Here is the story of a recent death involving an older West Michigan woman riding her bicycle late at night without a light on it, being hit from behind by a vehicle.

PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP, MI -- A 58-year-old woman struck by a vehicle while riding a bicycle Tuesday night on Plainfield Avenue has died as a result of her injuries in the 11:25 p.m. crash, police say.

Anita Daugavietis, of Grand Rapids, had been riding her bicycle south on Plainfield Avenue NE in the curb lane of traffic. She was struck from behind by another driver in a Saturn Vue, Amy Vanderwal, who did not see Daugavietis in the curb lane. The crash happened near Rockhill Drive NE.

Daugavietis bicycle did not have any lights on it and darkness had fallen several hours before, police say.

She was taken to Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital where she later died.

Neither speed nor alcohol were factors in the Feb. 24 crash.

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2015/02/bicyclist_...

Stories on WOOD TV and The Detroit News basically mirror this story, while WWMT TV adds "Deputies say the bike had no reflectors or lights".   Whereas it's difficult to believe that the lady's bicycle had no reflectors, being that they come standard on all bicycle pedals, wheels, front and rear posts sold in the state, this is actually immaterial to what happened here. 

Contrary to what the investigating police and the reporting media found as an obvious series of errors by the bicyclist leading to this accident, Anita Daugavietis was actually not at fault but a victim of whoever was driving that SUV, who left the roadway and struck the woman while she was doing totally legal activity.  If we trust what was reported on this investigation in all of these media.  Here's why.

The above picture with the mailbox shows the address about where this accident occurred, using Google maps we can get down to street level and be there in the middle of summer, as the below picture illustrates (the blue circle is of the 4805 mailbox, the red line is where Ms. Daugavietis was riding her bicycle, the curb lane, what many would call the road shoulder since normal traffic does not normally travel there. 

Michigan law (MCL 257.662) says that bicycles operating on a roadway after dark are required to have headlights and taillights.  Reflectors are necessary only at point of sale, they are not strictly required.  Of course it is well known that bicyclists have the same rights and duties of a vehicle driver when it is operated on a roadway (MCL 257.657).  Clearly, you believe the bicyclist failed by not having proper equipment that night and failed in her duty to allow other users of the roadway be able to see and avoid her.

But then you would be missing the point:  Anita Daugavietis was not on the roadway, she was off the roadway, as was the vehicle that allegedly hit her while she was in the 'curb lane'.   The definition of 'roadway' in MCL 257.55 says it is  "that portion of a highway improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel."  The portion of the pavement she was reportedly hit on, was not part of the roadway, it's effectively a shoulder (MCL 257.59a), a break-down lane. 

For all intents and purposes, the SUV driver left the roadway, when a driver does that they need to make sure the off-roadway real estate they're getting on is clear of people and objects.  This driver is guilty of leaving the roadway and killing someone who was where she was at totally lawfully.  This is the tragedy, and it's much like the Russian woman who was struck in front of the local fairgrounds when she was off the road, and it was dark. 

Unfortunately, Anita Daugavietis will go down as the one in the wrong here by the police, by the media, and by the prevailing attitudes of drivers who may think that such an incident might just happen to them when they're driving, and want the assurance that their mind could justify their innocence in such a case.  On the official record, the victim will be the unnamed driver, who will have to live with the fact that they caused the death of this lady below through no fault of their own. 

At least that's what they and most of society will rationalize as the truth.  That doesn't mean it is though.

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