HIGHLANDS RANCH - The 63-year-old man hit by a car while riding his bike in Highlands Ranch Wednesday has died. Jim Price was riding on Wildcat Reserve Parkway near Summit View Road around 1:30 p.m. when he was hit. Police say the 17-year-old driver was text messaging on his cell phone when he swerved and hit Price.Officials say the teen will most likely be charged with careless driving resulting in death.
This is a dangerous area to ride. I myself have had many close calls with cars down there and all have them have been the inattentive type of drivers. A lot of the roads have nice wide shoulders, but that does not matter if people are jawing on their cell phones with three screaming kids in the back of the Expedition…
Sometimes I think the worst roads are the wide open, less traveled. Drivers become complacent and inattentive. Yeah cells have added to the distractions but it has become such an improtant tool in or lives, we just have to know when it is a proper time to use them. No matter how careful we can be, we are still at the mercy of other sometimes. Hope everyone has a safe holiday season.
regular on many of the other cycling forums. I’ve “known” him in that capacity for many years. Great guy–always ready to offer technical advice and to chat with people about our shared, communal passion for cycling. He will be missed by many.
And then, on the subject of the fuckstain who killed him while text-messanging on his cell phone, I’m furious that the cops released him to his parents. Screw that. Negligence doesn’t rate being released to one’s own recognizance. He needs to sit in a cell for a long time to reflect on the life he ended and the lives he’s shattered. Fuck him and fuck his parents.
Not Denver as a whole, although it is a lot more dangerous than say riding up north or in Boulder, but the southern and southeastern suburbs specifically - Parker, Highlands Ranch, Centenial. At least that has been my experience. The roads are wider, have more lanes and the speed limits are faster, which I think leads to exponentially increasing problems when people are not paying attention. In areas like Boulder, drivers at least expect to see cyclists on the road, so they may be more alert at times…
It’s to bad they haven’t released his name. Bad things can happen to bad people. Like a car-jacking gone bad or coming home and startling an armed burglar.
The drivers on Deer Creek/High Grade seem to be more attentive…they have to be otherwise they might drive off a cliff. Narrow, winding roads maybe counterintuitively safer. At least when the problem is inattentive drivers.
You are right about Deer Creek, but I also think drivers expect to see a lot of cyclists up there, and there are signs urging cyclists and motorists to “share the road,” for whatever that is worth. I also think you are right about drivers not wanting to drive off a cliff too… the curves prevent them from driving too fast.
Not to hijack the thread, but cell phone use while driving needs to be banned … period. Allowing cell phone use while driving by TEENAGERS is absolutely assinine. I can’t believe anyone in their right mind can justify that. I was hit and nearly killed by a teenage driver yaking away on her cell phone. That led to the worst six months of my life. But I was lucky and I lived. The unfortunate soul whose death prompted this post was obviously NOT so lucky.
I’ve taken up this cause in my area. I’ve tried to get stories in the newspaper and on the local TV. I’ve been in contact with the Governor’s office. The bottom line is that cell phones are big business. I get lots of head-nodding and agreement … and nothing happens. Cyclists are dispensible. Cell phone are not.
I agree…Cell phones needs to be banned while driving unless you have a system which you can use hands off.Not only cell phones but eating,drinking etc… are all causing major distraction while driving.Remember we invented drive trough…
But in the big scale of things we should not forget that it is too fucking easy to get a drivers license in this country without properly learning to operate a motor vehicle in the traffic.
Unfortunately car manufacturers are the ones behind this and local or federal goverments are not addressing this issue.We athletes are the ones who are in minority in a country full of overweight people trying to drive the biggest cars they can buy thinking they will be safe.
We just have to live with it…be carefull…ride safe
this charge carries with it possible jail time. I think everyone in the cycling community in that area needs to make a lot of noise and put pressure on politicians there, to make sure this kids gets that jail time.
a message needs to be sent, and if the kid doesn’t go to jail, the message is you can play with your damn electronics while you’re driving , kill someone, and just move on with your life with no real consequence.
When I was hit by a 16year old and the cops came and he admitted 100% his fault to the cops, they said they could not even ticket him as they did not witness it!
The kid’s insurance may have cost his parents more $$ but that is it.
Why is it a person hit by a car while cycling is treated with less seriousness that a person getting in a fight at a bar?
Quote: “Officials say the teen will most likely be charged with careless driving resulting in death.”
Floater,
Correct me if I am wrong, but this sounds like misdemeanor to me.
Why don’t they get serious about this sort of thing like they did about drunk driving over the past few years. It strikes me that law enforcement officials in this case are just enabling this kid to do it again. Just an unfortunate accident that will get a slap on the wrist.
It should be reckless driving (misdemeanor) and manslaughter (felony) if they were serious about this sort of thing. Make the kid accept responsibility for the consequences of his decision to text message while driving.
If there is enough of an outcry in the local community, the prosecutor will be worried about losing his office next election and will get tougher with this case.
It was an accident. That kid will never be the same again and will live with this mistake for the rest of his life. To any normal remorseful person it’s really like a life sentence and a piece of hell that will carried with them for every year they live. It could happen to anyone. Jail? No, don’t agree with that.
I know a lot of triathletes who use their cell phone while driving. It’s not just about text messaging while driving, it’s the distraction of the conversation, dialing, answering, reaching for it. Let’s hope they read the headlines and think twice about making/receiving that oh-so-important call.
Sheesh, that’s around my neck of the woods. Those shoulders are huge. I know it’s a tragedy for everyone involved, but for the kid, he made a terrible mistake that cost someone his life. His remorse only mitigates whatever sentence should be imposed; it doesn’t negate the fact that his reckless behavior caused the death of another, which is a serious crime.
Here is an article of Drudge Report. His wife is an amazing person
HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo.
A 17-year-old likely will face misdemeanor charges after allegedly losing control of his car while text messaging and hitting a bicyclist.
The bicyclist, Jim R. Price of Highlands Ranch, died Friday, two days after the accident.
“We do not believe it was an intentional act, but it was inattentiveness to the roadway,” said Lt. Alan Stanton, spokesman for Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.
“The investigation showed that he was text-messaging on his cell phone” at the time of the accident, said Stanton.
The driver could face a charge of careless driving resulting in death, Stanton said. Under Colorado law, the teen could face up to a year in prison.
It was the second time Price, an avid cyclist, had been hit by car. He suffered a broken ankle two years ago when he was hit while riding on a bike path. His wife, Shirley, said he had been especially mindful of cars since then.
Shirley Price wasn’t angry with the teen. “I feel sorry for the teenager,” she said. “It was a stupid mistake,” she told the Rocky Mountain News.
I have been working in that area on assignment, and have been doing some road running in the area, in general, most drivers have been very polite, but they are worse about running red lights then anywhere Ive seen in houston…
It never ceases to amaze me that the use of mobile handsets whilst driving is not illegal in the US or Canada. In the UK it is illegal to be operating one without a hands free kit. Although you see the odd individual flounting it but generally it is adhered to.
That said it is still taking quite a bit of one’s attention from the task in hand even if hands free. I was also astonished how little bluetooth is used.
These are accidents but are preventable accident that are entirely avoidable by education and enforcement.