Five bicyclists killed in Nevada crash, 12/10/2020

[DataDan]

In a group of 18 riding south on US 95 south of Boulder City, five bicyclists were killed and two others seriously injured when a box truck slammed into them from behind. They were reported to be strong riders out for an annual 130-mile day ride. According to news articles, most were riding ahead of a safety car, but a few had dropped behind it to ease a headwind. It was the group behind the car that were hit. Nothing has been reported about the truck driver, except that he is not suspected of being impaired.

RIP, all. :rose


It happened here:




The number of fatalities equals the previous deadliest US bicycle crash, which occurred in 2016 when a drug-wasted pickup driver took out a group in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He is now serving 40+ years in prison, and a recent appeal to the state supreme court was denied. Before that, the worst US bicycle crash happened near Gilroy in 1986 when an 18-year-old girl changing a cassette tape killed four riders from Los Altos and Morgan Hill.

 

[budman]

Horrific..

:rose :rose :rose :rose :rose

A bunch a families are no doubt hurting.

Best to the injured on a full recovery.

 

[Climber]

I saw that story, right after it happened, sounds like they sorted out more information from the story I read.

They need to check the drivers phone and texting record, I think they'll find that they were likely texting often leading up to the crash.

 

[Blankpage]

This was always a big concern I had when riding along a street or highway.
Too often a vehicle would drive by with windows down and smell of weed trailing behind. I gave up cycling.

RIP riders

 

[afm199]

That made me sad. I still ride the road, but I'm terribly paranoid now.

 

[UDRider]

 

[flying_hun]

:rip

 

[Butch]

This is why my road bike collects dust. Roadies are naked. Shitty brakes. No contact patch. Speed delta. More invisible than us.

Horrific. Ouch. Sympathy for all this touches.

 

[Beanzy]

A little more info on the crash ...

"That shoulder on the side of that highway is wide enough to fit three cars," Weeks said. "We don't really know how somebody managed to get that far off the road. These were all very very experienced cyclists. It's not like they accidentally rode off and into the road."

It was not the first time those riders made the trip.

"These are people who ride 10,000 miles a year. Some race professionally," Weeks said. "How did something like this mistakenly happen?"

... [T]he group of friends was gearing up for a nearly 130-mile ride traversing parts of Nevada and California as they have done for the past 15 years.

https://www.rgj.com/story/news/2020...highway-crash-involving-box-truck/3884141001/

The dead riders were Erin Michelle Ray, 39; Gerrard Suarez Nieva, 41, Michael Todd Murray, 57; Aksoy Ahmet, 48; and Tom Trauger, 57.

https://www.reviewjournal.com/local...s-remembers-active-community-members-2215244/

 

[AbsolutEnduser]

:sad

“We don’t know how someone could drive on the shoulder so much “ :x

so basically i see people looking down in their laps while driving on single lane city streets all the time.

I think I’ve seen it from drivers of box trucks and of drivers of garbage trucks. :thumbdown

ZOMG there’s sooo much on the phone all the tweets grams messages friends and fbs. :rolleyes
I even think there’s a “new way of driving invented” everyone just goes into the center of the single lane two way road, just to feel safer while phone-scrolling.

 

[Eldritch]

Damn, ain't that a bitch. Brutal.

:rose

 

[GAJ]

I try and stick to roads that get me to a paved trail where the speeds of cars are maybe 20 mph max.

Always hoping they see the blinking tail light, always checking the bar mirror, but I'm more paranoid on the road on a bicycle than on a motorcycle, for sure.

Deepest condolences to grieving family and friends of the young riders.

Terrible.

 

[ScorpioVI]

“ One of the surviving cyclists said a handful of riders were trying to circumvent strong winds by coasting behind the safety vehicle.”

Yikes.

Driver had to be on his phone. Too many people driving with their heads down looking at their laps. We need to start making those penalties equal to DUI because it’s even more prevalent and reckless IMO.

I don’t know how you cyclists do it, having cars closing on you at high speed just a few feet away from behind. Even when I’m on the sidewalk walking the dog I’m paranoid of bad drivers.

 

[Eldritch]

“ One of the surviving cyclists said a handful of riders were trying to circumvent strong winds by coasting behind the safety vehicle.”

Yikes.

Driver had to be on his phone. Too many people driving with their heads down looking at their laps. We need to start making those penalties equal to DUI because it’s even more prevalent and reckless IMO.

I don’t know how you cyclists do it, having cars closing on you at high speed just a few feet away from behind. Even when I’m on the sidewalk walking the dog I’m paranoid of bad drivers.

Sometimes shit just happens, an ill timed sneeze can be catastrophic.

 

[Seduction]

RIP

 

[m0t0_ryder]

RIP Riders!
All upper middle aged too.

I ride road and Mtn bike. Not nearly as much as I used to.
I never felt a good degree of comfort while riding the road bike on narrower roads. That's probably why my road loops were on wide roads with big shoulders. And even then my mirror almost always had my eye in it.
On the Mtn bike I could relax and concentrate where it was most critical. In front of me.

 

[cencalballer]

:sad

“We don’t know how someone could drive on the shoulder so much “ :x

so basically i see people looking down in their laps while driving on single lane city streets all the time.

I think I’ve seen it from drivers of box trucks and of drivers of garbage trucks. :thumbdown

ZOMG there’s sooo much on the phone all the tweets grams messages friends and fbs. :rolleyes
I even think there’s a “new way of driving invented” everyone just goes into the center of the single lane two way road, just to feel safer while phone-scrolling.

I saw this on the 5 earlier this year when someone hit the ceter divide and then didn't wake till they were in a fence about 6 cars away from the shoulder. They caught air multiple times and just didnt seem in it.

 

[HappyHighwayman]

Tragic

 

[Climber]

There are very few true accidents, just end results of careless behavior.

The only two ways this happened is either a medical emergency (not in this case) or distracted driving. This driver needs to be prosecuted and spend years in prison, distracted drivers are killing more people than ever before. The fines for texting while driving should be raised significantly.

 

[DataDan]

There are very few true accidents, just end results of careless behavior.

The only two ways this happened is either a medical emergency (not in this case) or distracted driving. This driver needs to be prosecuted and spend years in prison, distracted drivers are killing more people than ever before. The fines for texting while driving should be raised significantly.

We both know that's not going to happen unless the driver is found to have been under the influence, and so far there's no indication that he or she was.

In my OP, I mentioned the Michigan man who killed 5 cyclists in 2016 while under the influence of five different drugs and got 40+ years in prison.

I also mentioned the 18-year-old girl who killed 4 cyclists on Hecker Pass in Santa Clara County in 1986. More research reveals that she pleaded guilty and got 750 hours of community service and 3 years probation.

So there's often no justice in traffic deaths. Kill someone while sober and it's a tragic mistake with few consequences. Kill someone in the same circumstances, except DUI, and it's pound-you-in-the-ass state prison.

One case I'm aware of in which a driver got prison for a texting-while-driving motorcyclist death was in Tulare County in 2015. Somehow, the DA got evidence from the driver's phone. Without that, an eyewitness, or a Mirandized confession, there's no way to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt.