Bicyclist struck by SUV dies
Sarah Howard, 48, of Meridian was stopped in the bike lane on Overland when she was hit.
Avid cyclist Sarah Howard took off work Friday to put the finishing touches on her husband's 50th birthday party.
Instead of a party, her family and friends are struggling to come to terms with a tragedy.
Howard, 48, of Meridian, died when she was struck on her bike by a Hummer H3 sport utility vehicle just before 10 a.m. Friday as she waited in the bike lane to cross Eagle Road, according to Meridian police.
"She was an exceptional, exceptional woman," said Alice Vandermeer, who worked with Howard for about seven years at St. Luke's Mountain States Tumor Institute in Meridian. "She was a really good mom to her two sons."
Howard had been a nurse for more than a decade.
"It's tough because our cancer patients tend to bond with their nurses," Vandermeer said.
"When you take care of cancer patients, we say you get a chance to say your goodbyes," Vandermeer said. "But when something like this happens, you don't."
The crash was still under investigation Friday night. The driver of the SUV, Erika E. Janzen, 43, has not been charged, Meridian police officer Will Stoy said.
Janzen was taken to an area hospital for examination, but she did not appear to have been seriously hurt in the crash, police say.
"(Howard) was stopped in the bike lane, waiting for the red light — she did everything right," before the crash, he said.
The Ada County coroner said Howard died from a head injury after she was thrown from her bike by the force of the impact.
Howard was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, Meridian police said.
The incident happened at 9:55 a.m. when Howard was stopped in the bike lane headed east on Overland Road at the Eagle Road intersection waiting for the red light to change, according to eyewitness accounts and the police investigation.
Witnesses told police the driver of the Hummer lost control of her vehicle about 100 feet behind Howard.
The right wheels of the Hummer jumped the curb, but the left wheels were still on the road. The Hummer, which was then driving directly over the bike lane, hit Howard from behind.
It was not raining at the time of the crash, and weather was not a factor, Stoy said.
Witnesses told police they did not see Janzen talking on a cell phone prior to the accident, Stoy said.
The force of the impact threw Howard into the middle of the intersection, Meridian Police Chief Jeff Lavey said. The SUV went though the intersection before the driver managed to stop on the other side, Stoy said.
There were tire marks on the sidewalk but no skid marks, indicating the driver didn't use the brakes prior to the collision, Stoy said.
Lavey said Howard's husband showed up shortly after the accident and told investigators that it was her day off and that she regularly rode on that route.
Bethann Stewart: 377-6393