Originally Posted by
WhyFi
If the fork fails and brakes and crown go straight in to the wheel... then what? The wheel is completely free to move on its own at that point - it doesn't have the kind of mass and inertia to break a half dozen spokes when unmoored; something jammed in the spokes would just kick the wheel in to another direction.
I think I agree with you.
It takes a lot of force to sheer those spokes off and the wheel was rotating in direction of travel when it happened. If you look at the spoke the reflector is connected to, it is bent in significantly -- whatever broke the other spokes hit the end of the reflector.
Whatever the case, not much consolation for the person hurt and if they had no chance to see anything, there's nothing they reasonably could have done to prevent it.