Posted on 09/12/2005 10:11:00 AM PDT by paltz
A bicyclist was charged with manslaughter after he ran through a stop sign and struck and killed a 71-year-old woman, police said Monday.
Jean Calder died at Good Samaritan Hospital after she was struck Friday night as she crossed a street at an unmarked crosswalk, Corvallis police Capt. Ron Noble said.
Christopher A. Lightning, 51, was charged with manslaughter and reckless driving.
"A car and a bicycle are both vehicles and if they are operated in a way that could be criminal, then charges are filed equally in both situations," Noble said. "He was going right through a stop sign."
Lightning was being housed in Benton County jail with bail set at $57,500. He will be given a court-appointed lawyer at his arraignment in Benton County.
I think Chris definitely looks more like a DUI-lost-license biker than a spandex biker.
Of course, on the bike paths the bicyclists probably have to deal with slow moving pedestrians, roller bladers, etc. LOL
Is it illegal to ride on the sidewalks where you live?
I'd vote to convict. However, I don't get this anti-bike vitriol that's permeating this thread. Yep, a guy on a bike killed a woman by blowing through a stop sign. An untold number of deaths result every year when cars run stop signs, but no one blames everyone who drives a car. Somehow though, everyone who rides a bicycle is blamed for this. Illogical.
No kidding. My wife broke her arm riding her bike on a bike path when some kid lurched in front of her on his Big Wheel. And don't get me started on the roller bladers, who invariably have headphones on and take up a lane six feet wide as they swish back and forth.
When we ride (in spandex, btw), we head out to where there's a nice wide shoulder and not much traffic, then knock out 30-50 miles.
Have you seen these new things that are like cross country skis with wheels on them? My husband and I were on a nature trail a couple of weekends ago and they were all over the place. People use ski poles with them, so they take up even more room on the trails.
"It's much safer for a biker to take the whole lane and force you to actually pass correctly. More power to them."
That has to be one of the dumbest statements to date. You don't get it. It's not flat with wide fields of vision. There are dips, curves, foliage, obstructed views, no passing zones practically the whole way. Why? Because it's not safe to pass- YOU CAN'T SEE THE CARS IN ONCOMING LANES. It's much safer and some more intelligent for a biker to play elsewhere. There are those that do just that, which is why those that don't are tempting fate. I'm done trying to explain.
Please, spare me. I've riden my bicycle all over the country roads in East Texas. There is room for us all on the road.
Just so you know, the posted bike routes in Dallas aren't pathed. Cars have to share the road. The horrors.
Seen 'em in pictures but never in the wild. Probably will soon, though.
Apparently, it is. See #79.
If you're over six, but like I mentioned in #79, I live in South Philadelphia and cars don't tend to be going all that fast, plus there's not that much traffic anyways.
I could see where in the suburbs where cars are traveling at 35 MPH and there weren't that many pedestrians on the sidewalk, it might make more sense to have the bikes there. I've promised to keep my clotheslining limited to my own neighborhood.
Owl_Eagle(If what I just wrote makes you sad or angry,
Girly men? Hah!
The 71 year young woman looks like she may have jaywalked in the dark and step out in front of the bike.
We won't even discuss all the times I've been run off the road, been assalted, had stuff thrown on me, etc by motorists. Where are the damn cops when you need them?
I know the feeling. With petrol at $3.55 ballpark, people may park their cars and bike more hopefully changing the culture of Car .vs Bike.
" That brings to mind another issue - bicyclists riding 2 or 3 (or more) abreast."
1. The law states that 2-wide is legal. It's this way in all 50 states.
2. It doesn't matter how many wide. In an 11' wide lane, a single bike will take up 5-6' by the time you allow for a safe passing distance. That means, unless your vehicle is only 5' wide, you're gonna have to slow down, wait for traffic to clear, and make a safe pass. In other words, 1, 2, or 10 wide, you're gonna have to wait for oncoming traffic to clear.
We might not agree on loud pipes, but this post warrants an Amen and an Amen.
Looks like the guy near my town that got a DUI for riding his horse down the sidewalk in the middle of town on a summer evening bumping people off into the street and knocking sidewalk displays over...
" "It's much safer for a biker to take the whole lane and force you to actually pass correctly. More power to them. That has to be one of the dumbest statements to date. "
Uh, honest... it's safer to ride in that right wheel rut than it is to ride on the white line. Tried it both ways, and sure that it's safer in traffic.
When you ride a bunch of miles on a bike like I have, come back and we'll compare notes.
We can be both, and motorists just have to live with that. Any time I want, I dismount, and walk my bike through crosswalks, across footbridges etc etc, and it's all perfectly legal.
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.