Patrol car hits, kills bicyclist
Thread started by
2zRescue at 11.10.09 - 6:17 am
http://www.fox5sandiego.com/news/kswb-bike-v-cop-car,0,5039152.story
SAN DIEGO - A 64-year-old man was killed Monday November 9th, when his bicycle was struck by a San Diego police car at a busy University City intersection at the height of the morning rush hour, officials said.
The cyclist died at the scene of the crash in the 3900 block of Governor Drive at the intersection of Genesee Avenue, police said.
The accident involved a San Diego police officer with 18 months on the force, police said in a written statement. The officer was driving responding to an accident call, but he did not have his emergency lights or siren activated, police said.
The bicyclist was riding in the bicyle lane on southbound Genesee Ave. As he crossed the intersection with Governor Drive, he rode into the path of the police car, traffic investigators said. They did not say who had the right of way.
No other details were immediately released, but photographs from the accident scene showed that the passenger-side windshield of the police car was caved in and a portion of the emergency lights on the car's roof were shattered from the impact with the cyclist.
The crash was first reported around 7:20 a.m., he said. A coroner was sent to the scene, said a Medical Examiner's Office investigator.
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http://www.cbs8.com/Global/story.asp?S=11469628
SAN DIEGO, Calif. (CNS) - A 63-year-old man was killed today when the bicycle he was riding collided with a police car on a University City street during the morning rush hour.
Walter Freeman of San Diego pedaled out of a gas station in the 3800 block of Governor Drive shortly before 7:30 a.m., crossed the southbound side of the roadway and rode directly into the path of the cruiser, which was traveling southbound in the far-left lane, according to police and the county Medical Examiner's Office.
Freeman died at the scene.
The involved officer, who has been with the SDPD for 18 months, was uninjured. At the time of the crash, the patrolman was en route to investigate a non-urgent traffic accident call and had not activated the cruiser's roof lights and siren, according to police.
The squad car was traveling below the posted speed limit at the time of the accident, SDPD traffic Detective Dan Wall told reporters during a mid-afternoon briefing.
2zRescue11.10.09 - 6:26 am
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They shouldld throw the book @ this pig and debadge his ass.. this really sucks.
Debut21311.10.09 - 9:55 am
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That is some rough shit. If the cyclist had the right of way, SDPD is in DEEP!
scottynighthawk11.10.09 - 10:41 am
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JUST LOOK AT THAT FUCKIN IMPACT CRATER!!!
SAD...
NOISEPOCKET11.10.09 - 10:46 am
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yea, it's right on the side where the bike lane is... So much to the theory the bike swerved in to the middle of his lane.
2zRescue responding to a
comment by NOISEPOCKET
11.10.09 - 10:54 am
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And he was wearing a helmet and a bright orange reflective vest!
2zRescue11.10.09 - 12:29 pm
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RIP Brothaa.
thats so sad. fucking cops have too much power and no sense to use it. i HIGHLY doubt that cruiser was going speed limit.
north_valley_critical_mass11.10.09 - 12:36 pm
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speed limits could well have been 40mph, making this very possible at under speed limits. none the less.....rip.
on another note....why does the cop think he needs to hustle to a "non-urgent" traffic stop....
filmillr11.10.09 - 12:47 pm
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You know I just ride in traffic almost every day and I don't give it much thought, my saftey that is. If I kept thinking that it could happen to me at any time, I'd stop riding. I've been hit several times but it's been years since the last one and all it takes is one right hit and that's it. As bikes grow so will our losing encounters with cars, be careful out there.
rev106 responding to a
comment by danya
11.10.09 - 8:40 pm
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He's a cop. They hustle everywhere in their cruisers. It's unfortunate that this happened and I say its probably 99% chance that it's the cop's fault.
This is very sad
hybrid rida responding to a
comment by filmillr
11.10.09 - 9:20 pm
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This further strengthens my belief that the only thing that's gonna lead to any meaningful swing in the pendulum toward bikes and away from cars being dominant will be be $8 gasoline/$200 oil for a sustained length of time. People in masses will not get out of their cars and onto bikes voluntarily, esp with this kind of stuff happening almost daily. The only way we truly start seeing a true bicycle critical mass in this country will be when people are forced out of their cars
Will we be prepared to take charge when it comes?
Hope I didn't get too far out or anything...just rambling
hybrid rida11.10.09 - 9:27 pm
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This was an ugly and chaotic scene today. I was down in SD the last couple of days and my friend and I rode to this when we heard about it. Looked like the guy misjudged the patrol car or the car was speeding. Sad cause there were schools in the area and lots of bike traffic.
RIP Walter Freeman.
User1 responding to a
comment by hybrid rida
11.10.09 - 10:56 pm
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18 months on the force?
I wonder if this 18 months also included mandatory, post-academy correctional-institution guard time?
Seems like a majority of departments in this state are following this formula for whatever reason.
6-8 months in the academy where they're taught all the necessary EVOC courses, only to not put it to use immediately due to babysitting candy-thieves in central lock-up.
This is why if I ever stray into the LE path again, it's going to be on the federal, investigative side of things.
Local, county and even state forces all seem to be committed to dealing with crimes that could've been prevented by a belt-to-the-ass, ten years before.
bentstrider11.11.09 - 8:25 am
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Ridazz Roulette!