JACKSONVILLE, FL — The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is investigating a bizarre crash on the Southside involving a woman driving a car full of children and a bicyclist.

The incident happened on San Pablo Road, just north of Beach Boulevard Sunday night.

Witnesses in the car told police the unidentified female driver deliberately ran into a woman riding a bike on the side of the road.

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Via http://laist.com/2008/07/07/road_rage_motorist_vs_cyclists_on_m.php

On July 4th, about 300 cyclists gathered at the Manhattan Beach Starbucks for a Holiday Ride to the top of Mandeville Canyon Road in Brentwood. The Holiday Ride is a regular event that takes place 5-6 times a year drawing cyclists from all over the greater LA area.

Mandeville Canyon, off Sunset Blvd., is a steep and challenging ride and the crowd quickly thinned out with some cyclists racing to the top while others rode socially, catching up with old friends and savoring the journey.

On the descent, a cyclist in the back fell, breaking his collarbone and injuring himself seriously enough to require medical attention and a ride to the hospital in an ambulance. Christian Stoehr, 29, and Ron Peterson, 40, stayed behind until the ambulance arrived and then they began their descent down the hill.

Christian Stoehr recounts “We were riding downhill at approximately 30 mph when a car came up behind us, must have been doing 50 mph, and the driver started honking at us. We moved to the right in single file within seconds and the motorist pulled along Ron and started screaming at him. He then pulled in front of us with 3-5 feet to spare and slammed on his brakes, giving us no time to stop. I swerved and almost made it, clipping the car and flying through the air and landing in the street. Ron had no room to move and he went straight into the back of the car, putting his face through the back window.”

The driver of the vehicle stopped his car and continued the tirade, identifying himself as a Doctor but never offering medical attention.

Ron told the motorist to turn off the car and Christian sat on the hood of the car, afraid that the driver would drive off. The motorist continued the tirade, telling Christian to get his bike out of the street. Christian reported that they were afraid that the motorist would leave the scene.

A third cyclist, Chris Roberts, rode up and stepped in to make sure the motorist didn’t leave. Christian collapsed on the side of the road as the ambulance from the top of the hill pulled up with the first injured cyclist. Paramedics jumped out and administered first aid.

Christian was banged up, collected road rash and was unable to move his right arm. Ron reports that “my nose was separated to the point that it was hanging off my face. They moved it to the side and pulled glass out of my face. My front two teeth are broken, they found a piece in the backseat mixed in with all the glass. I’ve got 90 stitches in my face.”

Both cyclists ride with Synergy and both are accomplished racers. Ron is a CAT1 racer and former State Champion with 14 years of racing experience. Christian has a couple of years of racing under his belt and says “Ron is my racing coach and just a couple of months ago he conducted a safety class with exercises to teach us better bike handling skills. This meant I was better prepared to take evasive action and I almost made it! Ron had no room to move and ended up hitting the back of the car, putting his face through the back window.”

Christian says “It’ll be months before I can ride again, I was looking forward to some of the upcoming stage races but the season is over for me. Not only that, I’m a camera and steadicam operator so I’m going to be unable to work for months.”

Their bodies are broken, their bikes are totaled but their resolve is stronger than ever.

“This isn’t the first time that there’s been an incident like this.” says Ron. “In fact two cyclists from LAGrange were recently run off the road by a motorist who fits the same description as this one. They reported it but no charges were filed. Same road, same situation. We’ve got to work together to prosecute this guy to the full extent of the law before he kills somebody!”

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas — Police said they arrested a man they suspect in a crash resulting in the deaths of two Mansfield cyclists Sunday morning.

Meredith Hatch, 38, and Mike Alfaro, 36, both of Mansfield, were cycling on Camp Wisdom Road near Erin Lane in South Grand Prairie at about 8:20 a.m. when a red Lincoln Navigator crashed into them, police said.

Police said they arrested Kenneth Bain, 24, of Duncanville, for driving while intoxicated.Hatch, the owner of two Primrose day care centers, is a mother of three boys and an accomplished triathlete. She and Alfaro were members of a cycling group and were training for an event.Police said Bain is being held at the Grand Prairie jail on $50,000 bail and faces two charges of intoxication manslaughter.

A TEENAGE cyclist injured his back when he was knocked off his bike by a car.

The 16-year-old was riding round Cauldwell roundabout in South Shields yesterday, when he was clipped by a Volkswagon Passat as he passed the Cemetery Road junction.

The accident happened at 3.40pm, and the boy, from South Shields, was taken to South Tyneside District Hospital by ambulance.

