Posted on 02/10/2005 7:16:51 AM PST by Theodore R.
Cycling partner recalls horrifying moment of friend's hit-and-run fatality BY d. LANCE LUNSFORD AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
Kedric C. Hobbs, 20, spoke several times about the agony of possibly getting struck by a car while cycling.
He and cycling partner Luke Thornton, 20, had been riding together for about a week until Monday night when a red pickup - allegedly driven by 32-year-old Jason D. McInroe - struck Hobbs, killing him.
On the side of the road, in the 7800 block of Fourth Street's dusty shoulder, Thornton held Hobbs in his arms, having unsuccessfully felt for a pulse in the moments after the accident.
He could do little but yell Hobbs' name until ambulances arrived on the scene.
The two were pedaling - about four miles into an 11-mile bike ride - when at approximately 6:30 p.m., the red pickup came barrelling through, striking Hobbs. Thornton had just been talking with Hobbs about Valentine's Day weekend and efforts to snag a date.
"He flew about 10 feet before he hit and just started rolling ... for about another 5 feet," said Thornton. "It was just completely shocking. I was just talking to the guy."
Thornton shrugged off concerns that perhaps it was impossible to see Hobbs pedaling on the road. According to the National Weather Service, the sun set at 6:25 p.m. Monday. A NWS official also reported light midlevel clouds and high-level scattered clouds.
The two were gearing up for a triathlon race - a three-tiered event involving biking, running and swimming. For Hobbs, it was normal, said Thornton, to be outside all the time, enjoying athletics.
He never jogged inside. And he never used an indoor stationary bike.
Hobbs, who moved from his home in Roswell, N.M., to study landscape architecture at Texas Tech, was known as a good student focused on graduating and managing a business of his own.
Thornton met Hobbs in Tech's Campus Crusade for Christ. The two also taught a Bible study group for male students where, Thornton said, Hobbs had a special knack for taking something too serious or tragic and making a joke out of it to lighten the mood.
"He could just read people really well and always knew when something was wrong," said Thornton.
A little of Hobbs' attitude has rubbed off a bit on Thornton and Hobbs' other friends, adding to their settling attitude even in the face of severe tragedy.
Other witnesses to the accident have not fared as well.
Without the assistance of a good Samaritan, the man who allegedly struck and killed Hobbs on Monday could still be on the run.
The 28-year-old witness was driving in the 7800 block of Fourth Street when he passed the bicycling pair. As he passed, he told police, he glanced in his rear-view mirror over surmounting suspicion of a fast approaching pickup from behind. Just as he did, he saw the pickup strike Hobbs, launching him from his bike and into the air.
Now, it's a vision the witness has not been able to lose since the accident.
"Every time I tried to sleep, I just saw him flying and the truck," said the witness in an interview Wednesday.
He wished not to use his name in fear of retribution.
In the moments after the accident, the Samaritan managed to focus.
"As soon as I saw him get hit, I instantly called 911," said the witness, who said he then stepped on the accelerator.
Reaching speeds up to 80 mph, he followed the pickup allegedly driven by McInroe, a construction worker who was assigned to a company vehicle matching the description of the one that crashed into Hobbs.
"I just did it without thinking," said the witness.
McInroe was arrested at about 11 p.m. Monday at his home, the truck parked outside with damage to its front right area.
McInroe, according to Lubbock County Jail records, was in custody Wednesday on charges of failure to stop and render aid. Bond was set at $100,000.
Thornton said the Samaritan, once back on the scene, was visibly shaken and upset over what he had witnessed. The man's 1-year-old son and pregnant wife were in the vehicle at the time of the accident.
Police reports indicate witnesses said Thornton was riding along the shoulder of the road, traveling west. Reports also indicate Hobbs was riding to Thornton's left inside the westbound lane.
Just because it is legal for bicycles to share the road with cars, doesn't make it smart.
A time to pray, not yell.
Yes, it's horrible. OTOH, I live in Durango CO, named the "Mountain Biking Capitol of the World", and there are many "bikers" who pay no heed to the laws of riding on public roads. Don't know all the details of this story, but I get really tired of "bikers" who think they're impervious and not covered by the laws of road use...and really tired of them riding three or four abreast throwing me the bird when I honk and then pass them. Just some of my experience. Sad this guy got dead.
FMCDH(BITS)
"Reports also indicate Hobbs was riding to Thornton's left inside the westbound lane."
...inside the westbound lane.
180 lb rider, 22+ lb bike / versus 5000 lb truck.
perhaps the cyclist would be alive today had he been following in the tiremarks of his friend who was not riding inside the traffic lane.
Just a thought.
I don't remember which FReeper it was, but one ended up posting that he now "packs" while pedaling, so he can pop off a few rounds at those drivers that dare toot the horn at him.
I suspect this wasn't entirely the driver's fault.
"Reports also indicate Hobbs was riding to Thornton's left inside the westbound lane."
Not a good idea to ride in the lane in Texas.
My brother was hit and killed on his bike along a very wide road in Georgia. Nothing was done to the guy who hit him, who did stop and call the police. The guy driving the car was shaky as far as his driving history and some other facts in his background, but there were no witnesses, other than the driver.
I used to ride my bike 18 miles to work from Higganum to Wallingford, CT. For a good deal of the ride, I rode on a section of road about 12" wide outside of the white line marking the edge of the road. Those cars were whizzing by awfully close. I, too, was training for triathlons.
Maybe not that he hit him but once he had there's no reason he shouldn't have stopped.
That leads one to believe that the driver is at fault.
We live outside a collage town and often have cyclists on the roads.
I have stopped many of them, to try and explain that it's not a good idea to dress in camo then hit the roads.
The colorful outfits and broken patterns may stand out in the city full of gray concrete. But put them against the background of fall leaves or spring buds and they disappear.
(As I become more and more republican, I have more assets I have to protect, don't you know.)
Legally, the driver is probably at fault. This happened only five minutes after sunset. I know in my state, headlights are not required until civil twilight ends half an hour after sunset. And it's the responsibility of the vehicle operator approaching from behind to pass safely.
However, a cavalier attitude toward visibility is a stupid attitude for a cyclist.
"a cavalier attitude toward visibility is a stupid attitude for a cyclist."
I couldn't agree more. I'm thinking there'll be more to the story with respect to the driver.
Since Auto insurance isn't required to ride a bike I doubt it.
Is it difficult to find your way around a collage town?
That is the amazing thing about hit-and-runs. Unless they are drunk or seriously disobeying traffic laws, if they stop they won't even be charged.
That's what I thought. I wonder if I should get umbrella coverage for this.
If it turned out to be the cyclists fault you could always sue him/her.
My thoughts and prayers go to the victim. And the same to the man who struck the cyclist. While he may not have been able to see the cyclist, he should have stopped.
Though, my parents always told me that it was safer to ride against traffic. That way you could see who (i.e. an auto) was coming at you.
I've gotten nearly run over my cyclists when walking my dog. They come speeding through my apartment complex, completely taking up the entire street. Then yell/curse at me to get off the road!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.