taxi777

https://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...ed=rss.bayarea

No lights?

I used to ride all the time without lights, now It freaks me out if I get caught out in the dark.

Just rode through that area recently...pretty sparse and no light at all.

x136 

No lights on that road at five in the evening? Crap, I'd be terrified even if there weren't any cars around.

metzenberg

Please see the Advocacy and Safety forum as well for a discussion and news, if a memorial ride is scheduled. I will keep that thread up-to-date if there is a memorial for the victim.

Red Rider

Lights or no lights, the car crossed the yellow line. I hope they nail that scum-sucking cowardly low-life, and I hope he's haunted by the memory of what he's done. I hate reading these reports -- they're so sad -- but the hit-and-run aspect angers me more than saddens me. There's no excuse for people not taking responsibility for what they've done.

That driver has his own hell in which to live...meanwhile, that cyclist had family and friends who now have to add "hold funeral and grieve" to their list of holiday activities.

cantdrv55

Yeah, that is not a place I would ride at night, period. Regardless, he was killed by a hit and run driver. I hope they find the guy and run over his nuts.



Cyclist killed in Port Costa hit-and-run
By Roman Gokhman
Contra Costa TimesPosted: 11/24/2008 06:37:02 PM PST

PORT COSTA — A cyclist was killed in a hit-and-run collision on McEwen Road north of Highway 4 Monday evening, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The collision occurred sometime between 5 p.m. and 6:05 p.m., a half-mile north of the highway, CHP Officer Scott Yox said.

The victim, 49-year-old Mark Pendleton, of Martinez, was southbound on McEwen. Investigators said he appeared to be an "avid cyclist" based on his clothing and his upscale bicycle.

CHP investigators said Pendleton was riding his Shimano road bicycle close to the shoulder when another vehicle, which was probably northbound, crossed into the southbound lane and struck him. The vehicle then drove away southbound without stopping, according to the CHP.

The victim's body was found by an off-duty Crockett fire captain.

Police are searching for a dark-colored car, truck or sport utility vehicle with significant front-end damage. The CHP temporarily closed off McEwen in both directions north of the highway to investigate the collision.

"It left quite a bit of debris on the road, including a broken head lamp," Yox said.

Anyone who was in the area during that time or has seen the vehicle may call the CHP at 925-646-4980, or at 1-800-TELL-CHP.

Reach Roman Gokhman at 925-945-4780, or at rgokhman@bayareanewsgroup.com.

redspoke

We took a family trip to SF on Saturday and I was amazed how many people were riding rental bikes in the Presidio after dark with no lights, nada. We went through there at 5:30 to cross the GGB and there were tons of tourists who were heading back in the pitch black night because they lost track of time at the GGB. I'm actually amazed there aren't more stories like this with the amount of crazy cycling and car driving I see. Let's be careful out there!
P.S. I feel bad for this guy's family. Timing is about as bad as can be.

knotty

I saw those rental bikes too, when I was coming back from Pt. Reyes at 6 pm. I wondered why the rental place didn't supply lights. Aren't they liable for accidents?

Some were going OUT of SF at 6 pm.!

bikingshearer 

My guess is that the rental company, and some unfortunate rider, will find out the hard way.


As for riding on McEwen Road in the dark, not the best idea in the world. That isn't the steep part where they described, but the whole road is quite narrow. That does nothing in the slightest to excuse the hit-and-run jerk, though. I have a horrible, sinking feeling that alcohol is involved, and not by the cyclist.

There is a lesson in this for us all, unfortunately. And that is: we have to take all available reasonable precautions when we ride. Riding in the dark without lights (and, ideally, some reflectorized clothing) is just plain dangerous. Who knows if it would have made a difference in this case - but it might have, and we wouldn't have these "what if's" hangin over us.

And at the end of the day, catching the jerk driver and prosecuting him/her (I'm guessing it's a "him") to within an inch of his/her life will not make the cyclist any less dead. Yes, we have a right to the road, and we should not be bashful about asserting that right. But we have to smart and careful about it because 99 times out of 100 we are on the losing end of the transaction, regardless of how the law treats the driver.

murphstahoe

I posted a street view on the A&S thread. If the police statement is correct (1/2 mile North of Highway 4) he was running out the very straightforward shallow descent to Franklin Road. It's still light at 5 PM, he was probably running late for his own comfort but I suspect he was almost done with his ride, perhaps late due to a mechanical/flat.

