spot. If he had been 50 ft up the road, the divider might have protected him. If the guy wasn't drunk, he probably wouldn't have run off the road. If he'd lost it 1 second later, he would have hit a different spot. None of us know how many times we've avoided dying just from one coincidence in a train of coincidences going the other way. Unfortunately, sometimes they all come together.

It's crazy when you look back on it. He heard that innocuous pop (or fsss, fsss, fsss) of his tire puncturing and of course there was no way he could know it had started the clock ticking on his death.

Dramatic, but you could call almost any road accident a stupid chain of coincidences with that logic.

A drunk at 50 is as dangerous as at 90

Its not the speed its the inattentiveness and carelessness

This doesn't really make sense. The greater the speed, the greater the kinetic energy that will be dissipated in the event of a collision. The greater the energy, the greater the potential for damage. Surely you don't think that an inattentive drunk is a hazard at 0mph.

Surely you don't think that an inattentive drunk is a hazard at 0mph.


A drunk at 0mph can be quite dangerous.

This doesn't really make sense. The greater the speed, the greater the kinetic energy that will be dissipated in the event of a collision. The greater the energy, the greater the potential for damage. Surely you don't think that an inattentive drunk is a hazard at 0mph.

Correct but after a certain threshold the chances of survival are so small. Yes at 90 you are more dangerous than 50 but after a 35 mph crash the chances of survival are so small anyway it makes no difference and you are equally as dangerous even though you are going slower.

I was riding there this morning and a friend of mine told me about the murder. I saw a few broken bottles on the path and thought how this may also have contributed. This news made it hard to enjoy my ride today. Very sad story.

With any luck, the drunk will die from his injuries.

With any luck, the drunk will die from his injuries.

No way, I hope he survives and has to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair... in prison.

Here is a picture of the MUP taken about 3/4 of a mile South of the accident location. The actual location looks the same. The parkway is no longer under construction, so the merge sign is gone and the lanes do not narrow any longer. That sign was for the construction of the Goose Creek bridge and was removed in May.

http://picasaweb.google.com/kukreja.charu/LongIslandParkways#5268245181571112738

Moving to A&S.

WANTAGH (WABC) -- A teenage college student home for the summer was struck and killed by an allegedly drunk motorcyclist while out for a bike ride Monday night. And authorities say the teen was in an area that was supposed to be safe for him.

Once again, an example of subliminal pro-cager statements wedged into an article.

-Kurt

Wow. That is just awful. Poor guy. He was only a kid. Drunk drivers, man the laws just aren't tough enough. This just goes to show you that you are never safe once you leave the house on a bike.

It's one of those stupid train of coincidences that seem innocuous at first and then end up in someone getting killed. If the rider hadn't got the flat, he wouldn't have been there. If he had gotten a flat a minute earlier he would have been at a different spot. If he had been 50 ft up the road, the divider might have protected him. If the guy wasn't drunk, he probably wouldn't have run off the road. If he'd lost it 1 second later, he would have hit a different spot. None of us know how many times we've avoided dying just from one coincidence in a train of coincidences going the other way. Unfortunately, sometimes they all come together.

It's crazy when you look back on it. He heard that innocuous pop (or fsss, fsss, fsss) of his tire puncturing and of course there was no way he could know it had started the clock ticking on his death.Sorry, but I do not consider DWI a coincidence. You watch too many movies without understanding they are not real life.

I road on the path today and found this memorial