I missed this story from late August. Joseph V. Mirenda was riding to Harrisonburg to visit his son at JMU. He never made it.
Around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, emergency personnel were dispatched to Port Republic Road, about a mile east of Cross Keys Road, where they found the cyclist lying in the ditch.
Mirenda was riding west on Port Republic Road when he was struck by a westbound 2000 Ford Taurus driven by Jessica Chandler, according to the Virginia State Police.
No charges were filed as of press time Wednesday, but investigators obtained a search warrant for the driver's cell phone records.
First Sgt. Bryan Hutcheson with the state police said investigators will be looking into whether Chandler, 22, of Port Republic, was talking on her cell phone or texting in the moments before the crash occurred.
"We don't want to leave any stones unturned," Hutcheson said.
See how they didn't immediately blame the victim for riding in the road or because he had a driver's license but "chose to ride his bike." No one mentions his lack of reflective clothing. They instead talk about investigating why the driver didn't see him. I couldn't find any information about charges, and it may be too early or this may be like the Virginia Beach homicide earlier this year where the driver was negligent but not guilty of gross negligence.
It did result in a discussion of Harrisonburg's bicycle plan, though the article mostly points to the things cyclists can do to be safe and are required to do by law.
On Tuesday, there will be a public input meeting at 6:30 p.m. in Thomas Harrison Middle School to discuss how to modify the city’s bicycle plan.
Thanh Dang, the public works planner for Harrisonburg, said the city is required by state law to change its plan every five years.
“Basically, now we’re working on the new updates to the plans which identifies what’s needed for pedestrians, for bicycle access, new sidewalks and other things like that,” Dang said.
Harrisonburg has a strong bicycle culture. They have good local advocacy for road and mountain. They have a majority of city council members who are pro cycling. Local law enforcement does bike rodeos. Bicycling is a part of the local economy. All of these things make a difference when a tragedy involving a cyclist occurs.
Posted by: Mark | October 15, 2009 at 01:02 PM