College Park District 3 City Council Member Stephanie Stullich has been proven right, but I bet she wish she wasn't. Back in 2009, after a 2nd crash and another injured cyclist at the same trail crossing of Campus Drive, she said
"Cars travel very fast on [Paint Brach Parkway] and drivers don't necessarily pay attention," Stullich said. "We're lucky he wasn't killed. But there's been other close calls at that crossing, and I'm afraid it's only a matter of time."
Yesterday a 77-year old man was crossing Campus Drive (which used to be Paint Branch Parkway) on the Paint Branch/Trolley Trail, was struck by a car and killed.
At about 7:30 a.m., officers were called to the 4600 block of Paint Branch Parkway for the report of a collision involving a car and a bicyclist, Prince George’s County Police said in a statement.
A preliminary investigation revealed a car was stopped at a red light on Paint Branch Parkway (sic) as Robert Dickey of Southeast Washington was riding his bicycle in the crosswalk and attempting to cross the street, the statement said. When the traffic light turned green, the car struck Dickey, who was taken to a local hospital where he died several hours later, according to the statement.
The 4600 block would place it on campus, but this account differs with another from the Diamondback yesterday, which has it at the trail crossing farther east.
A 70-year-old male bicyclist was struck by a car while heading south on College Park’s Trolley Trail on Monday morning, University of Maryland Police spokesman Maj. Marc Limansky said.The man was attempting to cross the Campus Drive intersection at the time of the accident, he said.District 2 Councilman P.J. Brennan wrote in a message that he’d biked by the scene and saw a bent bike and two distressed onlookers.
I bike through here frequently. Traffic does move too fast down this stretch. The light when activated gives plenty of time, but I always make sure traffic stops before I start across as often cars speed up when they see the light changing. Of course I do this at all lights on my bike or in my car. Sad that someone died her, and the details are less than clear.
Posted by: Carol Bonkosky | September 14, 2016 at 07:37 AM
I passed by the scene on my commute shortly after the crash on Monday. This was at the trolley trail crossing in the photo. The traffic light definitely helps, but drivers still speed. It doesn't help that the road curves close to the crossing, and drivers taking the curve too fast often don't manage to stop behind the line if the light is red. It's terrible that someone died there. I hope it prompts the city to actually implement the changes they've proposed.
Posted by: CPcyclist | September 14, 2016 at 10:45 AM
There weren't any skid marks at the scene. At 7:30 am, the sun would have been directly in the eastbound driver's eyes.
Posted by: Greenbelt | September 14, 2016 at 12:04 PM
This happened in Maryland and this man was riding, not walking, his bicycle in the crosswalk. The driver didn't flee the scene nor has there been a report of drunk driving. Does that mean the driver will get off scot free?
Posted by: Roo_Beav | September 14, 2016 at 01:13 PM
The driver will say the light was green; the victim sadly won't be able to tell his side. Unless there are witnesses, the driver's version will be upheld.
Of course, it should still be illegal to hit someone in a crosswalk even if you have a green signal! Drivers still need to exercise due care!
But I think by virtue of saying the light was green, the driver won't be charged. Unless he or she was on a cellphone or texting -- then there could be an issue.
Posted by: Greenbelt | September 14, 2016 at 02:46 PM
According to previous blog posts on here, MD driver is not required to yield to a person riding a bicycle in a crosswalk.
Posted by: Kolo Jezdec | September 14, 2016 at 06:25 PM
Does that mean the driver will get off scot free?
If the Henson Trail precedent holds, then yes for the reason Kolo cited.
Posted by: washcycle | September 14, 2016 at 11:48 PM
Please know that it's a TRAVESTY that regardless of how you cut it, Dr. Robert Dickey, a lifelong noted Pediatrician, in Washington, DC is dead, because of a reckless driver. His death is tragic, for so many families, where he has treated generations of children since the 70's. He was a trailblazer that opened his practice, when no one wanted to come East of the River and he stayed faithful....until his death. I Pray that the driver isn't admonished, because there is no rational explanation for going from sitting at a RED-LIGHT to running down and stopping a LIFE, as soon as the light changes....
Posted by: SFerg | September 15, 2016 at 04:50 PM
Is this the same Dr. Robert Dickey convicted of child porn a few years back? Got 18 months?
Posted by: Low_hanging_fruit | September 15, 2016 at 11:40 PM
I'm late to the conversation here, so I'm not sure that anyone will see this. I hope someone will.
But to the issue of the Henson Tail precedent -- That precedent does not apply here. Section 21-202 of the Maryland Transportation Code states that
Vehicular traffic described under subsection (b) of this section [describing entering an intersection on a steady circular green signal], including any vehicle turning right or left, shall yield the right-of-way to any other vehicle and any pedestrian lawfully within the intersection or an adjacent crosswalk when the signal is shown.
Under the Transportation Code, a bicycle is a vehicle.
So if the light was red for the driver, then the Henson Trail precedent does not apply. This is why, in Maryland, a full-fledged traffic signal is far better than a HAWK signal at a trail crossing.
Posted by: NeilB | September 16, 2016 at 04:44 PM
I usually ride my bicycle to work and that intersection is on one of my regular commuting routes, so I've had a lot of experience with it. I have the following observations:
1. When one hits the "walk" button, the traffic light usually turns red almost immediately. I'm grateful to whoever designed it that way, because I don't know of any other pedestrian crossing that's this responsive.
2. Despite #2, I've often seen bicyclists and pedestrians cross this intersection without hitting the "walk" button and waiting for the light to change.
3. Most motorists speed through the intersection when the light is green. However, I haven't ever seen a motorist run a red light there. That doesn't mean that nobody has ever done so, but it *does* mean it's uncommon.
So if the motorist claims the light was green, I suspect it probably was green.
Posted by: Dana S. Nau | September 17, 2016 at 10:37 PM
Dana, the light probably was green. No one has disputed that. What I think is that it was green, but he still didn't have the right of way, because someone - the person they hit - was still there.
Posted by: washcycle | September 20, 2016 at 12:27 AM
This man ruined my life. I was molested by Dr. Dickie, in the mid-late eighties at his practice on Good Hope Road in Washington, DC. Man he burn in the deepest level of hell for what he did to me and all his other victims. 30+ years and what he did still haunts me. No sympathy for a man who like to violate little girls.
Posted by: Sy | May 08, 2017 at 12:43 PM