Posted on 04/25/2012 6:26:25 PM PDT by Theoria
San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón is preparing to file felony vehicular manslaughter charges against Chris Bucchere, the bicyclist who fatally struck a 71-year-old pedestrian in the Castro district last month.
The felony charge - which could result in a 16-month sentence for Bucchere if he is convicted - is a sharp contrast to the misdemeanor count prosecutors filed in a case last year in which a bicyclist struck and killed a woman along the Embarcadero.
The difference this time is prosecutors' conclusion that Bucchere, 35, was grossly negligent in his riding before he ran into Sutchi Hui in a crosswalk at Market and Castro streets March 29.
"I think the evidence is very strong," said one source inside the D.A.'s office, who asked not to be named while the charges are still pending.
The problem wasn't that Bucchere ran a red light - prosecutors think the light was yellow when he rode into the intersection heading south.
But before that, a motorist reported seeing Bucchere fly through several red lights and stop signs along Divisadero Street leading up to the intersection, said police Capt. Denis O'Leary, head of the hit-and-run detail that investigated the collision.
Also, a tracker on Bucchere's bike allegedly showed he was riding faster than 35 mph in a 25-mph zone.
Finally, a video taken from a surveillance camera at 17th and Market streets reportedly showed a hunched-over Bucchere speeding through the intersection, making little or no attempt to stop before hitting Hui on the far side.
"It really shows his recklessness," O'Leary said.
In short, prosecutors will argue that - light or no light - Bucchere was traveling at an unsafe speed and failed to yield to Hui in the crosswalk.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Has Doc Savage covered this one?
I heard him predict someone was going to get killed there someday.
So, the guy in the crosswalk was walking against the light? Interesting.
Bicyclists are certainly a hazard where I live. I’ve come close to hitting one a time or two. We’ve got some narrow hilly streets, and you come around a curve—and there they are. We have bicycle lanes designated, but a lot of them don’t use them.
I was in SF some time ago with a LE buddy crossing a street when one of those maniacs on a bike came zooming up to the crosswalk and yelled out: watch out As...les. Within a nano second as the dope zoomed by, my buddy hit him with a straight right knocking him clear off the bike and into the street. He started screaming where are the police...my buddy said to him you are looking at them and you need to watch you mouth around me.
funniest thing I ever saw...that was about 30 years ago, not so sure the end result today would have been so funny for us.
There is an abnormally large segment of the bicyclist population that gives all bicyclists a bad name.
I hit 46 mph on my bicycle (speedo on handle bars) a decade ago when a pack of dogs was chasing me.
I use to ride down hills at 55+ mph...
yeah, then crash into someone.
Love it!
I live in the land of Lance Armstrong—and I think a lot of these guys want to be like him-—but are in no way even close........
Love it!
I live in the land of Lance Armstrong—and I think a lot of these guys want to be like him-—but are in no way even close........
Kind of like 99% of them give 100% a bad name?
Yes, indeed, throw the book at him.
I came within inches of being mowed down by one of these a*****es as he snuck between lines of cars and flew through a red light. I was lucky, I saw him in time and jumped back.
They think they are saving the planet and that gives them special immunity from the law.
Outlaw bikers. They get going 30-35 miles per hour. All hell is breaking loose.
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That is incorrect. Castro & Market is a huge intersection. The cyclist might have entered the intersection on a yellow light, but by the time he reached the other side, pedestrians had filled the crosswalk.
The a-hole cyclist, rather than falling and tearing his precious spandex, aimed for a less crowded section of crosswalk.
He belongs in prison. I'd tell him, "Don't drop the soap," but he probably enjoys that sort of thing.
Up to a 16 MONTH sentence? That isn’t even a slap on the wrist. Where’s the justice?
Yep, kills a guy and laments his helmet. But it's more than no remorse - it's contemptuous, sadistic perversity.
And it's all over the Bay Area. This place has really become Sodom and Gomorrah, and it has nothing to do with homosexuality. It has to do with a breathtakingly heartless cruelty that has pervading the entire area, turning people into reptiles. It's the X-Files for real.
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