Bicyclist shot after colliding with pickup truck in Taylor; Later dies during surgery

ClickonDetroit ^ | Aug 30 2012

[equaviator]

Police say pickup truck driver shot bicyclist after crash, altercation at Telegraph, Northline roads

TAYLOR, Mich. -

A bicyclist who was shot after being involved in a traffic accident with a pickup driver in Taylor has died.

Taylor police say the bicyclist died during surgery after the Wednesday night incident with a 46-year-old driver.

Police said the two began arguing after the bicyclist disregarded a "Do Not Cross" signal at Telegraph and Northline roads, causing the driver to hit him. Witnesses said the bicyclist got up and confronted the driver.

"The pedestrian light was red. He wasn't supposed to be crossing and ran into the side of the truck," said witness Michelle Noffsinger. "He jumped up, he got up, and he ran around the front of the truck to the driver's side and he just started pounding on this guy. He hit him ... maybe seven times or so, and then the driver shot him and he fell to the ground. It was just really crazy."

Witnesses told police the driver pulled a pistol and fired one round at the bicyclist, striking him in the chest. The motorist stayed at the scene until police arrived. He is being held pending any charges.

Police said they are still trying to identify the bicyclist. He is described as a white man between 35 and 40 years old with gray hair. He was riding a 10-speed bike.

Anyone with information on the crash, shooting and the bicyclist's identity is asked to contact the Taylor Police Department.

[Mr. Lucky]

Telegraph road, in Taylor, is a 4 lane federal highway. Most likely the reason the witness mentioned that the pedestrian signal was red was because the bicyclist was riding on the sidewalk.

[old curmudgeon]

I used to condemn them for blocking the road, but in recent years I have realized that there is probably a reason for that.

When a lone bike rider is hugging the edge of the road, many drivers will try to squeeze between them and an oncoming vehicle, with the result that the car passing the bike rider gets really close to the bike rider. Too close for comfort.

So in blocking the lane, they force the vehicle to wait until there is no oncoming traffic.

Not that I agree with them, but only to recognize that there are vehicle drivers who will “squeeze”.

My biggest complaint with them is the stupid practice of riding in dark clothes on roads with lots of tree shadows. A driver in a spot of bright light, squinting because of the bright light, has a very hard time seeing a bike in the dark shadows.

It should be the law that all riders must wear a shirt or top of luminous green.

I have recently run up behind bike riders in dark blue riding within a half mile on the same route as a rider who was recently badly injured with the resulting uproar on the local editorial pages.....

That is stupid.

[Ratman83]

like a said, a cyclist is NOT a pedestrian, seems the writer of this article got it wrong claiming that pedestrian signs are something that a vehicle, that a cyclist is, is supposed to obey, but I would still like to see where he crossed and from where the truck came because it sounds like the cyclist had the right of way so far

This sounds to me like the cyclist did not have the ROW. Pedestrian lights normally are set to allow the pedestrians to in the same direction as the road traffic so if the pedestrian signal was red most likely the travel lane was red too. Seems to me like the cyclist ran the light and t-boned the truck, then he tried to beat the driver. It seems to me like he made two very bad choices and paid for those bad choices with his life.

[Little Ray]

Sounds like self-defense to me. No-bill the driver.

[CanuckYank]

to ALL:

While, as in any sub-culture, there is some sort of definable distribution regarding any behavior or characteristic, that group known collectively as “serious bikers” has a DEMONSTRABLE skew in the behavior characteristics we could label as “civilized behavior”.

While I applaud the posters here who claim to seriously try to behave well while riding, most people who have encountered the biker riding an expensive umpteen speed cycle, wholly encased in spandex, whose feet are “inconveniently” clipped to their pedals, will freely attest to the rude, essentially obnoxious actions by the HUGE MAJORITY of male AND female adults riding bikes.

I won’t even open the issue of the political leanings of, (again), the HUGE MAJORITY of serious bikers - it’s unnecessary because their basic behavior is so anti-social (albeit, such behavior and political leanings are closely related for the most part).

[Loud Mime]

If the cyclist was riding on the street, he is a traffic vehicle, not a pedestrian.

If he went around and assaulted the driver, he’s damned stupid.

[xrmusn]

Let it be a lesson to the bike riding public.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Let it be a lesson to the PUBLIC.

If you desire to go up to someone and start pounding the snot out of them - no matter what the reason - chances are good that you may assume room temperature.

Same goes if one decides to wave a gun in another ones face - don’t ‘cry’ when the assaulted shoots you.

Just one of ‘lessons of life’, which really isn’t fair and being stupid doesn’t increase your odds to survive.

[x1stcav]

‘people who dress like French transvestites’

One of the better lines on FR lately. I feel compelled to borrow it from you.

[Niteranger68]

Drivers licenses should be required to ride bicycles in traffic.

Or at least a death certificate.

[Forty-Niner]

As a dedicated cyclist I refuse to ride the streets. Luckily the area I live in has numerious dedicated bike paths, several hundred miles of them all told, that provide for car free/safe two lane traffic while, at the same time, giving a sort of a “wilderness in the city” experience.

