Kayakado

This was probably a rerun but it was a first run for me. I think it was Gwinnett County, GA. It was intersesting to see this from a first hand on the scene perspective.

1. Cops get call of cyclist and vehicle accident.
2. Cops arrive and don't see cyclist, driver says she just ran off the road and there wasn't anyone else.
3. Cops call and cancel EMS, since no cyclist.
4. Cyclist wanders out of underbrush, hurt, bleeding, and no memory of the accident.
5. Cops call EMS to scene, find bike, check car, and decide dent in hood and smashed windshield from impact equals YES, she hit cyclist.
6. Bystander shows up who orginally called in the incident as car and bike. He reports she hit cyclist from behind. Cyclist was well off the road. She was going fairly fast when she hit the cyclist and the cyclist was thrown at least 10-15 feet in the air with the impact.

This was amazing that this driver denied anyone was hit. She was asked directly if there was a bike or bike rider and she said, No. If the cyclist had remained unconscious he might not have been found or the driver charged.

This episode ought to be shown to police across the country in reference to protecting cyclists and pedestrians.

I-Like-To-Bike

What do you find so "amazing" in a driver denying the truth (if she even was aware of the truth) when asked by the police if she commited/caused an accident?
What do you expect the police across the country to learn from viewing this TV show? What did you learn?

ajay677

I saw that episode too. Yep, the passenger side front end/ hood and passenger side windshield are caved in and she claims she didn't hit anyone. According to the witness, the driver ran well off the road before striking the cyclist. The police reported that the driver, when questioned later couldn't remember anything since she was "tired".

ken cummings

We lose one or two cyclists a year in our area with stories like this. I am supprised the GA dops didn't administer a roadside sobriety test. Sonoma County Sheriffs would and the driver is usually fond to be DUI. In the last DUI case the driver has been charged with non-capital Murder and bunchs of us cyclists show up as silent witnesses at EVERY public hearing on him. Neatly dressed in respect of the justice system but wearing a small day-glow bike pin or carrying a helmet. The prosecuter thanks us each time, he assures us that our presence assures that this case will not get swept under the rug.

ItsJustMe

Here's a thread:
https://www.bikeforums.net/advocacy-safety/174429-video-car-vs-motorcyclist.html
if you find it hard to believe that motorists lie about what happened.
Motorcyclist riding down road doing nothing wrong. Rice burner pulls idiotic move, spins out in front of her, Tbones her before she can squeek out.
Cops show up, motorist says "SHE HIT ME!". Then she shows the videos to the cops. If she didn't have video, it'd be word against word, and she'd probably be trying to pay for fixing her bike herself.

Motorists will say anything they think they can get away with. Hell, they'll leave you bleeding to death on the side of the road if they're pretty sure there weren't any witnesses.

CB HI

How about actually investigate the accident. A 14 year old boy was laying in the bushes bleeding, while the cops stood around saying how the original 911 call was in error because there was no cyclist in view and the driver said there was no cyclist. Might be a good lesson to start with.

UmneyDurak

Investigating an incident? Thats just crazy talk. What do you this is Law and Order?

I-Like-To-Bike

No, more likely Hawaii Five-0. Every crime investigated and solved in an hour. Book 'em Danno!

sbhikes

Lazy cops. And why is the eye-witness account that a cyclist was hit immediately discounted when the motorist who hit him says she saw no cyclist? The motorist's account has more validity than the unbiased, independent eye-witness? Lazy cops. But what to you expect of a state that wants to throw 13 year old kids in adult prison for 20 years if they have oral s3x and require people have a state-issued identification card in order to vote.

Cyclist0094

I saw that episode myself. I always watch cops to see what my family in Georgia is up to.

The Selector

i saw it on tv too. it was disgusting. if i was there i would stomp that ladies head into mush. thats why i dont ride in traffic. cars and bikes will never mix.

ajay677

I don't find it hard to believe they'll lie. Everyone lies. It's funny you'd mention being left at the side of the road to bleed to death. That's what this women in the Cops episode was trying to do. Cops are at the scene and she's claiming that no one else was involved in the accident. Meanwhile, this 14 year kid is laying in the bushes bleeding/suffering from a head injury. It wasn't until he staggered out of the bushes up to the scene that it became clear what a worthless, lying, sack of crap this women was.

closetbiker

It's COPS. What'd you expect?

Portis

Saw it too. I think the actual story was the cops and how they did basically nothing to help. Even after discovering the victim, they really didn't seem all that concerned that he was hit, nor that they nearly left him for dead, without any sort of an investigation.

The female officer was sort of like...."well, i don't see a bike right in front of me, so i don't think there was one." So they then find him, call an ambulance and then she tells the camera that the driver will be cited for failure to maintain lane. WTF? What about failing to report an accident? Or attempted murder?

Oh well, just another day on the beat. Poor kid, nobody was acting on his behalf for the most part.

The Selector

yeah, he could have been mistreated by the police because he was african american. Those cops should have put that lady in cuffs for providing false information to police and made her submit to a blood test. that boy did not get the justice he deserved.

Adsp

That lady is my mom (she understands english but has hard time speaking it as it is not her first language). Here is what happened:

1) She was driving home from work on a Friday afternoon and she accidentally drove her car off the road and hit a tree. Some very nice people helped her get out of the car and called the cops. When cops showed up and were taking her statement a bike rider shows up. They find the bike 20 ft behind the site of the car crash (feel free to look at the police report). IF my mom had hit the rider, he was have fallen in front of the car not 20 ft behind the site of an accident.

The biker took us to court and case is now settled. Our insurance company provided us a settlement letter. I think he was paid 5K if I remember correctly as no one could prove what exactly happened.

asmac

I have learned that, in the future, prior to posting, it would be a good idea to have ILTB review comments so they can be corrected based on his/her extraordinary insight, infinite knowledge and sheer wisdom.

unillenium

That's quite a whopper. I've seen a minivan hit a baby tree at 50km/h and they needed the jaws of life to get the unconscious driver out.

howsteepisit

Or perhaps, while the driver was asleep at the wheel she clipped the cyclist, then proceeded to ram a tree. Somehow the idea that there was a cyclist hit by a mystery vehicle just before a second vehicle drifted off the road and hit a tree within 20 feet of the first hit and run seems more than a little incredulous. the son may believe his mom, but I find the story unbelievable. I like my theory better.

Chris516

Your mother and the cyclist couldn't prove a lack of responsibility by either party?

I-Like-To-Bike

Wow! A smarmy response to a 9 (nine!) year old comment. Amazing!

fastk9dad

The cyclist would only be in front of your mother if she had stopped immediately at time of impact. Since that's unlikely, it's logical to assume, as mentioned above, that she hit the cyclist and proceeded on into a tree.

Matariki

And you know this is true because ... she told you?

Also a 1) without at least a 2) throws the universe out of balance.

asmac

The only amazing part is that some things never change, even if they get old.

While I think 'sarcastic' is a better description than 'smarmy,' I defer in all matters to your superior judgment.

genec

What I find amazing is that you find it amazing that drivers don't admit to what happens, AND yet you don't seem to understand why there are no comprehensive statistics regarding cell phone distraction of motorists.