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Old 04-13-11, 04:21 PM
  #11  
Camilo
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I still can't figure out exactly where the cyclist was when he got hit. Everything I see says "in the crosswalk". But - please bear with me, I can't figure out if the cyclist was crossing legally in the cross walk the driver drove across when she turned right, or if the cyclist was crossing illegally, against the light and the driver hit him before/as she was turning right.

I looked at the route map and see:

Cyclist traveling west to east on Tudor Road (or maybe on one of the sidewalks on either side?)

Driver approaches Tudor Road on C Street from the north (heading south)

Driver turns right w/ light - after the right turn, the driver is now going west on Tudor.

Was the cyclist in the Tudor Road cross walk on the western side of this intersection, or in the C Street Cross walk on the northern side of the intersection?

The reason I ask is that I don't understand why the cyclist would be in the Tudor Road crosswalk if he was riding west to east on that same street? I guess it might make sense if he were approaching C street either on the south side sidewalk or adjacent right lane and then took a sharp left into the cross walk to begin heading down the C street sidewalk northward? This seems to make the most sense and in which case the driver is totally at fault since they both have a green light. However, it would be a good example why crosswalks and sidewalks can be deadly dangerous for cyclists - they set up situations like this where it doesn't matter who's at fault, it's just designed for failure.

On the other hand, if the cyclist was actually riding west to east on the sidewalk along the north side of Tudor road rather than Tudor road itself, it is conceivable that he then attempted to take the crosswalk across C street continuing eastward, and had the misfortune of getting hit by the car. This is kind of what it looks for on the linked route map, (that he was on the north side sidewalk), but I have no idea how accurate those mapping programs are.

Again, I am just trying to figure out what happened in this tragic event, maybe to understand if I should be pissed at the driver or feel sorry for her. I feel sorry for the guy and his family and loved ones regardless.
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