Oft-delayed Foshee Trial to begin

The manslaughter trial stemming from an incident where a cyclist was killed in August of 2009 is actually going to trial 1/30/2012 after many delays — yes, that was almost two and half years ago!

My correspondent told me that jury selection did begin on Monday.

According to police, issued to the media, at the time:

• A WB driver crossed over into the EB lane and collided head-on and killed Russell Jenkins
• “The rider…  had a working headlight on his bike”
• “The surviving cyclists … reported that Foshee had a strong odor of alcohol”
• “The driver fled the scene, but the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Unit later arrested Gary Foshe [Foshee], 53″
• “two deputies reported that Foshee had a strong odor of alcohol and several signs of intoxication”

The defendant’s prior DUI conviction, as well as his blood test results are likely to be key factors. On the other hand, the issue of the victim’s posthumous blood test results is, from what i can tell, irrelevant because it did not affect the crash in any way.

Much more background here and here.

Elite athlete killed in Maricopa collision

On 3/8/2011 mid-afternoon; Elite athlete Sally Meyerhoff was killed in a collision in (the town of) Maricopa, at the intersection of Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway and White and Parker Road (“White and Parker” is one road). The intersection is not anywhere near 90 degrees; as can be seen in the google maps. Read the rest of this entry »

Foshee Trial delayed again again again

Some background information and media reports about the incident which occurred 8/15/2009: Queen Creek hit-and-run; driver arrested Read the rest of this entry »

Moto-cyclist killed in Tempe hit-and-run

In an update to this July 2010 story, as the City of Tempe prepares to turn off its photo-enforcement effective July 19, 2011, police mention that those very photos were instrumental in capturing the suspect, Cody Davis, who fled the scene. See Police: Photo enforcement’s impact goes well beyond traffic infractions from the EVtrib.

UPDATE: Police arrest suspect 7/17/2010 [abc15] “Tempe police say Cody Ryan Davis has been charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident in the death of Bradley Jason Scott, 32, Read the rest of this entry »

Manner and Fault in Bicyclist Traffic Fatalities: Arizona 2009

Abstract

Traffic records for all bicyclist fatalities occurring in Arizona during the year 2009 were categorized and listed according to manner of collision and assignment of fault. Primary results are that 11 of 25 fatalities (44%) were determined to be the fault of the cyclist; while 14 of 25 (56%) were the fault of a motor vehicle driver. The most common manner of collision is when a driver strikes a cyclist from behind.

Full Report

The full report is available in pdf format:
Manner and Fault in Bicyclist Traffic Fatalities: Arizona 2009
Supporting data: 2009CyclistFatals.xls

Comments or questions may be left here, or contact me.

There were some somewhat out-of-context statements about my report on the npr.org health blog. They probably should have mentioned that the report covers only FATAL bike-MV collisions (a tiny fraction of all bike-MV collisions), and that the manner of collision in fatals varies significantly from non-fatals.

Read the rest of this entry »

Arizona bicyclist fatalities 2003-2006

How did I miss this one?

Should State DOTs Prefer Bicycle Lanes or Wide Curb Lanes? A.L. Dennison, 2008 [.pdf] This report was produced for ADOT in cooperation with US DOT/Federal Highway Authority.

Bicycle facility advocates have long debated the respective merits of bicycle lanes (BLs) and wide curb lanes (WCLs); this report investigates their claims… This study found no apparent relationship between fatal bicycle/motor vehicle collisions and type of bike facility… A significant handicap to any analysis of bicycle travel or safety is the paucity of reliable data.

Of great interest to me was the categorization of bicyclist fatalities over a four year (2003-2006) period, based on police reports. Somehow I missed this report entirely even as I echoed its complains about the “paucity of reliable data” for cyclist/traffic collisions while researching Manner and Fault in Bicyclist Traffic Fatalities: Arizona 2009.

According to my (from ADOT’s Arizona Crash Facts) records there were 15, 27, 35, 30 fatals in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006, respectively. This totals 107, but the report says that “We obtained 85 (97%) of 88 microfilmed fatal bicyclist/motorist crash reports submitted to AzDOT by police agencies in Arizona between 2003-2006″. The missing 3 (88-85) are explained in a footnote. But one wonders, where are the other 19? (=107 – 88). Does that mean that not all fatalities are submitted to ADOT? … so the answer i am told is that it covers the time period 17-Oct-2003 to 25-Sept-2006, which makes sense.

