Earlier this month, Alex Canales Hernandez, a 25-year old man was hit crossing Ritchie Highway near Bon Air Avenue in Brooklyn Park, MD on his bicycle at 8 am.
As Hernandez tried to cross Ritchie Highway he was hit by the Hyundia. A woman got out of the car and saw Hernandez lying on the ground. She then got back into her car and sped off.
He died later at the hospital. [A pedestrian, Kara Micciche, had been killed crossing the same highway ata point a few miles away a few days earlier. There will probably be no charges in that crash, but the investigation is ongoing. The family is pushing to have a crosswalk added."Mohr said the area seems to meet criteria for a crosswalk because of bus stops, a park-and-ride lot, a bike trail and a senior center."]
Police are now "looking for a black mid size sedan possibly a Hyundai Sonata with front end damage...said to have been drive by a black woman wearing pink medical scrubs."
This is not the first time such a thing has happened in Anne Arundel. In 2005 a women hit a 10-year old boy, got out to check on him in the roadway and then drove away.
And in fact, on the same day another cyclist was hit in a hit and run.
In Glen Burnie, Marco A. Garcia, 41, was hit by a truck on Crain Highway near Georgia Avenue just after 7:30 a.m. Thursday. Police said Garcia was riding his bicycle legally in the northbound lanes when he was struck by possibly a gray Chevrolet or Saturn sedan.
Although police initially said they thought the woman was driving a black sedan, they are now looking for a dark sport-utility vehicle, possibly a Ford Escape or a Jeep Liberty, with substantial damage to its passenger-side windshield and mirror,
The driver, who police said sped off, was described vaguely as a white man with a beard, who was last seen wearing wire-rimmed glasses and a baseball cap.
Garcia was taken to Shock Trauma, where he was listed in critical condition.
Tim Pratt of the Maryland Gazette says that laws making it harder for illegal immigrants to get driver's licenses is pushing more of them onto bikes.
For immigrants who are forced to ride bikes to work, Centro de Ayuda tries to give as many traffic safety tips as possible. Helmets, headlights and reflective gear are strongly recommended.
Still, the roads can be dangerous for cyclists who are new to the country. Many immigrants come from small towns where bicycle laws are “looser” and vehicle traffic isn’t nearly as congested as it is in Anne Arundel County, Omana said.
Some immigrants don’t know the rules of the road.
“I’ve seen many of them riding against traffic,” Omana said.
Although, in both these cases there is no indication that the cyclist broke the law or that they were illegal immigrants
And if all you can do is bike, you get forced onto some unfriendly roads, leading the police to claim that
“Certain stretches of roads should really be just for vehicles,” [police spokesman Justin] Mulcahy said.
Dave Humphreys, executive director of Annapolis Regional Transportation Management Association, deals with transportation issues all over the county. With the heavy amount of traffic on Ritchie and Crain highways, he said the accidents involving Hernandez and Garcia were “sadly not unexpected.”
“Those are very, very unfriendly bike roads,” he said. “I wouldn’t ride my bike up there.”
Mulcahy seems to be blaming these cyclists for the crashes, instead of traffic engineers for failing to build complete streets. If the roads are only safe for driving, and some people can't drive - then those people are just going to get hurt.
“We just want to know that someone was responsible,” said Rosa Salgado, a cousin. “He wasn’t an animal, not something you just throw onto the ground. We would just like to know who it was and that that person shows remorse over what occurred. It’s not fair that someone is able to hurt another human and just run away.”
“We understand if it’s an accident,” Salgado said, her voice cracking from tears. “Maybe her mind was somewhere else. Maybe she was late for work. We’ve all been in those shoes sometimes, and accidents do happen, and what hurts the most is that she ran over Alex like he was a pothole.”
“Certain stretches of roads should really be just for vehicles,” [police spokesman Justin] Mulcahy said.
Yes - they are called interstates. Roads where bicycles are banned by law. The mistake is to think that local roads should operate just like interstates with vehicles traveling at the same speeds.