He was treated for a bruised back and cuts to his legs.

“Police are investigating a case of culpable homicide after a cyclist was knocked down and killed in a suspected hit-and-run in Masabalala Yengwa (NMR) Avenue in Durban early on Sunday.

The cyclist has been identified as Allan Seagar, 56, of Westville.

Police spokesperson Michael Reed said a case of culpable homicide had been opened and that investigations were under way to track down the driver.

‘I haven’t just lost a cycling partner. I lost my best friend’

Mike Foley, a friend of the cyclist’s who witnessed the accident, said they had chosen the Masabalala Yengwa route because it seemed the safer option to other routes in Durban; however, that choice proved to be fatal.

Speaking to The Mercury, a highly traumatised Foley, who has been friends with Seagar since the 1980s, said: “We had discussed it… and decided on avoiding the Blue Lagoon and Suncoast Casino route for fear of drunken drivers and party-goers and we did not want to experience any trouble.

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“We were between the Berea Rovers Sport Club and Cyril Geoghegan cycling stadium at about 6.10am and were just coming to a section where the robots don’t work. I just heard a bang and as Allan came into my vision I saw the car.”

He was riding in front of Seagar when a silver VW Golf hit Seagar and he saw Seagar’s body fly in front of him.

“The driver sped off even though he knew that he hit Allan. His car badge and other parts were left behind.”

Foley described Seagar as a funny character who was loved by everyone. Both Foley and Seagar worked at the National Ports Authority.

He said: “I haven’t just lost a cycling partner. I lost my best friend. He was a truly remarkable man.”

Family spokesperson Glynis Owen said the family were trying to come to terms with Seagar’s death.

“We cannot speak right now and would appreciate some time.”

Seagar leaves his wife, Patricia, and two children, Kelly and Jared.

His death comes two months after a female cyclist died in Jan Smuts Avenue near Hillcrest when she was knocked down by a truck.”

A motorist plowed into a group of bicycle riders in Matamoros, Mexico, on Sunday, killing one and injuring 10 to 14 others. They were part of an organized bike tour, escorted by police, from the border town to a local beach.

The Metro Noticias online newspaper reported 1 dead and 10 to 12 injured in Monday morning’s edition; KRGV said that friends of the victims reported 5 dead this morning, although I couldn’t find that death toll verified anywhere.

An image taken by Vera Hernandez at the scene and published in Metro Noticias shows the car slamming into the cyclists, above. It shows the police escort, the 1989 Grand Marquis hitting the cyclists, and bicycles and bodies flying everywhere.

Arrest

Matamoros is a town across the border from Brownsville, Texas. From what I can gather from a translation of the Metro Noticias article, the cyclists were among 400 people taking part in the Matamoros Baghdad 2008 bike tour, a ride from Matamoros to the Gulf Coast beach at Baghdad, about 20 miles away.

KRGV reports one of the dead as Alejandro Alvarez, 30, of Brownsville. Another Brownsville man was arrested by police at the scene (I’ve seen him identified by three different names). From the translation it sounds like police also saved his life, as those at the scene tried to attack him.

KRGV says the man was under the influence of drugs and crashed into the bicyclists when he tried to pass a police escort.

Here’s a  link to the Metro Noticias article, and the Babelfish translation. Also the Brownsville Herald, which reports two dead.

(05-29) 15:35 PDT SAN FRANCISCO — A 57-year-old San Francisco bicyclist is clinging to life after being struck by a pickup truck at a freeway off-ramp, police said today.

The cyclist, who was not identified, was struck at 2:10 p.m. Wednesday while riding north on Bayshore Boulevard at the Cesar Chavez Street off-ramp to the Bayshore Freeway, police Sgt. Wilfred Williams said. The cyclist was crossing several lanes of traffic when he was hit by the pickup, which was getting off the freeway, Williams said.

The cyclist is in critical condition with life-threatening head injuries at San Francisco General Hospital. The truck driver was not cited and the accident is under investigation, police said.

Initial police accounts that said the cyclist had died in a hit-and-run accident were incorrect.

About 50 cyclists – including Australian racer Kate Nichols, who was injured in a 2005 German road racing crash in which a teammate was killed – have been involved in a hit-and-run crash in Sydney this morning.

The resulting smash forced a semitrailer to lock up, jackknife and screech to a halt behind the cyclists while cars had to swerve to avoid them.

Also involved in the crash, at 6.35am on Southern Cross Drive, south of the corner of Dacey Avenue in Mascot, were former Olympians Ben Kersten, Kate’s father Kevin Nichols, Graeme Brown, Michelle Ferris and Matthew White.

