Bob Mionske's BicycleLaw.com Blog on Bicycle Law and Advocacy - Cyclist fatalities

Sending A Message

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 16:17:00 -0400

“It sends the wrong message.”

That’s how Denise Hudson described a decision by the Supreme Court of South Australia’s to slash the sentence of the careless driver who killed her husband. [More]

Executive Summary of the withdrawal of charges in the Michael Bryant case

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 22:48:00 -0400

Executive Summary

On Tuesday, May 25, Richard Peck, the special prosecutor appointed to try former Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant on charges involving the death of Toronto messenger Darcy Allan Sheppard, withdrew the charges against Bryant, noting that "there is no reasonable prospect of conviction in relation to either of the charges before the Court. Accordingly, the charges must be withdrawn.” [More]

Remembering Cindie Davis Holub

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 04:27:00 -0400

Earlier this week, we reported the unfortunate news that the cyclist who had been hit by a Waste Management truck in Scottsdale Arizona had lost her battle for life. Following that report, we received an email from a reader that told us a little bit more about the cyclist.

As we reported previously, her name was Cindie Holub. However, she was not a Scottsdale cyclist; rather, she was a resident of Westford, Massachusetts. Based on another report we have received, Ms. Holub was in Scottsdale training for a triathlon when she was hit. According to the most recent email we received, Ms. Holub was “Not a novice bike rider.” This reader, who included a copy of Ms. Holub’s obituary (which we are sharing below) concluded “Hope this helps make this very sad and unnecessary occurrence more real and all the more reason for better enforcement of motor vehicle law in Arizona.”

Cindie Davis Holub

Cindie Davis Holub
Westford, beloved wife and mother; 52

WESTFORD -- Cindie Davis Holub, 52, of Westford passed away Sunday February 28th, 2010.

She was born to James Howard Davis and the late Karen Swanson Davis in Oceanside CA. Cindie graduated from New Albany High School in Ohio and received a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from The Ohio State University. She was married to Dr. Brian Holub for 28 years. Brian and Cindie own Countryside Veterinary Hospital in Chelmsford.

Cindie was a loving mother of four boys. She was an avid reader with a burning passion for animals, especially her dog Penelope and her horse Orion. In addition to her love of reading and animals, Cindie enjoyed traveling with her family. She recently traveled to China with her sister Kim on a Global Volunteers teaching trip. Kim and Cindie taught English on the Hainan Islands.

In the last few years Cindie began training to compete in an Ironman triathlon. Spending her days training twice a day, she completed three triathlons in 2009. She had previously run the Boston Marathon.

She is survived by four sons: Bradley Jake (25), Andrew Karl (23), Kevin James (21), and Adam Scott Holub (18), one sister: Kimberly Davis Holmberg, her father, James Howard Davis, and her stepmother Francine Hitchcock Davis.

HOLUB -- In lieu of flowers the family is requesting donations made in her name to the Human Society of Greater Akron, 4904 Quick Road, Peninsula, OH 44264. A memorial service will be held Sunday March 7, 2:30 PM at the Fellowship Hall in Westford Center.

Published in Lowell Sun on March 3, 2010

We would like to extend our condolences to the family and friends of Cindie Davis Holub.

Saudi Police, British Embassy: Foul Play Ruled Out In Death Of Murdered British Cyclist

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 23:57:00 -0400

In a follow-up article on the death of a British cyclist who was reportedly “deliberately run down” by Saudi youths outside Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Arab News is reporting that “Police have confirmed the [cyclist’s] death … was nothing more than a tragic accident.” [More]

British Cyclist Murdered, Media Blackout, Government Silence-- Cover-Up?

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 20:43:00 -0400

Yesterday, we reported that John Currie, a British cyclist, had been “deliberately run down” in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia by local youths. This murder was first reported by the Telegraph on Saturday. On Sunday, Arab News reported that the “UK Embassy Rules Out Foul Play In Cyclist’s Death.” Instead, the embassy was referring to the cyclist’s death as “nothing more than a ‘tragic accident.’” [More]

Scottsdale Cyclist's Fight For Her Life Ends

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:23:00 -0400

Last week, we reported that a cyclist in Scottsdale, Arizona was fighting for her life after being hit by a passing garbage truck. We are sorry to report that her fight for life ended yesterday, when she died at a Scottsdale hospital. [More]

British cyclist "deliberately run down" in Saudi Arabia, British Embassy calls it a tragic accident

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 05:39:00 -0400

What happens when national interest conflicts with cyclist justice?

This week, British nationals may have learned that that their lives are considered expendable. [More]

It Was Just One Of Those Things

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 19:13:00 -0400

“I didn’t see him.”

It’s the most common excuse negligent drivers make after colliding with a cyclist. And it makes no difference whether the cyclist is wearing bright colors or "lit up like a Christmas tree"—negligent drivers will still utter these four words after hitting the cyclist. Except, of course, in the Netherlands, where the presumption of liability encourages drivers to be more careful about seeing cyclists.

In a recent case in the United Kingdom, a driver accused in the death of a cyclist offered “I didn’t see him” as her defense. “He came out of nowhere,”19 year-old Katie Hart explained. [More]

A Path To Justice

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 07:34:00 -0400

Rory Tomasello was, by all accounts, a talented, “intensely bright” and creative young man. An aspiring actor and playwright, Tomasello was studying philosophy at De Anza College in Cupertino while he tried to figure out what to do with his life; he had already outgrown the small town confines of Morgan Hill, California, and was considering moving north to San Francisco to finish college.

On October 23, Tomasello’s bright future came to a sudden end in a Morgan Hill crosswalk. Tomasello was on his bike, riding north along the West Little Llagas Creek Trail, a walking and biking trail that was dedicated on June 9. At West Edmundson Ave., a 4 lane street divided by a median strip, the trail continues north through a mid-block crosswalk, which connects to the trail on the north side of West Edmundson. Entering the crosswalk, Tomasello rode to the median strip, where he waited for traffic to pass. A driver stopped for him at the crosswalk, and he proceeded to cross. As he was crossing the final lane, a driver approaching in that lane did not stop, and he collided with the left front of her Cadillac SUV. [More]

An autumn present, an autumn past

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:21:00 -0400

This past week, it’s been a beautiful autumn here in the Pacific Northwest, with blue skies and sunny days reminding us of autumns past.

Two years ago yesterday, our idyllic Portland autumn was shattered by tragedy; in the aftermath, Portland was transformed, in ways that we would perhaps not have foreseen, had our autumn then been as peaceful as the one we are basking in now. [More]

And That Was That

Tue, 19 May 2009 10:10:00 -0400

2008 was a good year for cyclists in Portland, Oregon. The number of cyclists increased, while the number of cyclists injured in traffic decreased. Even better, there were no cycling fatalities. For Portland cyclists, this was a welcome change from the terrible news of 2007, when six cyclists died on Portland streets.

While 2009 shows every indication that the number of cyclists is continuing to rise, the respite from traffic fatalities has not continued. Already this year, there have been two cycling fatalities on the streets of Portland, before the surge of the summer season has even begun.

[More]