slloth

https://www.insidebayarea.com/oakland...688?source=rss

One of two drivers who struck and killed a bicyclist on Carlson Boulevard last weekend turned herself in to police Monday night, saying she didn't realize she'd hit a person until she saw news accounts of the crash.

"She is very remorseful," said the Rev. Andre Shumake, who helped 23-year-old Tiffany Powell surrender at the Richmond Police Department about 10:30 p.m.

"She did not realize she'd hit a human being. She knew she hit something, but she didn't know what it was. She kind of freaked out and drove away. It was only later that she realized she'd hit a person."

Powell, driving a borrowed Pontiac Grand Prix on a suspended license, was returning home from a visit with a sick relative at Doctor's Medical Center in San Pablo when she struck 49-year-old Laura Casey about 6 p.m. Saturday, police said.

The collision knocked Casey, bicycling south on Carlson just north of Ohio Avenue, into a traffic lane, where she lay screaming for help for several seconds before a second car hit her and dragged her 25 feet, killing her.

That motorist, still unidentified, also fled the scene.

Casey's family pleaded publicly Monday for the hit-and-run drivers to surrender, and the Police Department offered a $10,000 reward for information in the case.

Monday night, Powell's family called their pastor, the Rev. Alvin Bernstein, of Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church, who called Shumake. The pastors worked with the family to arrange
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her surrender.

"We want to acknowledge that turning herself in was as strong and brave an act as making the mistake of leaving the scene (was the opposite)," Richmond police Lt. Mark Gagan said. "She was hysterical when she came in last night."

Casey's family also acknowledged Powell's decision, conveying a letter of thanks to her through the department, saying she was in their prayers.

"I think it's important to show that the clergy, working with the Police Department and the family, was able to bring some closure to this situation for the victim's family," Shumake said. "We particularly want to encourage that second driver to see what happened here and realize that the best thing they can do is turn themselves in as soon as possible."

Both Shumake and Bernstein invited that driver to call them to facilitate a similar surrender.

"We're appealing to the other driver: Let us finish investigating the case," Gagan said. "(Surrendering) is the best way for the other driver to handle the situation."

Police booked Powell on suspicion of hit-and-run, vehicular manslaughter and driving with a suspended license.

They transferred her Tuesday to County Jail in Martinez, where she was held in lieu of $100,000 bail.

Casey's family said she used a bicycle as her main mode of transportation for about 30 years, and might have been pedalling to a relative's home a few blocks from the crash scene when the cars struck her.

She became the second Contra Costa County bicyclist killed in a hit-and-run crash in just more than a month, and the ninth dead from a crash with a car this year in the East Bay.

Doohickie

That's all I need to see. Guilty as charged; throw her in jail. I think penalties for these kinds of crimes should be greatly amplified if the person is driving on a suspended license or no license. Unfortunate, and it screws up her life, but she F'ed up and it's time to pay the piper.

slloth

yeah it's a horrible story. I guess my main reason for posting is just to remind people to be as safe as possible. It only takes a second.

steve-d

Can't jump to conclusions. Bike riders make mistakes leading to accidents too.

ItsJustMe

There's no reason to jump, the conclusion is right there in front of you. Driving on a suspended license means the driver ALREADY made their mistake, got caught, and intentionally decided to go out and make another mistake.

Driving on a suspended license should be an automatic "never drives again", and I'd think at least 6 months in jail, and a 2x multiplier on any other sentence.

unterhausen

sorry, she hit something and didn't realize it was a person. Let me repeat, she hit something and didn't realize it was a person. Please explain how this can be done by a driver that is looking out the front of their vehicle even half of the time. If she had stopped, she might have saved her victim's life. There was an accident during TOSRV where the driver's story was the same. I'm thinking cellphone or even texting.

steve-d

"There's no reason to jump, the conclusion is right there in front of you."

No conclusion regarding the accident is anywhere. Only the fact a person was Driving While Suspended (DWS) and liable for the appropriate penalty for such a criminal offense under the state's traffic laws.

A particular road incident has to be evaluated on the facts to determine if there is more to it. If the motorist was DWS, then the sanctions for such an offense should apply. That said, it doesn't lead to the automatic conclusion the collision with the bicyclist was the fault of the motorist. If there is negligence on the part of either person, it has to be borne by the facts.

AlmostTrick

Right. But even if this cyclist did make a mistake it is only possible for her to be at fault (or partial fault) for the first collision, not the second, where she lay for several seconds before being hit. I see no possible excuse for the second driver.

JeffS

So what... dead cyclists are responsible for proving their innocence?

I understand where you're coming from, but at some point we simply have to raise the bar for drivers. How often have we heard "I didn't see them", "the sun was in my eyes", etc. It's an automatic free pass. If you kill a cyclist and stop at the scene absolutely nothing will happen to you. If you don't stop at the scene next to nothing will happen, and if you're drunk you might get a slap on the wrist.

The overtaking motorist should be obligated to complete the pass safely. Instead of doing that, she killed the cyclist. And yes, to be clear, I am charging the first driver with the homicide as well.