Witnesses to the crash have told smh.com.au the group of up to 60 professional cyclists were riding south on Southern Cross Drive, just south of Dacey Avenue, Mascot about 6.30am when a driver, agitated with being held up, accelerated in front of the pack and then slammed on his brakes, giving the riders no time to stop.

Olympic preparations derailed

Kersten, speaking from a chiropractor’s surgery where he was having his injuries assessed, said he feared his preparation for the Beijing Olympics could be derailed by the incident.

“I did hurt myself, I’m not broken or anything, but I am going to need a few days’ recovery,” he said.

“I’m having trouble bending my arm, my hip’s all flared up. I rolled my ankle so it’s not something you just walk straight through, but a lot of other people looked a lot worse than me. It’s just a disgrace, an absolute disgrace.

“I have an Olympic trial in two-and-a half weeks for the last remaining spot [on the team] so it’s not very good timing at all.

“I’ve got to get a new bike now, I’ve got to worry about my injuries, I’m supposed to be at training now but I’m at the chiropractor. Every day counts. This is not what you need.”

Kersten said motorists needed to learn to share the road with cyclists.

“This is our training ground. We can’t ride round and round a football stadium at 60kmh. The law states we are allowed on the road. A brutal death match on the road is not going to solve anything,” he said.

“We’re so lucky somebody isn’t dead, we were pushing 60kmh, sprawled all over the road with trucks going past. I really don’t know how someone isn’t dead, that’s all I can say.”

Kersten said any person found guilty of driving offences related to the crash should have to pay compensation to the riders whose equipment was damaged.

“My bike suffered a fair bit of damage, it’s carbon and it’s got a crack in it and the wheels are written off,” he said.

“It’s probably about $12,000 worth [of damage] but I am lucky enough to be sponsored by a [cycling manufacturer], so they will be able to do something, but there are 50 other bikes in the bunch that are not sponsored.

“I definitely think [the driver] should [pay compensation]. I think there was probably close to $50,000 worth of bike damage done.

“But I just want to see him go to jail, I don’t give a hoot about the bikes because I don’t think someone of that calibre is going to fork out one cent. I would rather see him go to jail.”

Group called the Coluzzi Ride

One of the riders said the cycling group called itself the Coluzzi Ride after the Darlinghurst cafe it regularly set out from and was made up of “serious, A-grade riders and pros”.

“A lot of Olympians and professionals when they are in town join the ride, most of them are just higher level amateurs, you have to be pretty fast to keep up,” said rider Nick Cooper, 27.

One of the group said the motorist was “worrying” the rear of the pack, then overtook, pulled in front and slammed on his brakes, giving the riders no time to stop.

Slammed into each other

“Everyone’s slammed into each other … there were broken bikes – wheels busted and wheels snapped – and people lying on the road.”

Mr Cooper said: “Three female cyclists took the brunt of the accident, careering into the back of the braking vehicle, several of them being thrown into the air landing on the boot and roof of the car.

“Most riders were left with cuts and bruises and at least some damage to bikes, shoes and helmets, including some bikes sustaining thousands of dollars of damage.

“This whole incident really exemplified the escalating road rage towards cyclists happening on Sydney’s roads.

“Road rage seems to occur with or without provocation, and regardless of whether cyclists are riding in a law abiding way, or slowing down traffic.

Motorists jeered

“A perfect example of the enmity were the jeers and taunts of several drivers – more than three separate drivers that I noticed - making their way past the aftermath of the accident, despite the fact that a police car and two ambulances were on the scene treating seriously injured people.

“[A] policemen informed us that the back of the group was nearly cleaned up by a semitrailer locking the brakes to avoid the suddenly halting group, with its trailer jackknifing and sliding towards the group before being skilfully brought under control by the driver, narrowly avoiding potential fatalities,” Mr Cooper said.

He said he overheard one rider telling a policewoman that his bicycle, which had sustained major damage to its front wheel, was worth $9000.

Michelle Ferris, who was at the front of the pack, described the collision.

“We we’re all in the left hand lane and this Ford Falcon came from the middle lane and swerved  into the front of the bunch and braked suddenly,” she said.

“We were doing about 40kmh, there was no way for me to go and I went straight into the back of his car and other riders went into me.

“My chin [hit] the back window and my bike was totalled.”

Police – including an off-duty officer who witnessed the crash – quickly closed the lane down while they investigated the incident.

Driver known to police

It is understood they know who the driver of the car is, and are attempting to contact him now.

