Remember cyclists and everyone else- always keep your wits about you! Get in the habit of being aware of your surroundings, notice the cars around you on the road. Make EYE CONTACT with drivers. Follow traffic laws when you are riding with and as traffic on the road. Look at license plates, practice remembering the numbers. Notice drivers. You must be able to provide this info in order to get any action taken if you happen to be in an accident. It sickens me to think of the number of accidents I have been in, heard about, and witnessed that involve motor vehicles hitting humans on bikes and then driving off. I definitely believe in Karma, and also hope that somewhere in the guilty parties cold hearts that they do have a conscience that will punish them until the day they die for the crime against humanity that they have committed. I hope the cyclist involved in this particular accident is on the mend. I also hope that the young cyclist who passed away over the weekend, and their family is finding peace. Stay safe out there.
Love to you all,
Maureen
Hey Fellow Cyclists,
This is the third case we have received over the past year where a cyclist was seriously injured and the offices eiher failed to take a report, failed to gather witness informtion, or failed to take driver insurance information. This is such a huge problem.
In this particular case, on May 4, 2009 at approx. 5:30 PM, a young man was riding his bike in the bike lane. As he neared the intersection of Academy and So. Congress, directly in front of Docs, an Audi moved from the left turn lane crossed over and made right hand turn into the cyclist. There were no less than 50 witnesses including EMT and Fire personnel having lunch at Docs. The officers responding to the call: Bloodworth #5117 and Johnson #6461 failed to follow a single protocol for an accident injury. They did not take the drivers information and they did not even write a report. The young cyclist was taken by ambulance to St. Davids, he sustained a broken hand, a complete and open broken collar bone, AC tear of his shoulder, back injury, and various nicks and scrapes as well as a mild head injury. They knew of all these injuries at the scene, yet APD did not even bother to write down the driver's information much less take a single witnesses' information.
This is so ridiculously unacceptable! If anyone has witness information, please forward it to our office. If you are on a blog and see any information about this incident, please let us know. I am amazed and overwhelmingly disappointed in the APD and their carlessness for the citizenry, specifically those of us on two wheels.
"I truly believe that in making honorable choices about our lives, we can acknowledge sacrifices we make and the risks we take and recognize that what others view as losses and foolhardiness are the nourishment upon which our spirits thrive." Derrick Bell, Ethical Ambition
The Shefman Law Group
604 Mission Street, 6th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105
T: 415-357-3681
F: 415-357-3682
http://www.shefmanlaw.net
http://www.cyclistlaw.com
In Austin:
4015 Marathon Boulevard
Austin, Texas 78756
T: 512-386-8117
Toll Free: 877-366-7677
www.thelonestarattorney.com
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