ROJA

This is a real tragedy. Looks like he was 49 years old and a serious cyclist and racer: https://www.usacycling.org/results/in...?compid=242689. I highly doubt someone of that age and caliber would be riding without lights. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and I hope justice is done to his killer.

uspspro

Sounds crazy, but he could have had lights, and the driver disposed of them. Not the most plausible thing, but you never know.

BenRidin

There have been times around this time of year, where I'll go out around 3:30 in the afternoon. Before I know it, it's approaching 5:00 and maybe it's dark and guess what, crap!...I don't have my light w/ me. Yes, I know better...or dayum, I didn't think I would be out this late. It doesn't happen often. But it is what it is. And I am super careful on my way home.

But the fact of the matter is, some POS of an excuse for a human being took another life and ran away. Rather than stay and help the person, the driver fled. I can't tell you how angry I get when I read about hit and runs!

Please! Let's be careful out there.

BR

Knubby

What a tragedy.........hope they catch the SOB. Also, my sympathies to the victim's family. I often ride on this very same road and it's narrow! Having second thoughts now.............

Dchiefransom

Not the most unplausible thing, either. I hope they catch the scumbag. I also hope there are actual laws that allow them to put him/her in prison for a good while, not just 30 days.

x136 

Ugh, the same thought occurred to me this afternoon. I don't want to even think about the possibility, though. It's awful enough that the guy ran someone down and took off, but to actually stop, realize what you did, then alter the scene of the crime like that? Sick.

Pizza Man

Very very sad

The worst thing about hit & run drivers is that they just leave the person there to die because they are too chicken sh*% to take responsibility for what they did. I'm sure that many have died not just because they were hit, but because the driver did not stop and immediately call paramedics and/or at least try to save the person they hit. Who knows how long he was lying there alive but dying before he was found. Every second counts in those situations.

taxi777

Like the girl who died up in the presidio...She would have lived for sure if the person had just called the EMT's
Freaking so selfish!

BlastRadius

Sometimes, let's hope karma strikes back swiftly. This is such a tragedy.

DiabloScott

They leave them there because they think they won't get caught and they don't have the personal integrity to be responsible if they think they can get away with it. Unfortunately too many of them do get away with it.

Could be a lot of reasons getting caught would be worse for some people than others (citizenship status, insurance status, intoxication status, probation status etc).

DiabloScott

Mark Pendleton, age 49, survived by his wife of 28 years and two adult sons. He sounds like a great guy.

LINK


.

Lanceoldstrong

Ernest Hemingway once wrote the perfect short story in just one sparse sentence.

"For sale, one pair of baby shoes, never used"

Sadly, very sadly, I am hearing in my mind a new version.

"For sale, one set road bike lights, never used"

I can't help thinking that if Mr. Pendleton had a set of lights he may have given the driver a split second to react. Even if the driver crossed the yellow he/she may have been able to correct in time thus missing the cyclist; had there been bike lights in use. That split second could have saved a life.

I always bring my lights on any ride where I plan to finish even near sunset. You never know when a mechanical or a flat will have you racing the waning twilight as you near home.

If you do not have one, please get a set of lights and use them.

Dchiefransom

Then again, the lights might have given the driver a better aiming point. Yes, I believe this is VERY likely in today's society.

sweetnsourbkr

I hate to speak ill of the dead, but I thought I should chime in here because this thread seems really one-sided.

I have seen, time and time again, people with Mark's description repeatedly ride in the dark, without proper safety equipment, and violate the rules of the road to their whim. I think Lanceoldstrong is absolutely correct in stating that had he used the proper equipment, he'd be alive. I don't think people go around running over cyclists equipped with lights as aiming points. If that were the case, we'd have an all-out war going on.

Get a clue, Marks of the world. Ride defensively. Stop being such *****-wipers and be afraid of your lives. It's dangerous out there. You have nothing to prove.

sheesh!

pelikan

Politics aside, RIP. Memorial Ride Sunday @ 9am..Danville. I will be there, not sure if BART starts early enough though.

metzenberg

Mark Pendleton Memorial


https://www.ebbc.org/?q=node/2643

11:00 am Saturday at the Martinez Amtrak Station, which can be reached (about a 5-6 mile ride) from the Pleasant Hill, Concord, or North Concord BART stations. An advanced ride to the site of the hit-and-run crash on McEwen Road will follow.