thdave

Frustrating death of a bicycling enthusiast.

Poor write up--right up front it says he wasn't wearing his helmet, insinuating that was the reason for his death--and it says nothing about any issues with the killer--Kelly Cox, as to whether or not her driving was at question. Of course, the eye witness is dead.

Then it ambles into thoughts on bike lanes, but doesn't conclude a thing.



https://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011...roy_towns.html

Brontide

https://www.tribtoday.com/page/conten....html?nav=5021

I think that's all we need to know about this "investigation".

chipcom 

Sunset is around 8:45, so it's not like it was dark or anything. How the f could she think she hit a deer and suddenly "realize what she did" when she got home?

GHENRYW

Of course she knew precisely what happened. She needed to consult before she could make a "responsible" report to police and imply she simply hit a wild animal on the road. If the investigation reveals inattention or reckless driving, .... you can guess my thoughts!! Sympathies to the victims family.

alxndr

Gotta love Ohio.

BHOFM

Makes you wonder, who was really driving the vehicle??

exile

A lot of these papers always seem to insinuate that wearing a helmet would prevent injuries and/or death and continually perpetuate that cycling is a dangerous activity.

However, since this was a judge who was killed I do expect some sort of charges against the driver. Although if it wasn't a judge would the same events warrant any charges? I guess we'll just wait and see.

CB HI

She hit a cyclist and knew it. She thought she could get away with it, but when she got home and saw the damage, she knew she would get caught. Remembering back to third grade and the fabulous lies she used to get away with, she invented her deer story.

thdave

The Plain Dealer though, despite the shady circumstances of the driver, give her the soft treatment and focus on the helmet and whether or not bike lanes would help. Give me a break--what crappy reporting.

thdave

Folks--I'm writing a letter to the editor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer about this. Please look over and edit.

Thanks.

In your article on the death of Judge Chip Henry of Geauga County, you did a great disservice to all cyclists out there. In this article, you cite that the Judge wasn't wearing a helmet and then you ramble on as to whether bike lanes would have helped. This implies that the act of bicycling was the reason he died, which is not true. The reason this man was killed is that Kelly Cox struck him from behind. Why couldn't she see him--it was daylight? Was she texting, talking on the phone, or drinking? Was she (not sure if Kelly is a she--please fix if Kelly is a he) even driving the car? We don't know the shady circumstances because the eye witness is dead and the driver didn't stop, a fact that the Plain Dealer didn't report. The driver says she didn't know what happened and didn't even realize there was an "accident" until she got home. I suspect she wondered if she could get away with it. Regardless of what she thought, it's the responsibility of the Plain Dealer to get to the truth, and in this it failed miserably. The focus in the article should have been on perpetrator leaving the scene, distracted driving, and due dillegence and responsibility for all.

beebe

Obviously hit and run. The question is: if she had stopped to help the cyclist after hitting him, would he still be alive? I can not imagine ever leaving somebody by the side of the road like that.

dynodonn 

Why is it that some motorists can only deduce that they hit a cyclist and not a deer until they get home?

chipcom 

Looks good, Dave. Personally, I have gave up trying to get decent journalism and reporting out of the PD decades ago. Another recent example...the story they ran this week about credit/debit card info from one merchant being breached. They went on and on about a bunch of fluff, but never once mentioned who the merchant was, so people would know to avoid them since they obviously didn't take the security of their customers personal info...or the law...very seriously.

Brontide

https://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011...blameless.html

It sounds like the cops are saying as much as they can to be on the cyclists side.

Feldman

Let's just speculate--what would happen to the drunk/phoning/texting/oblivious driver who didn't see an "outlaw" motorcyclist--Hells' Angel, Gypsy Joker, etc.,--and killed them. Think maybe they'd have an unpleasant encounter with a few of the biker's clubmates, eh?

JamieElenbaas

...and you are suggesting?

TheHen

If such a thing comes to pass, I have to wonder if it is the last blow to what is left of civilized behavior in our country or if it is just a rational response to its exit.

smasha

even if someone hits a deer (or a squirrel, or anything), isn't there still a legal requirement to stop?

if someone claims that they thought a cyclist was a deer... that sounds like an automatic inattentive/careless driving charge... which should help firmly establish fault so the cyclist's family can use the civil courts to relieve the driver of all worldly possessions.

this is where i'm ideologically torn when it comes to harsh criminal charges... on one hand the driver could face prison, huge fines and huge legal bills... on the other hand, they could just be given a traffic ticket and then cleaned out in civil court. not that the two are necessarily exclusive of each other, but there may not be much left to take after a big criminal defense. my guess is that the prosecutor(s) is discussing the options with family before making any decisions.

kuan

If it were deer season I'd be more likely to believe her story. It just doesn't make sense.

genec

Likely she should not be driving... can't discern a deer from a human... must have terrible vision. Would probably mistake a stop sign for a Howard Johnson sign.

Shimagnolo

Deer don't cross roads except during deer season?

kuan

Less likely. But I'm saying since it's not deer season why would she automatically think she hit a deer? Her excuse isn't plausible. You wouldn't automatically think Lyme disease if you fell sick during the winter.

In all my years of driving up here I've never had to avoid deer except during deer season. Just my experience I guess. Nobody I know (at least to my knowledge) has ever hit a deer during non-deer season either.

dynodonn 

As far as I'm concerned, the motorist's deer theory is total BS, especially when the cyclist is on the side of the road, wearing a red shirt, and moving with traffic, and not brown as most deer are, or ran into the road and in front of the vehicle.

Snydermann

I guess cyclists look like deer in your peripherial vision while your texting . . . or you're right handed and the phone blocked your view.

dynodonn 

That right there garnered one of our local motorists a year in the county pokey, and it took a monumental effort by many of our local cyclists to even get that sentence handed down.