There's an all too predictable war of words going on on SFgate right now with half the posters claiming that all cyclists should be run off the roads and the other half charging that all cops are scumbag murderers.

Sad. Very sad.

---

----------------------------------------------------------
"A society is defined not only by what it creates, but by what it refuses to destroy."
John Sawhill

I am sorry for your loss. It is a senseless tragedy. You and your team will be in my prayers. Every spring I lead a prayer service for my bike team in which we remember riders who have been killed. There names will be added to that service... If a memorial of some sorts starts please post it.
Mitch

Thank you Mitch.

clm

---

clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

Katy - Sorry about your loss - very tragic.

I'm sitting at my desk, going through the flood of emails, crying like a baby. Thanks to all who have offered sympathy. Our team appreciates all the thoughts.

---

---------------------------------------
Awww, Katy's not all THAT evil. Only slightly evil. In a good way. - JasoninHalifax

Katy

This is just a horrible loss from a tragic accident. Please know that your friends family and friends will be in our prayers.

db

As someone who lost a coworker, club member, and friend in a cycling accident a few years ago, I can say that if this police officer has a soul, he is truly paying for it. I called the woman who struck my friend, and as soon as I identified myself on the phone, she just broke down. There were victims on both sides - my friend and the wife and 2 kids he left behind, but also a victim was the woman who hit him. I could tell talking to her how shaken up she was and how she would do anything to have avoided the situation. I'm reminded of his life every weekend training ride as we pass the cross at the side of the road bearing his name.

It's a tragic situation, and one that takes time to heal from. Condolences to all who knew the victims. Keep their families in your thoughts as well as the officer, who I'm sure is suffering a great deal as well.

NTM/CLM/Katy

Very sorry for your loss and my prayers this morning go out to you all and the family, friends and teammates of these three.

You all are doing the right things but it's still gonna be hard. One minute you're talking to someone and the next they are just--gone?

Grieve for them and cherish their memories.

---

Steve

I called the woman who struck my friend, and as soon as I identified myself on the phone, she just broke down.

Why did you call her?

Because I'm a compassionate person and the club realized there were multiple victims. We wanted to extend to her any emotional support she needed. It was not a witch hunt call but rather, a "we are here if you need us" call. It was an accident. Yes you can be upset about it, but it was an accident.

Thats very magnanimous. Unfortunately, it's not the first reaction most people would have, but very human and I am sure appreciated.

when i first read about and then posted the breaking news, i was sad hearing about this tragedy. i didn't know anyone involved. but after posts by katy and others that added more details, the pics, getting to know the riders, it becomes more and more excruciatingly heartbreaking....

I'm so sorry for your loss.
This is tragic for the whole cycling community.
My condolences to all impacted by this tragedy.

While I don't want to contribute to politicizing Matt's death, I disagree with a couple of your points.\

The fact that he is a law enforcement officer is almost irrelevent. It is not irrelevent, he was working- on duty, paid by us to protect us. there is nothing so far to indicate that he did anything wreckless. He crossed the center line and hit them head on. He said "I must have dozed off". That is definitely wreckless. I'm not going to argue this further, I'm too upset about losing a teammate and friend.

---

---------------------------------------
Awww, Katy's not all THAT evil. Only slightly evil. In a good way. - JasoninHalifax

hi, deepest sympathies for the victims, families & friends...

This is really sad. I didn't know Kristy Gough personally but probably raced with her several times in the local triathlons here. I remember a few years back always seeing her name as a top finisher in the results, she was one age group up from me. As soon as I saw her name in the reports I felt my stomach turn. I've biked a few times in that particular area the accident occurred and from what I remember there is a pretty wide shoulder.

rest in peace.

Jocelyn

---

...........................................................................
:: I came, I saw, I conquered. then I ran out of money, crashed into a car during an Ironman, and now work a bad-ass job making prosthetic legs for wounded warriors. ::

the blog: My So-Called Civilian Life :: theWongstar.com :: follow me @theWongstar

I'm not looking to argue so don't take it that way. I think what he did was careless, not proven to be wreckless as of yet. I consider that to be an important difference. Dozing off is not necessarily a wreckless act. Driving drunk is wreckless, driving at a considerably high rate of speed can be wreckless.

While it may be more shocking that it is a police car involved it doesn't make the situation that much different than if it was a civilian, just slightly more newsworthy. Police officers are human like the rest of us and no amount of trianing can prevent someone from making an error or having a lapse in judgement.

That's right - you can't fix stupid. My brother has fallen asleep behind the wheel twice in his life, luckily never injuring anyone but himself and his car. For the life of me I cannot understand what circumstances would cause him to continue driving with full knowledge that his body was calling for sleep.

I wonder did daylight savings have anything to do with this? Was the guy extra tired after getting up an hour early to start his shift?

---

----------------------------------------------------------
"A society is defined not only by what it creates, but by what it refuses to destroy."
John Sawhill

The injured rider, a 20 year-old continental pro from Germany, is doing ok at the hospital with a broken arm and leg.
He is doing okay physically. Broken arm and broken leg. He didn't know about either Kristy or Matt and when I told him he was understandably VERY shaken up. The guy is a total mental wreck right now. He is trying to come to grips with being the only survivor from the accident, compounded by the fact that he is far from home and only 20 years old.

"If a pilot showed up without proper rest before the flight they had the option of deciding not to fly."
-----------------------------

if the flying public knew how fatigued many airline pilots were back when I was flying, they would be justifiably fearful. This was especially true of smaller, "commuter" aircraft which operate under different rest rules than larger aircraft. While it has always been the pilot's decision, there has always been a strong disincentive to "NOT call in fatigued".

To get back on topic: I know that road VERY well and have ridden there weekly for years. I have a hard time believing someone could "doze off" while driving on that winding road. Something is not quite right with the deputy's alleged statement to that effect.

Haim

---

-------------------------------------------------------
"Sometimes you need to think INSIDE the box!" -- ME
"Why squirrel hate me?"

i don't think it matters when he started his shift, accidents still happen, and the fact that he is a policeman is totally irrelevant. would this be any better if he had been a lawyer, trash man, etc? would this be better if it was a guy out walking instead of a cyclist? he may have been up all night with his newborn kid, sleeping on the couch after an argument with the wife, whatever. point is it still happens. no one thinks they're going to fall asleep at the wheel until it happens. accidents happen all the time, the most unfortunate part is that it's always easy to see what you should have done in hindsight. and of course it's always very tragic, and really sucks that you can't take it back

I don't want to get too involved in this, but I agree. I'm not trying to say that the fact that he is an officer make any difference to what happened. I'm only hoping that people see that any of us could have been at either end of this incident, accidents happen but all off us are responsible for using caution when confronted with similar circumstances.