I’ve encountered everything from mountain lions to rattlesnakes, coyotes to Canada geese, trophy sized deer to rapid running ground squirels, and pheasants to wild turkeys while riding the trails which are laid in “green belt” areas that surround the local rivers, streams, and creeks.

The bike trails are very popular and very crowded on the weekends, though on the less popular weekdays you may feel at times as though you’ve stumbled onto the start of the Tour de France, after being passed by “drafting” teams in full team regalia, riding at speeds well above the 15 MPH posted trail speed limit!

Nope you won’t find me riding any of the city streets! Those big bumpered cars, traveling at speeds much faster than I can spin, can have ‘em without me!.....

[nonsporting]

“10-speed bike...schwinn varsity...”

Good point. I had one of these in the 60’s. It must have been an older model street bike. The models I’ve seen today are either 3x7 or 3x8, not 2x5.

[Docbarleypop]

that was my question, i would think a guy on a ten speed wouldnt be much of a threat, its those tweeked out fixed gear riders you need to be worried about!

[Docbarleypop]

i used to race semi-pro events so i have a few miles under me, ive been run off the road intentionally, hit half a dozen times, had beer bottles thrown at me (Georgia) and even been hit by a van with a “start seeing motorcycles” bumper, but never would i have gone after a person in a vehicle. while i reserve the right to ride my bicycle on the road, it is also my job to protect myself.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

I remember bicyclists blasting through red lights when I lived in Tulsa. It appears that red lights do not apply to bicyclists. Glad I and others around had good brakes.

Never trust a bicyclist.

[JimRed]

Police said they are still trying to identify the bicyclist. He is described as a white man between 35 and 40 years old with gray hair. He was riding a 10-speed bike.

Any bets on his political registration?

[Elle Bee]

Dear Urban Cyclists: Go Play in Traffic

The bicycle is a parody of a wheeled vehicle—a donkey cart without the cart, where you do the work of the donkey.

A fibrosis of bicycle lanes is spreading through the cities of the world. The well-being of innocent motorists is threatened as traffic passageways are choked by the spread of dull whirs, sharp whistles and sanctimonious pedal-pushing.

Almost everything that travels on a city street, including some of the larger people in the crosswalks, can crush a bicycle. Everything that protrudes from or into a city street—pot holes, pavement cracks, manhole covers—can send a bicycle flying into the air.

Given that riding a bike in a city is insane and that very few cities need more insane people on their streets, why the profusion of urban bike lanes? One excuse for bike lanes is that an increase in bicycle riding means a decrease in traffic congestion. A visit to New York—or Bogotá—gives the lie to this notion. You can't decrease traffic congestion by putting things in the way of traffic.

Bike lane advocates also claim that bicycles are environmentally friendly, producing less pollution and fewer carbon emissions than automobiles. But bicycle riders do a lot of huffing and puffing, exhaling large amounts of CO2. And whether a bicycle rider, after a long bicycle ride, is cleaner than the exhaust of a modern automobile is open to question.

Bike lanes violate a fundamental principle of democracy. We, the majority who do not ride bicycles, are being forced to sacrifice our left turns, parking places and chances to squeeze by delivery trucks so that an affluent elite can feel good about itself for getting wet, cold, tired and run-over. Our tax dollars are being used to subsidize our annoyance.

Bicycle riders must be made to bear the burden of this special-interest boondoggle. Bicycle registration fees should be raised until they produce enough revenue to build and maintain new expressways so that drivers can avoid city streets clogged by bike lanes. Special rubber fittings should be made available so that bicycle riders can wear E-ZPass transponders on their noses. And riders' license qualifications should be rigorous, requiring not only written exams and road tests but also bathroom scales. No should be allowed on a bicycle if the view he or she presents from behind causes the kind of hysterical laughter that stops traffic.

.

[DaveInDallas]

Crazy with a sense of entitlement and a willingness to use violence without just cause. Clearly a Tea Party member. /s

[Melas]

3x7 or 3x8, not 2x5.

3x7-8 are typically cheap mountain bikes. The standards for road bikes are now 2x10 and 2x11. Yep, 11 gears on the cassette alone, with two up front.

[Melas]

Yep, this thread was pretty much as I thought. Only half-a-dozen comments on the actual assault, but the ignorati came out in droves to express their &#(#! ^&% opinions on bicycles and spandex.

[Aquamarine]

The main artery that goes through the mountains in our area has turned into a playground on the weekends for bicycler's and Japanese race bikes that come up from Atlanta to test their skills. We don't like to take that route on the weekend if we can help it, there are countless stories of close calls but the worst was the time I was passing a bicycler in my lane when a car in oncoming traffic was passing a bicycler at the same time. Did some stunt driving that day.

We had to go south to a birthday party last Sunday and the mountain was full of bicyclers, mostly women which is something new we've noticed. One girl stayed in the middle of the lane all the way down with a line of traffic following her, it was insane.