Cyclist's Death in West Valley

azbackpackr · Posted: 4/13/2007, 6:43 am Post subject: Cyclist's Death in West Valley

As a member of a bike club (I just recently joined) I received this message via email. I don't know the people involved, though. But the story is a sad commentary on a set of parents who have not taught their son any lessons in moral values, courtesy or care for others. It goes far, far beyond the "disregard drivers show for cyclists," as mentioned in the message:

"Cycling Friends--

Bob Walmsley, a member of the West Valley Bicycle Club died Tuesday as a result of injuries received after being struck by a truck during a weekend club ride.

While I wasn’t there and have only gotten the details second hand, here’s what happened as I understand the event: Bob and a small group of (helmeted, of course!) West Valley cyclists were riding on 99th Avenue, south of I-10. The road is a 2-lane “country” road. The group was riding single file in two slightly separated groups. A young man in a “jacked-up” pickup truck pulled out to pass a vehicle heading towards the riders. I don’t know if Bob was in the first group or the second group, however the first rider in Bob’s group had to move almost off the road and lean far to the right to avoid being struck by the pick-up’s driver side mirror. He heard the thud of the vehicle (or its mirror) strike Bob. The driver of the pick-up did not stop.

The driver that was being passed did stop, but at the urging of the other riders, pursued the truck and got a description and partial plate number. Bob was rushed to the hospital, unconscious. The police were, with the help of the description and partial plate, able to narrow down the vehicle to a couple of local trucks and ultimately identify the vehicle. Evidently, the young man driving the vehicle returned home and told his parents about the accident and they then proceeded to conceal the vehicle until police tracked it down. We have no more information from the police as it is now a criminal case.

Bob died on Tuesday within an hour of being taken off life support. Services will be held at 11:00 am, Tuesday April 17th at the Prince of Peace Catholic Church, 14818 W. Deer Valley Road in Sun City West.

Bob and his wife Peggy were long-time members of our club. Bob was an excellent rider and a willing volunteer for our club events. He and Peggy worked at rest stops on many of our major rides and Bob was always there to help us clean up our stretch of the Sun Valley Parkway. . Our deepest sympathies go out to Peggy and the family.

As you can understand, his fellow riders are devastated and we hope that the hit-and-run driver who struck Bob will be prosecuted.

Again, my disclaimer as to the exact facts of the incident, but I wanted to let those of you in the biking community know of Bob’s death. Whether or not you ever met Bob isn’t important; this is another example of the disregard drivers have for cyclists. The driver could have pulled back into his lane when he saw the oncoming cyclists instead of continuing to pass the other vehicle.

In the coming weeks, West Valley Bicycle Club members will gather to determine how best to remember Bob.

On behalf of Peggy, thank you for your thoughts and prayers for Bob and his family.

Betsy Turner

West Valley Bicycle Club"

Back to my soapbox: They "hope the driver will be prosecuted"??? Why not hanged in the public square? Throw the book at him AND his terrible parents! I sincerely hope they all serve prison time and it is well publicized.

threedogz · Joined: 06 May 2005 Posts: 668 Location: Chandler

A very sad story indeed.

You need a suit of armor to protect yourself in this city, not just a helmet.

Also, I have seen the poorly designed bike helmets, even the expensive ones that just don't give enough coverage to just below the occipital bone ends (the brain stem). The brain stem gets injured, there are a lot of body functions that don't work - breathing is one of them.
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desertgirl · Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 3350 Location: Chandler, AZ

This is really really sad. Streets are barely safe for bike riders -- even a well designed bike helmet can protect you so much.

Another recent story (Nov15,2006)
http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/1115ar-bikehit1115Z14.html

My limited roadbiking experiences training for Tour de Tuscon has more than fair share of scary moments. Its definitely a risk when you get on bike and share with the motorists.
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azbackpackr · Posted: 4/13/2007, 2:21 pm Post subject:

It is really sad. Road riding is dangerous all right--I have ridden a bike in big cities as a commuter most of my life. Sometimes riding on the sidewalk and other tactics to avoid traffic issues. When riding with the bike club in Yuma you felt a little safer because there were quite a few riders. I guess this is a bit of wishful thinking--after all, that poor man was with his group, too.

vaporman · Joined: 20 Nov 2006 Posts: 22 Location: Gilbert, AZ

These incidents just break my heart. As much fun as bike riding and rollerblading are, I've just had too many close calls when careless drivers. Maybe that's part of the reason I've recently turned to hiking & climbing, but even then you have a slight chance of running into armed coyotes, careless hunters, or illegals growing drugs in remote areas..... Evil or Very Mad

JW · Posted: 4/13/2007, 7:22 pm Post subject:

wanderingsoul · Joined: 19 Jul 2004 Posts: 2285 Location: Gilbert AZ

I know I was almost knocked off my bike on a country road because some kids thought it might be cute to try to swat my behind with their hand as they drove by. Threw my balance off a bit but i kept the bike up, as I heard them laughing as they passed.
My incident is nowhere near as tragic as this one is. This is very sad... people sometimes just don't think.
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BoyNhisDog · Posted: 4/13/2007, 8:20 pm Post subject:

The best you can do is ride very defensively, try to have a sixth sense of what any other driver around you may do and what you will do to survive. Stay off the main roads as much as possible. Take your lane and do well to try and keep up with traffic. Be very visible. If the road is narrow then do a bit of pseudo weaving to frighten cars in giving you a wide berth. Helmets are good if you fall a few feet but they are not designed for 40 mph car encounters. I was up to 4000 miles per year on my mountain bike and before that several times that on my road bike but I have never been hit once. I can't begin to recall all the extreme close calls and at times there seems to be nothing one can do. It does not take much to knock the life out of someone on a bike if you are in car. Leave the MP3 player at home and take all of your senses and reflexes.

Michelle, kids are another problem aren't they. One of my friends was hit with a full beer can. That could kill a person if the car is going fast enough. It is a crazy world out there.
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JW · Posted: 4/13/2007, 8:29 pm Post subject:

Desert-Boonie · Joined: 23 Nov 2004 Posts: 219 Location: Glendale, AZ

Nighthiker · Joined: 05 Jan 2003 Posts: 1714

These incidents remind me of the time when a husband beat his spouse, the cops would not arrest because they were "married". Though there were laws regarding assault, there was this "unwritten law of exception". We had to make a law regarding domestic violence. These cyclist deaths are not accidents, its murder.