Originally Posted by
Bekologist
speculation follows. (RIP fellow wheelman)
the bicyclist was leaving a parking lot shortly before the intersection and was moving into the left turn lane to continue left at the intersection. the bicyclist is moving laterally across several lanes of high speed traffic. He wants to hurry up across the busy traffic to get into the left hand turn pocket and make his turn, he doesn't want to be hanging in the middle of 50 mph traffic.
The policeman is moving in the same direction, on a call without the light bar activated, He too, wants to hurry up across the intersection and make the left, he's got a call he's rolling on.
a moment of inattention occurs (on the part of the policeman or bicyclist) and a fatal collision results.
I suspect many of us have been in similar situations: faster, busy traffic, the need to move left, you signal, you hand gesture, and you commit with hopes what looked like the motorist deaccellerating is actually recognition and yielding to your lateral.
you whisper a prayer under your breath and hope the fates don't put you in front of a motorist like this policeman.
RIP fellow rider.
Pretty much what I said in post 59. The difference is that traffic southbound at that time of day is not heavy. The other factor are the heavy shadows across the southbound side of the road at that time of day... dark cars are hidden in those shadows until about 150-200 feet from the point of impact. Google maps gives a bit of a deceiving view due to angles and lighting. Walking the site makes all the difference.