Hit-and-run driver strikes cyclist, tears off clothes while running away

Claire wrote:
Redmond police say the death

Quoted message said:

means that a vehicular assault charge against the driver will be
amended to vehicular homicide.

Sad, sad, sad.

Claire Petersky

At least the police are making it a homicide instead of blaming someone
on a bike for being on a roadway for cars. It sounds like the driver was
on some serious drugs from the description. Even on the right side of
the road you are not safe these days. I don't know the road but maybe
putting a concrete barrier between lanes of opposite direction could be
done on a lot more roads.
That hits close to home, as far as avoiding cars goes, and I hate to
lose a fellow cyclist to a spaced out cager.
R.I.P.
Bill

In article <[email hidden]>,

Bill said:

Claire wrote:
Redmond police say the death

Quoted message said:

means that a vehicular assault charge against the driver will be
amended to vehicular homicide.

Sad, sad, sad.

Claire Petersky

At least the police are making it a homicide instead of blaming someone
on a bike for being on a roadway for cars. It sounds like the driver was
on some serious drugs from the description. Even on the right side of
the road you are not safe these days. I don't know the road but maybe
putting a concrete barrier between lanes of opposite direction could be
done on a lot more roads.
That hits close to home, as far as avoiding cars goes, and I hate to
lose a fellow cyclist to a spaced out cager.
R.I.P.
Bill

It's easy to suggest stuff like concrete barriers in these cases, but
you can't protect against all eventualities.

The guy in the car was, as you note, _seriously_ impaired. As in not in
a state to safely operate a car. He could about as easily have taken the
life of another driver had he veered at the wrong moment, or his own
life had he managed to put himself in the path of a truck.

I'm reminded of the story of a kid from my neighbourhood who jaywalked
across the busy highway near our house one night. Nothing wrong with
that: the traffic density is light at night, and I'm sure I've pulled
similar acts often. But this boy jaywalked badly, or carelessly, or
something, and got killed by a car.

The solution was to put a kilometre or so of tall fence on the median
island, after his parents repeatedly lobbied for it. I still cynically
refer to it as the A___ _____ Memorial Fence.

The fatal failure was not a lack of concrete or steel in the way in the
case of our fallen fellow cyclist. The fatal failure is that the killer
decided to take strong drugs and drive a car.

--
Ryan Cousineau [email hidden] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos