You are hereHit and Run at 5th St. and Chicon yesterday
Hit and Run at 5th St. and Chicon yesterday
I was just sent the following email from a cyclist who was hit while they were headed towards ESPP on 5th St:
my names is ashley. i was heading to east side pedal pushers to adjust my front brakes for the aids ride tomorrow, and i was taken out by a huge black pickup truck, license 90N KJ9. The cops came, said most likely even though there are THREE witnesses to the event, the driver, if found, will probably deny being behind the wheel and get off scott free.
I was making a left onto E. 5th, and so i moved over to the left hand side of the lane, had my left arm out signaling my turn, and this mother fucker decided that he needed to accelerate and pass me ON THE LEFT, (even though he had his entire lane to easily drive by me on the right,) and took me out. I broke my elbow, may have fucked up my shoulder, and clearly am gonna be off my bike for a while.
Any public service announcement about that pickup truck that you can do would be much appreciated.
thanks,
ashley
Please keep an eye out for a big black pickup truck with the license plate 90N KJ9. Actually, does anybody know somebody that knows somebody who could look up that plate number for us? If so hit me up, or call me at 699-1564. FUCKING drivers, I've had this happen to me in a very similar circumstance (driver over double-yellow to pass me when I took the lane) and it's a harrowing experience. The fact that the scumbag didn't stop to render aid is ridiculous, but even more bullshit is the cops ambivalent attitude towards the incident. What happened Chief? You can write tickets based on red light cameras that can't identify who's driving the car, yet you can't do the same for a hit-and-run that INJURED a cyclist and threatened their life? Fuck that. This is a broken system, and it needs to be fixed. We're counting on you Mr. Acevedo, please don't be like all the rest.
I might be able to help!
Hope you can get back on your bike soon Ashley! We missed you during the ride yesterday, but were really glad you came and supported us and the cause anyway. You're an amazing person and a great friend. Don't go to work tomorrow! Get better.
On a related note... I feel that often times people are, unfortunately, viewed as inanimate objects regardless if they're behind a steering wheel or handle bars. There needs to be more education and more respect. Bike safety video anyone? http://www.bikelib.org/video/
Just preachin' to the choir.
Go Ashley. You rock!
Jason sez:
You can write tickets based on red light cameras that can't identify who's driving the car, yet you can't do the same for a hit-and-run that INJURED a cyclist and threatened their life?
The citations created by the red light cameras are not criminal violations. They are civil penalties. This allows the "tickets" to be issued without positively identifying the driver. I am almost certain that this is the key difference.
Unfortunately, there apparently isn't a way to cite the owner of car in the case of hit-and-runs. Acevedo seemed genuinely interested in finding solutions to reduce hit-and-run incidents (by prosecuting more of them).
If the bicyclist can identify the driver in the hit-and-run case, then there is a chance that the driver will be convicted.
The officers on the scene probably don't know what solutions you have available, or they are just giving blanket cynicism about their own perceived helplessness. I was a bicyclist in a car-bike incident a couple of years ago where the motorist left the scene. I think you may be able to get this case to trial, if you are diligent... and if you can identify the actual person driving the motor vehicle.
* Make sure right now that you have an APD case number. (The case number begins with the current year, either as four digits or the last two digits.)
* Call the police about a week after the incident to ensure that the incident is recorded in their database. Sometimes they neglect to enter it into their database.
* Find out who the officer is who is assigned to the case.
* Find out what the assigned detective needs as evidence.
* Get a copy of the APD police report. You will likely need to go in-person to the APD HQ at E 8th St & I-35. You want everything that is available to you. Bring your ID and a way to pay for the report.
* Write an detailed, factual, account of the incident. Include a description of the vehicle, a description of the driver, and the vehicle's other passengers, if any.
* Find an affidavit template (online) and put your account into that template. Get the affidavit notarized. Send the affidavit to APD, Attn. of the assigned detective.
* Ask any witnesses that they also write affidavit accounts of the incident.
* Follow-up with the assigned detective.
* In my case, I was given the opportunity to identify the suspect our of a line-up of DMV photos. Ask the detective for this opportunity, if he/she does not already offer it to you. If you can identify the suspect in a line-up, that will go a long way to get a trial against the suspect. If you cannot identify the suspect in a line-up, then the only other likely route to a trial is that the suspect states that he/she has behind the wheel at the time.
* Be diligent about all of this. Don't waste time putting off any of the steps by more than a few days each.
* Be patient. Expect this to take months and months in all, at least.
* For the steps where you need to wait for the APD detective to follow through, always ask how long you should expect to wait. If he/she takes longer than thought, call the detective and ask for a status. Do not assume either: a) That the detective will be diligent about your case, b) That the detective is intentionally or carelessly disregarding your case. Always follow-up, politely.
* This would be a criminal case, so you won't have to hire a lawyer for prosecution -- the city or other jurisdiction will take care of that. However, you will likely need to help the case by serving as a witness at the trial and pre-trial.
I hope you were able to get a good look at the driver. If you did, you stand some chance of seeing this through to conviction.
You can still hit the owner of the car up with a civil suit. That won't get anybody put in jail, but the insurance company of the car's owner will probably pay for your medical costs, damage to your bike as well as pain and suffering. You might have to get a lawyer for this one, however.
The owner of the car is liable for damage done with it no matter who is driving it (unless it was stolen, I guess) and the insurance company probably won't fight the issue too hard if there's multiple witnesses that state that this was in fact the car that did it and that the motorist was at fault rather than the cyclist.