Posted by: JeffB | July 25, 2011 at 11:20 AM
Excellent point Jeff. If a road shouldn't be used for biking, then ban it. But if it isn't banned, then it should be made safe. Maybe certain stretches of road (like ones where bikes are legally allowed) should have lower speed limits.
Posted by: washcycle | July 25, 2011 at 11:40 AM
local roads, state highways, interstates? they start to look a lot alike at times.
I saw a couple (mid 50s) biking the wrong way down the Whitehurst Freeway. Bad or not?
the link between immigration enforcement and increased biking is only going to increase. While lights would be a big improvement, I doubt helmets would do much.
Posted by: charlie | July 25, 2011 at 11:45 AM
Maybe certain stretches of road (like ones where bikes are legally allowed) should have lower speed limits.
Sure, but these speeds are perfectly safe for the motor vehicles, and everyone else involved. As long as cyclists and pedestrians stay the Hell out of the way.
Posted by: oboe | July 25, 2011 at 12:02 PM
Next up: why its your fault for not driving a Hummer or articulated truck.
Posted by: SJE | July 25, 2011 at 12:21 PM
"If a road shouldn't be used for biking, then ban it. But if it isn't banned, then it should be made safe. Maybe certain stretches of road (like ones where bikes are legally allowed) should have lower speed limits."
Yes.
By the way...there are people who are just "potholes." If there werent we wouldnt have the pay differentials that we have...nor would we have what amounts to a 17th century "democracy." get a fucking clue! THERE ARE PEOPLE that are simply social garbage, marginalized and disposable. We see them all the time! I dont like this...but apparently Im one of the few offended by the pay differentials in this culture...Im also one of the few who actually, IN PRACTICE, not just theory, values participatory democracy.
And since Oboe brought up hell: there are stretches of road that are de facto off-limits to bicylces. Duh. Just are there are certain NEIGHBORHOODS that are, de facto, not capable of sustaining a quality of life consistent with the possibilities afforded by the larger culture and its resources. One of those areas borders the MBT: thus, we get LOW QUALITY people preying on other (usually low quality) people. THIS SHOULD NOT BE NEWS!!!!
Posted by: Satan | July 25, 2011 at 12:51 PM
Just awful. I see cars racing around oblivious to pedestrians and bikes on the 4 or 6 lane suburban arterials all the time. After all, they're designed like highways, with slip lanes and high-speed ramps, so why would any driver think differently? Of course, only a fool would want or have to actually walk or bike someplace, according to the police.
Posted by: Greenbelt | July 25, 2011 at 01:49 PM
Tragic. :(
Posted by: Shawn | July 25, 2011 at 02:47 PM
@Greenbelt:
The whole thing is so circular: There's zero enforcement on our region's suburban (and urban) roadways because the speed limits are "artificially low". (Of course, they're only "artificially low" if there's no one walking or riding their bike.)
But don't worry! There's never anyone walking or riding their bike. Why? Because you'd have to be out of your mind to be walking or riding your bike out there with the insane speeds everyone's going, and the complete lack of enforcement.
Of course, since no one's out there, why don't we jack up the speed limits again? It's all just a revenue generation scheme anyway!
Posted by: oboe | July 25, 2011 at 02:55 PM
I saw a couple (mid 50s) biking the wrong way down the Whitehurst Freeway. Bad or not?
Wrong way is always bad. But Whitehurst is on the DC Bike Map as a Bike Route -- which I don't get at all, because Water Street is much better for cycling and goes directly under it.
Posted by: Contrarian | July 25, 2011 at 09:31 PM
Water Street is where all the cool bikers go. Literally, in this heat.
Posted by: krickey7 | July 25, 2011 at 10:37 PM
I don't understand why everyone is so gung-ho about putting crosswalks at these dangerous intersections.
Cross walks don't necessarily make the street any safer. People are hit and killed on crosswalks all the time. The only difference is that in those situations, you charge the driver instead of the pedestrian. But the result is the same....
Crosswalks, if anything, just give a false sense of security and too many of them will lead to more accidents.
http://thebuschallenge.wordpress.com/2011/08/01/entrapment-at-the-bus-stop/
Posted by: Bus Girl | August 01, 2011 at 03:33 PM