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Truck misses signal, kills Pelotonia cyclist

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Started 1 year ago by Walker
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Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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Truck misses signal, kills cyclist
Rider had tried to avoid crash on rain-slickened road
Sunday, August 22, 2010
BY HOLLY ZACHARIAH AND CHARLIE BOSS
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Michelle Kazlausky had trained for months for her first Pelotonia Tour. She was more than halfway to her destination Ã¢â‚¬â€ Athens Ã¢â‚¬â€ when a pickup-truck driver ignored the signal to stop made by a State Highway Patrol trooper directing traffic at the intersection of Rts. 374 and 180 in rural Hocking County, said Sgt. Max Norris of the patrol. The truck swerved but still struck her.

Kazlausky, 57, of Reynoldsburg, died of her injuries yesterday afternoon. Authorities said they donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t know why the driver failed to stop.

READ MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/08/22/truck-misses-signal-kills-cyclist.html?sid=101

Posted 1 year ago #
econJoe
Victorian Village
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This is very tragic. My condolences to her family.

Posted 1 year ago #
abcdefg

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I rode in this event yesterday, and I'm so saddened to hear of this horrible loss and tragedy. Let's honor her memory, and hopefully provide some comfort to her family during this time, and donate towards her ride.

Posted 1 year ago #
Yethu
Bicycle Blvd (Hunter Ave)
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The Pelotonia death should at last make the bicycle and police communities stop the dangerous practice of groups of cyclists going through stop signs and red lights.

Every cyclist at that intersection should have stopped for the stop sign.

A police officer wearing a high-visibility vest, ride flagger, police car with flashing lights, support car, medical support team were apparently all there, but this just gave the cyclist the mirage of safety.

Bikes are hard to see, even in groups. Flashing lights are disorienting, blinding, distracting and usually less conspicuous than they seem.

It is unrealistic to order the police to control all motor vehicle drivers for a bike ride. And it is obviously dangerous for cyclists to expect that.

A more effective approach is to rely on the ability of each cyclist to minimize traffic risk, just as each does when car driving. The key is to follow traffic laws, be predictable and actively avoid crashing.

(This is crowdsourcing, using everyoneÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s eyes and brains instead of delegating our safety to the traffic copsÃ¢â‚¬Â¦.)

Police can help with big rides, but not by encouraging cyclists to ignore stop signs and oncoming traffic when entering intersections.

I know most cyclists donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t follow traffic laws. But certainly most would on a group ride if this were clearly explained and required. (And once serious cyclists see others doing it and realize the safety and comfort benefits, they tend to do it whenever biking in traffic.)

LetÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s make this the last Ohio group-ride deathÃ¢â‚¬Â¦.

Carl

Posted 1 year ago #
GW_Justice
Grandview Hts.
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Isn't it a little early to pin this death on a rider who ran a stop sign? If the driver ignored the signal from the police office at the corner to stop, seems like it puts it more on the driver. You are jumping the gun on this, better to wait for more investigation before you place blame.

Posted 1 year ago #
JonMyers
Ao Nang, Krabi, Thailand
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It's way early and tasteless considering Carl has an agenda to eventually peddle a safety product to cyclists.

My condolences to Michelle's family. What a tragedy.

Posted 1 year ago #
Tenzo
Chicago Lakeshore
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The Pelotonia death should at last make the bicycle and police communities stop the dangerous practice of groups of cyclists going through stop signs and red lights.

Every cyclist at that intersection should have stopped for the stop sign

Actually, you are incorrect. A group of cyclist on a registered and organized ride has the same right as a train or a funeral procession.
They are considered a single unit and may continue through the sop light even after it turns red.

Your conclusions are based on a false assumption.

Posted 1 year ago #
Snarf
How Do I Delete My Account
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JonMyers wrote >>
It's way early and tasteless considering Carl has an agenda to eventually peddle a safety product to cyclists.
My condolences to Michelle's family. What a tragedy.

both quite sad.

Posted 1 year ago #
catnfiddle
Giant Corncob District
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Please do not blame the victim, especially in this case. From what I have heard, the truck driver ignored a state trooper directing the vehicle to stop, almost hitting the officer as well.

Posted 1 year ago #
lifeontwowheels
Highland West
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catnfiddle wrote >>
Please do not blame the victim, especially in this case. From what I have heard, the truck driver ignored a state trooper directing the vehicle to stop, almost hitting the officer as well.

That's how it appear. I think they are checking to see if there was a mechanical failure that contributed to the crash.

Posted 1 year ago #
deraj1013
Merion Village
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From the Dispatch...

Tributes pour in for caring cyclist killed during Pelotonia

By Robert Vitale and Mary Beth Lane

All the cancer patients she met on the job made Michelle Kazlausky want to help.

