seemunkee

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...092105964.html

"A 30-year-old Green Party candidate for the U.S. Senate died late Monday night, less than two days after she was hit by a car while riding her bicycle in the Largo area, authorities said. "

"State police said the driver apparently thought she had hit a deer or another animal and realized what had happened only when she arrived home and found Pettigrew's bicycle trapped under her car."

REALLY?? Does anyone actually believe this? You hit a person on a bike and drag they bike under your car for a couple of miles and not realize what you did?

XR2

Unfortunately things like that happen all the time. Google Chante Mallard. Worst of the worst.

ctyler

And I'll bet whatever charges are filed get plea bargined down to a misdemeanor. If you kill someone with a gun you get hard time. If you kill someone with a car, you get a slap on the wrist. And most DAs will not prosecute as a felony in cases like this.

XR2

This being high profile may be different. Sad but that's usually what it takes to get justice.

10 Wheels

It is in A & S:

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ate-Hit-by-SUV

The Weak Link

This isn't far from kr32s stomping grounds.

Tragic to be sure.

kr32

First, I agee with Link about it being tragic. Very sad indeed.

Second...it is "near" my stomping grounds but not that close now. I use to go to The Washington Capital games there back in the day.
Link I believe you know where the old Cap Center was, this is where it happened. It is not the most friendly area around. It is in PG County , I am in the next county south.
I find it hard to believe that she hit a "deer" and drove 4 miles home with it under her car and them reported it an hour later. wtf! There is more to this than her thinking it was a deer. She had to have been under the influence of alcohol or drugs even though they say no. I can not believe her story, very weak.

prathmann

Unlikely that "she" was under the influence of alcohol or drugs since that would still have been detectable an hour or more later. But how do we know that "she" was the one driving. The delay in reporting would be a convenient way for a DUI driver to get home and then claim that another family member was driving the car.

Looking at the amount of damage to the car and how the bike was still wedged underneath makes it really hard to believe the deer story.

seemunkee

I was at the first concert at the Cap Center and went to watch it get blown up.
Got to say, I never liked or trusted the PG County police.

RonH

This thread is getting a little too political. Lets get back to a discussion related to bicycling or its off to P&R.

ahsposo 

It's really sad that a Green Party Liberal on a BICYCLE got run over by a SUV driven by a don't care about anyone but themselves kind of person.

I guess if nothing else it's highly ironic.

Ron, I think you should leave this alone if you don't mind.

Please.

skilsaw

Thirty is too young!
I hope she did not suffer.

ciocc_cat

"Shipley said investigators are trying to determine whether Pettigrew had reflective clothing on or had operating lights during her pre-dawn ride, but it was not obvious at the scene that she did."

Yeah, let's toss the politics out. IF she was riding without lights/reflective clothing in the dark then she was temping fate. Even if she was lit up like a Christmas tree, you can't blame the driver simply because she was driving an SUV and/or perhaps belonged to the Tea Party. I seriously doubt Ms. Pettigrew was wearing a Green Party jersey that would have made her a target for those on the other side of the political fence. This is just a tragic accident in which someone's negligence (rider and/or driver) was probably a big factor.

stapfam

It's coming up to the time of year when the only cyclists I see in the mornings are Commuters. They all wear bright clothes and from the rear can be well seen with the bright rear lamps they use and they all seem to ride sensibly.

Doesn't help them all though. At least once a year I come across a rider that has been hit by a car. Couple of years ago and a rider had been hit from behind. He had to go to hospital so the Police were involved. I took the bike in my van and dropped it off at his home that evening as it was well and truly bent. The Car that had hit him had driven off but the car behind had got the reg. No. When I dropped the bike off- the driver had been caught a few miles down the road and stopped. She did not realise that she had hit anything despite the massive great big dent in her Fender. Looking at the bike- it was a write off but the lamps he had on thebike were good ones. Two rear lamps and two front. He was wearing a Yellow and orange top with Reflective stripes on it and must have stood out like a set of traffic lights.

The driver did get to court and got a small fine and a reprimand of points on her licence. Good lawyers can work wonders.

lhbernhardt

We have the technology now to have cars (and bikes too for that matter) equipped with mandatory "black boxes," sealed and only allowed to be opened by civil authorities. The black box would contain recorded input from small front and rear cameras, keyed to accelerator/braking information tied to the system clock. The last several hours of driving would always be available, with the cameras stopping when the engine is turned off, or if the air bags get deployed, or there is a significant jolt to the bumper. I don't understand why insurance companies are not demanding these now! It would solve a lot of problems.

Luis

kr32

Very good point and one I thought about after posting.

I guess we all need to be as safe as possible out there. It can happen anytime I guess.

The Weak Link

@kr32 - The first thing I thought of on reading this is whether they ran a toxicology screen on the perp. I bet she was buzzed on something.

@RonH - Not to worry. My "progressive BS meter" is set for high sensitivity. ahsposo set if off a little but otherwise things are cool. I'll come to your aid if it gets weird here.

@ahsposo - That is a very heavily Democratic county. The SUV driver was very likely a Democrat. Substance abuse issues (which I personally think were relevant) don't know party boundaries. Please. Don't go there with this one.

Jamesw2

Sorry for the loss

The driver knew what she had done. She went home and called a lawyer and got advice before she called police. check her phone recorde for the call to the laywer and to see if she was on the cell phone at The time of the event.

ahsposo 

What? I said nothing about the drivers politics. I said the driver was " a don't care about anyone but themselves kind of person." I believe whatever happened in this incident that description will hold. Hey, if the shoe fits...

I'm a fan of Lewis Black and subscribe to his description of the two major US political parties. It's not kind to either. But this isn't the forum to repeat it.

And yes substance abuse knows no limits.

qmsdc15

No charges were filed

qmsdc15

This is not high profile. Very little about this in the local press.

ahsposo 

Yeah, people really shouldn't be riding bicycles on the road. Serves them right. There are perfectly good bike paths. That's where bikes belong. Poor driver not only had that mess under her car but probably had her morning ruined because of all the fuss.

qmsdc15

Little old ladies in big SUVs are placidly oblivious to anything happening outside of their vehicles. It really doesn't matter, does it? No harm can come from a collision with a smaller vehicle. Collisions with very small vehicles aren't something that even require notice. When I went under the wheels of a little old lady's Cadillac, who was clearly at fault, she was blaming me and telling me I should be more careful. Plow into me from the rear while attempting to overtake and blame me. No remorse! I bet she goes to church on Sundays but I doubt I was in her prayers. A trivial matter like running over a cyclist isn't something that should be given a second thought.

She got off Scot free.

ahsposo 

This is an article for a car-type website.

It asks a very pertinent list of questions.

And this is from a car friendly site.

qmsdc15

A woman by the same name worked for many years as a customer service rep at the delivery service I work for. I think the killer must be the Christy Littleford I know. Wow!