Is it illegal to ride a motorized bicycle on the sidewalk in Phoenix?

Story from the Arizona Republic; I copied the whole thing because it was only a few sentences long (my emphasis added):

Woman dies when motorized bike collides with car in Phoenix
by Jack Highberger – Jan. 20, 2011 12:26 PM The Arizona Republic-12 News Breaking News Team
A 53-year-old woman died Tuesday night when her motorized bicycle collided with a car on Dunlap and 25th avenues.
The woman was driving the motorized bicycle on a sidewalk when she entered the crosswalk and collided with the car, said Sgt. Tommy Thompson of the Phoenix Police Department.
She was not wearing a helmet at the time of the collision.
She was taken to the hospital where she later died. The driver of the car, who is also a 53-year-old woman, was not charged by Phoenix police. Authorities said it’s illegal to operate a motorized vehicle on a sidewalk.

First off, let me say that this type of collision is pretty common, and it is exactly why sidewalk cycling, motorized or not, is not recommended. But is it illegal? Read the rest of this entry »

Commuter cyclist killed in Tempe

[UPDATE: Oct 14, see Investigation, below]

According to item at biketempe.org, and thread at azfixed.com…

Bike commuter Jay Fretz was killed in a a collision at the intersection of Alamenda and McClintock Drive in Tempe at approximately 6:30p Monday 5/17/2010.

The story has not received any media coverage at the time (strange?).  abc15 ran a piece 10 days after the crash that said “Investigators said he was hit by a car as he rode through a crosswalk at McClintock and Alameda drives”.

This tragedy comes just one week after an ASU student was killed in another Tempe collision.

2010 Arizona cyclist fatality grid

The folks from T.B.A.G. have erected a ghost bike to commemorate the spot where Jay was killed.

“But there is more to the story, punctuated with lousy timing and heart-wrenching misfortune…” read more.

The investigation

On Oct 14, 2010 the Arizona Republic is reporting the outcome of Tempe Police investigation. The short answer is that because there were some conflict in witness statements regarding the color of the signal, police didn’t want to go forward on the red-light running charge, which would have precipitated a 28-672 misdemeanor criminal charge. Presumably she agreed to plea responsible to speeding in exchange for not perusing those charges.

I would like to read the DR because it seems odd that there were only 3 independent witnesses at that busy intersection at rush hour.

This is a bit slow (almost 5 months?!) for this sort of investigation.

….

Not One More Foundation Announces to all Arizona Cycling Teams, Clubs, Community and Friends a special Fundraising Ride to “Link the Lake” for Jay Fretz. Sat Dec 4th… see more on the arizona brumby’s site.

Pre-preliminary 2009 Bicyclist Fatality Report

[update: this posting has been superseded -- please see:

Manner and Fault in Bicyclist Traffic Fatalities: Arizona 2009

which has detailed, finalized stats and discussion]

First, some perspective: In the state of Arizona, approximately 1,000 people are killed per year in traffic collisions of all types. The number of cyclist (usually called a “pedalcyclist” in the jargon) fatalities fluctuated between15 and 36 per year over the past twenty years, with an average of about 25/year.

[as a sidebar, Arizona total traffic fatalities which have been as high as 1,293 just a couple of years ago, were down to 937 for 2008.  The exact cause of this happy trend is a matter of great debate, e.g. the effect of economic recession, and photo-enforcement. Even after this dramatic reduction Arizona roads remain significantly more dangerous than US averages ]

I have become increasingly frustrated by what seems to me to be short-shrift paid to analysis of crashes resulting in a cyclist’s serious injury/fatality Read the rest of this entry »

Founder of Yuma Bike Club killed in head-on collision

[Update: on 9/1/2010 the driver was cited Case Number: M-1442-TR-201001097, Somerton Municipal Court]

Cyclist Doug Flynn was killed, and at least one more rider injured, in a head-on collision last year (Sept 24, 2009) by a driver trying to pass a large farm tractor on a two lane roadway.
[for a line-item on each fatality since 2009; follow this link]

A tribute to Doug posted on the YBC’s website reads “Yuma Bike Club is Read the rest of this entry »