Read more

Posted 1 year ago #
CooperGuy

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Very sad for all.

The news story from NBC4i indicated that a preliminary investigation points towards a malfunction of the truck brakes.

Channel 4 News Story

Posted 1 year ago #
EmZeeGee
Clintonville
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No matter the fault, it's incredibly insensitive and tasteless to castigate the cyclist right now.

Given what we know about the situation, it seems like a horrible tragedy for all involved.

Posted 1 year ago #
mbeaumont
victorian village
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There were 4,000 of us out there this weekend. It's much safer for everyone to have officers directing traffic at these intersections than having all of these riders stop at every stop sign over the course of 100 miles. In the rare instance that there was a stop without an officer present the riders always stop or slow way down and check for traffic.

I'm not ready to blame the driver (seems there may have been some kind of brake failure), but to blame the way the cyclists or the event organizers handled the intersections is ridiculous. There was an officer with a reflective vest directing traffic, a cruiser with hazard lights on, a Pelotonia van, etc. There was no way this intersection could have been handled better.

I'm betting the investigation will uncover that there was some sort of mechanical failure on the driver's part. In which case, my heart goes out to him and his family as well as the cyclist and her family. It was an extraordinarily heartbreaking event that marred an otherwise incredibly inspiring weekend. Leave the judgments and blame for another day.

Posted 1 year ago #
Bear
The woods
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Yethu wrote >>
The Pelotonia death should at last make the bicycle and police communities stop the dangerous practice of groups of cyclists going through stop signs and red lights.
Every cyclist at that intersection should have stopped for the stop sign.

Creepy.

Next.

Posted 1 year ago #
Rockmastermike
CORNspiracy HQ
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Yethu wrote >>
Every cyclist at that intersection should have stopped for the stop sign.
A police officer wearing a high-visibility vest, ride flagger, police car with flashing lights, support car, medical support team were apparently all there, but this just gave the cyclist the mirage of safety.

You could not be more wrong. An officer directing traffic controls traffic flow regardless of other traffic control signs/devices at the intersection. A signal from that officer to stop or to go is the law. Period. You stop or you go when they tell you too. Period.

OHP officers were fully directing traffic at many intersections considered risky, this is one of them. This is NOT a 'mirage of safety' anymore than assuming that you can safely drive through an intersection on a green light.

You are either badly misinformed or deliberately being an insensitive jerk about someone dying to press your own agenda. I will give you the benefit of the doubt and guess that you're just badly misinformed. I hope that's the case, anyway.

Posted 1 year ago #
Rockmastermike
CORNspiracy HQ
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And another thing, since I'm here, although this does not have direct bearing on this unfortunate accident.

The pelatonia organizers rounded up literally HUNDREDS of trained medics, local and state police officers, and a small army of experienced support personnel. These people handled far far more situations of varying kind than anyone had imagined would happen and they handled them with surprising efficiency.

None of that, unfortunately, can prevent an accident like this one and that is very sad, but true.

I have worked as a (nonmedical tech support) volunteer for TOSRV for years, Pelatonia since it's inception here, "race for the cure", the columbus marathon, and a LOT of other events over the years and I have to say I have *never* seen a crew handle so many serious (and small) incidents and rider needs all at once and successfully keep them from turning into huge problems. I was VERY impressed by these people and their efforts and glad I could help in my own small electronic support role.

So don't go slamming the Pelatonia organizers and volunteers for providing a "mirage" of anything. As far as I could see they did everything in their power (and some of what I saw was actually heroic) to make SURE that there was a very real, working safety net for the riders of all experience levels who wanted to participate.

Posted 1 year ago #
mbeaumont
victorian village
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Thanks for the comments RMM, and thanks for volunteering this weekend. I can't say enough about the volunteer support we had on this ride. Truly incredible, professional, extremely well-organized support staff.

Posted 1 year ago #
byJody
Rural NW Columbus
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Bicycle procession to honor Shelli Kazlausky.
Saturday 8/28; Procession follows funeral which is 10 a.m.

Start: St. Pius X Catholic Church, 1051 S. Waggoner Road, Reynoldsburg
End: Holy Cross Cemetery, 11539 National Road SW, Pataskala, OH.

Google Map (I assume this is the route)

Posted 1 year ago #
byJody
Rural NW Columbus
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byJody wrote >>
Bicycle procession to honor Shelli Kazlausky.
Saturday 8/28; Procession follows funeral which is 10 a.m.
Start: St. Pius X Catholic Church, 1051 S. Waggoner Road, Reynoldsburg
End: Holy Cross Cemetery, 11539 National Road SW, Pataskala, OH.
Google Map (I assume this is the route)

Car parking for cyclists will be across the street at the Messiah Lutheran Church located at 1200 Waggoner Road.

Details on the Cyclist Connection Blog

Posted 1 year ago #