BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

oh. boo...

i hope they keep up on the story. it's impossibly hard to find out about this stuff, what happened, etc.

I know what you mean, and I fear given what's dominating the news in town today, they might not update with details.

Spoke too soon. Sounds like 66 out there is a road to avoid...don't know Westmoreland county all that well. Still that sucks pretty hard.

i've also been thinking alot about the passive voice and how it's always used in car crash reports in the media.

this article states:

A bicycle rider was struck and killed around noon today in Hempfield.

you assume it's a car, but they don't come out and say it. I heard a great use of passive voice once, "Liberty will be given by you, or death will be given by you."

here's someone that can rant about it much more articulately than me:

http://www.howwedrive.com/2009/03/28/the-passive-voice-is-killing-me/

Yeah totally. With it being kid's spring break, it could be anything from a 5 year old on bmx to a road weenie to an old drunk guy riding against traffic.

I think it's time for a letter to the editor about writing in the passive voice and over/misuse of the words "car" (when describing a motorist) and "accident" when describing a collision or crash.

Heres from the P-G

Bicycle rider killed in Hempfield

Thursday, April 09, 2009

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A bicycle rider was struck and killed this afternoon on Business Route 66 in Hempfield.

The Westmoreland County coroner's office identified the victim as 19-year-old William Lee Stauffer II of Harrison Avenue in Greensburg.

Investigators said Mr. Stauffer was riding a bicycle west on Fink Road at 12:40 p.m. and for some reason entered Business 66 northbound.

He rode right into the path of a motor home and was pronounced dead at the scene.

State police were investigating the incident, which the coroner's office ruled an accident.

**************

Here's me:

19 years old. Damn. Sad.

It sounds like the bicyclist's fault. But then how much does the P-G get in car Ad revenues? Car companies are merciless about their image and editorial content.

So we don't know.

I looked on Mapquest. They had a Fink Lane in Greensburg and it looks like a place where someone might ride out onto Rt 66.

Mick

I wonder if there was problems with the brakes on the bike. Or maybe the cyclist didn't see the vehicle coming. Looking at the map it seems like it was a downhill section.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=Fink%20Lane%20at%20rt%2066&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl

I am somewhat familiar with that road. I will put money down that the motor home was speeding. It is a very fast road. I think the speed limit is only 35, but its decently maintained, and relatively straight.

If he was riding Fink west and jumped on 66 north, he was making a right. I could see him incorrectly judging how fast the motor home was going. Also, having driven a motor home (just a round a parking lot- I have driven all kinds of things around parking lots), I can see the motor home not being able to stop in time, especially if the driver was speeding.

here's wtae's version:

A bicyclist was killed Thursday when he crossed into the path of a motor home in Hempfield Township.

Police said William Lee Stauffer II, 19, of Greensburg, Westmoreland County, was riding his bike on Fink Road when he collided with the motor home while entering onto Route 66 at 12:40 p.m.

Stauffer was pronounced dead at the scene by Westmoreland County Deputy Coroner John Ackerman.

His death has been ruled accidental.

uhhhhh...

I'm curious. When someone dies on a bike in the Pittsburgh area, does anyone from Bike-Pgh check the scene out, talk to police and such?

I'm thinking both to get a sense of what the hazzards are and to make sure law enforcement stays honest in regards to cars vs. bikes.

Doe the Ped-bike coordinator in Pittsburgh check it out when a Pittsburgh ped-bike death ahppens?

I know there are limited resources and it's a helluva ride to get out to Greensburg, but I'm just asking. (Yeah. I know. If I was really THAT committed to the idea, I could volunteer.)

Mick

as far as i know, there (fortunately) hasn't been a cyclist death in pittsburgh since january 2004.

a drunk driver killed bob hemelrick on second ave heading toward hazelwood at night.

previous to that, i don't know because i wasn't paying very much attention.

This is an aerial photo of the site. Although I'm skeptical of any article claiming a bicyclist "rode right into the path" of something, it looks like a vehicle on Business 66 has right of way and the fellow must have misjudged the motor home's distance. Of course, were the motor home speeding, that's easier to do.

I think with any motor vehicle on 90% of roads it is safe to assume that they are speeding.

Anyone up for a ride on sunday?

Both to check out the scene and as a memorial to William Stauffer.

I'm slow. I have to be at Free Ride at 5pm. I'd have to start out at maybe 7 am to make it out there and back without killing myself. Anyone have the motivation and patience to do that ride with me?

Sunday is supposed to be sunny with 0% chance of precipitation and a high of 54. Couldn't ask for better.

Mick

Like I said, it is a VERY fast road. I can recall keeping pace at 60-70mph in a line of cars.

Well, I didn't actually mean ride down Rt 66. There are some other ways to get out there.

If anyone wants to link up for a ride, I'll be away from my computer, you could call me at 412-802-6471. As Joe Walsh says, "Just leave a message, maybe I'll call."

Mick

I wasn't referring to your ride, just the idea that the motor home was probably speeding.

This is where I live. It took my friends and I about an hour to find out if it was our friend or not (rt 66 is how we bike to the organic farm that she works on and some of us volunteer on).

Me and some other Greensburg people would probably be up for a ride out there, its only about 10-15 minutes from where I live.

(412)610-2157

Tim

EDIT: Also, this is the second bicyclist death in Greensburg this year.

Ghost bike?

second? wow! is there an article link to the first?

whats up with the roads in hempfield. these werent cyclists, but still, two more deadly crashes:

Drivers killed in separate crashes in Hempfield

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Two men, both in their 20s, died in one-car accidents in Hempfield, one early this morning and the other last evening.

In this morning's fatal crash, a 20-year-old man was killed when the car he was driving on Swede Hill Road struck a tree.

State police said the driver, whose name was withheld pending notification of relatives, was traveling on Swede Hill Road at 1:08 a.m. when he attempted to negotiate a left curve and traveled off the roadway and struck a tree.

In the fatal crash yesterday at 6:33 p.m., Gregory M. Brown, 25, of Arona was traveling north on Arona Road at a high rate of speed, state police said. The collision occurred when Mr. Brown's Chevrolet Blazer rounded a right-hand curve and veered into the southbound lane. That caused Mr. Brown to steer back into the northbound lane but he lost control and the SUV rotated counterclockwise and slammed into a shoulder hillside.

The SUV subsequently rolled over twice and Mr. Brown, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was ejected. The SUV came to rest on its roof on the east shoulder. Mr. Brown was next to the vehicle.

He was taken to Westmoreland Hospital but died of his entensive injuries, state police said.

I used to live on Arona Road in Hempfield. 8 years. I almost never took the bike out during that time. Traffic was terrible back then; probably even worse now. Note that in each current case, the guy was going too fast and lost control.

As for the fate of any bicyclist going along one of those roads at the same time as one of these Darwin Award contenders? Maybe it's good that there aren't more cyclists in central Westmoreland, or we'd have even more headlines.

Hunch: the 2nd guy would probably be alive if he'd had his belt on. 1st guy maybe, too. A neighbor survived 45mph into a tree, wearing a belt. Broken back, six months in therapy, but now walks.

Biking from Greensburg to Pittsburgh, Greensburg always has the worst traffic and rude drivers... Irwin and after is always a much nicer ride.