Posted on 11/03/2013 8:40:53 AM PST by artichokegrower
SANTA CRUZ -- A 40-year-old Santa Cruz man was killed Saturday morning when he was struck by a car while riding a bike on Highway 1, according to the California Highway Patrol.
About 11:17 a.m., the man, who police declined to name, was riding south in the bike lane with a bicycling group near Dimeo Lane, CHP Sgt. Grant Boles said.
At the same time, a 63-year-old Santa Cruz man was driving north on the highway in a 2013 Tesla Model S. Preliminary investigations revealed the driver veered into the bike line and struck the 40-year-old bicyclist, Boles said.
(Excerpt) Read more at santacruzsentinel.com ...
I know there are no dividers on portions of Highway 1, but that is still one heckuva "veer" ...
Unless the bike lane is next to the north-bound lane of H1 and is used both ways by bikes...
Last time I was there, there was no bike lane at all, so I can only guess.
Santa Cruz tragedy,
Good thing the missionaries named all the towns in CA early on. Otherwise no Santa Cruz. Would never be tolerated there today.
Here’s the location of the intersection. Wide bike lanes, and extra car lanes near the intersection.
Can we trust the testimony of fellow bikers? I presume a tendency to lie to advance their cause.
When greenie meets greenie.
Bike lanes next to traffic lanes, not a good idea. When I was working for Uncle Sam in Germany in the 70’s they had a traffic lane then a shoulder with cross hatching marks then a bike lane much safer.
Yeah, how much you want to bet these guys were spread across a traffic lane in their biker tights. Just a couple of days ago I pulled up to a traffic light beside a bunch of bikers on a multi lane road with a marked bike lane. Were they in the bike lane? No way. They were spread out taking up the full width of a traffic lane. Just another example of why I have no use for bike riders.
The impact shattered the windshield of the driver’s Tesla.
The California Highway Patrol said the cyclist’s neck may have been instantly snapped by the blow.
One of the cyclists, who said he did not see the collision, came upon the scene and found the driver of the Tesla getting out of his car holding a cellphone.
All three cyclists told the CHP they think the driver was using the phone at the time of the crash.
Investigators said speed may also have been a factor.
The CHP said the Tesla was headed northbound on the two-lane section of the highway when it swerved into oncoming traffic.
To avoid hitting a car, the Tesla’s driver went up and down the dirt embankment before striking the cyclist, witnesses said.
This is the kind of physical evidence I trust. “He was on the phone” testimony from biker pals who likely could not have seen it doesn’t hold much weight.
And “speed may have been factor” is meaningless cop PR in most cases.
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Agreed.
Bicyclist going south and Tesla going north…did he swerve across the southbound lane and hit the cyclist head-on?
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