It is expected he will be charged, including with failing to stop at the scene of an accident and negligent or dangerous driving.

There was no doubt the driver of the dark blue Ford Falcon – described by other witnesses as in his 30s with a female passenger – had done it deliberately, she said.

Everyone was particularly worried about Kate Nichols, given her involvement in the 2005 road crash in Germany in which national team member Amy Gillett was killed, Ferris said.

“We were all very worried about her. When I saw her she was as white as a ghost still sitting on the ground.”

Nichols’s father Kevin, who was also involved in the crash, said his daughter had only just begun riding again after a lengthy lay-off.

“She’s pretty shaken, it’s a pretty shaking incident,” he said.

“She just started [riding again] last week, she had a long break and had just started out again. She hadn’t ridden with this group for months.

“She had had a bit of tiredness, issues being sorted out, she had started work and was taking it easy. She was sick last year, she had a virus.”

Mr Nichols said he was not sure if the crash, so soon after the horrific injuries she suffered in Germany in 2005, would prompt his daughter to give the sport away completely.

“Who knows?” he said. “You take each day as it comes with this sort of thing.”

His daughter was not in contention for the Australian Olympic cycling team for this year’s Games, he added.

Mr Nichols said she was not badly injured but had a bump on the head and was having precautionary X-rays following the crash, which he described as “malicious”.

He said he saw the face of the driver of the Falcon and his female passenger, whom he believed were both aged in their 30s, and said they appeared to find their actions funny.

“Most motorists are really good, but clowns such as the person today are just one out of the box,” he said.

Road rules for cyclists

Cyclists riding in groups on public roads can only cycle next to one other rider – a law described by the Roads and Traffic Authority as riding “two abreast” – and must not ride more than 1.5 metres apart.

The RTA’s website also stipulates that cyclists must ride in a bicycle lane if one is available and can use bus lanes, except when the lane is marked “buses only”.

Contrary to some correspondence to smh.com.au today, the section of road where the crash happened was flanked by a shoulder, not a cycle path.

Children under 12 are allowed to ride on a footpath but adults are only permitted to use them if they are supervising a child.

Ferris said the group involved in today’s crash were obeying the road rules before the pile-up.

“We were riding two abreast and 1.5 metres from the left of the lane,” she said.

“We were all riding together, we certainly weren’t going out there to cause trouble.”

Ferris, who said she was feeling “pretty sore” after being one of the first to crash into the braking vehicle, said some of the ignorance in the community about the rights of cyclists on the road was “just astounding”.

- with Stephen Samuelson

(05-22) 04:00 PDT San Francisco — A bicycle messenger who had recently started his own delivery business was killed Wednesday when he was hit by a pickup next to Alamo Square, San Francisco police said.

Kirk Janes, 35, was killed at 10:55 a.m. at Fulton and Steiner streets at the northeast corner of the square. Janes had recently co-founded the business American Flyer and was also known as an artist, filmmaker, photographer and fencing enthusiast.

Janes was heading east on Fulton toward downtown in a bike lane when the pickup driver, headed north on Steiner, struck him in the intersection. Police Department spokesman Sgt. Wilfred Williams said it is unclear who had the right of way at the intersection, which is controlled by signal lights.

Friends said Janes, who still smoked despite surgery on his throat, kept riding even after a recent injury to his hip. He spoke with a raspy voice.

Janes had broken his hip while riding on Second Street last year and could have gone on disability from the state. Instead, he quit Speedway Delivery last year, and, after a brief break to recover, started his own business.

“He could have gone on disability, but he decided it would not be the right thing, knowing he was not going to go back to Speedway. He passed up a lot of money, just on principle,” said Ryan Akers, a friend and fellow messenger.

Janes had been recently talking about going on vacation and had traveled extensively in Europe, said Akers, who had been on a bowling team with him in Daly City dubbed the “The Strike Messengers.”

Mike Donofrio, a former co-worker at Speedway Delivery, said Janes was popular in the community. “He was a really hard worker – he always had everybody’s back,” Donofrio said.

Fergus Tanaka, president of the San Francisco Bicycle Messengers Association, said Janes was active in the close-knit messenger network in the city.

“He was a good guy, a real strong member of the community and someone who was of great support to his friends,” Tanaka said.

Tanaka said being a messenger is a risky career, given the traffic in the city. He said that while injuries related to accidents are not uncommon, this was the first messenger fatality in recent memory.

“It’s a shame when something like this happens – outsiders may tend to blame the messenger first, but that is not the only case. It’s dangerous, a small slipup or miscalculation can lead to something tragic.”