Information Please: The Dangers of Keeping Details from the Public in Accident Scenes

[XLFD]

I might not be as objective as I normally am on this story, because a person I know fairly well just got killed earlier this afternoon as the bicyclist in a car-bike accident and that information is artificially being kept from me and the rest of the public. 

Worse, family members expecting that it was him couldn't get any information cleanly from the investigating agency, the Mason County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) or central dispatch.  Instead, despite the local highway being totally closed down between Brye and Decker Roads (causing an incredible logjam of vehicles using detours), they needed to travel to the scene, which is exactly what I had to do once I received a frantic phone call from his out-of-town daughter expecting the worst and wanting answers to find out whether it was him or not.

After I got the call, I checked to see whether any of the local news sources had anything about it on-line, this was at approximately 1:30 PM, about 45 minutes after the emergency units responded.  The Mason County Press had the basics, a crash occurred, one of the units was on a bicycle.  Nothing specific.  The Ludington Daily News had this to report:

 

The man that died would have been carrying his wallet with him, so identifying him was likely not a problem.  The gender would be fairly obvious, the age and address would have been on several forms of ID.  Sheriff Cole would tell us he died instantly but couldn't give out anything at all on the decedent's characteristics so that many families and visitors around the area had to worry about whether it might have been their brother riding to his work, their daughter going to Meijer's, their friend who might cross the highway at that location, etc.   

This would lead, and did lead, to all kinds of people travelling to the accident scene area, making things worse for all, and trying to get the info the sheriff was intentionally holding close to their chest even though they knew it.

Not releasing the name is fine until they notify the immediate family, but it creates a lot of needless anxiety and tension in friends and families of bicyclists who may be concerned because they knew their girlfriend rode her bike to and from working at Applebees.  Hearing "An 81-year-old Scottville man died..." alleviates that worry almost across the board and makes a lot less information-gathering traffic and frantic phone calls to 911.  

At around 2:00 PM the family finally was able to verify the bad news, and seriously, once one part of this specific family has news like this, the whole family knows of it within ten minutes.  At 3:00 PM, the MCP finally revealsthat it was an 81 year old man explaining:

"the man was riding his adult tricycle westbound on the curb of the highway when apparently the bike left the curb. He was then struck by the tire of a westbound semi-truck, owned by Vesco Oil Corp. of Grand Rapids."

This was further explained in the Ludington Daily News article put out just after 3 PM, which still leaves off any information on the bicyclist, it has made me incredibly upset in describing what killed my friend:  

"We had an individual on a pedal bicycle, and when he came off the paved shoulder of the road (U.S. 10) he hit the curbing, and it pitched him up and into the side of the truck,” Cole said. “He was killed instantly.”

Cole said the truck was not speeding, and that it was actually slowing down at the time of the crash to make the turn, into the auto center.  “The truck driver is compliant and has been cooperative with everything so far, but as of right now speed or alcohol are not believed to be a factor.”

I will presume the semi did not actually turn in front of my friend and cause the accident (as shown above), for the most dangerous drivers are those who pass bicyclists just to make a right turn in front of them.  In my many years of hardcore bicycling, that happened at least a couple of times a year. a couple of times they almost immediately stopped to look at their curbside mailbox and got an earful from me after I wore down my brake pads.  At this scene, it looked as if the semi had not turned into Urka's yet, it was at the side of the highway still.

Instead I will presume what everybody should already know, that the curbs, lack of curb cuts and uneven ground along that highway are a hazard that seems to have caused this accident.  I invite every member of MDOT and the road commission to try and ride a bike, let alone an adult tricycle along these shoulders to find out what you should already know: it's beyond dangerous.  The semi had pulled up and because of the incongruent configuration you see above, my friend had to be worried that it might pull in front of him, and fell over into the side of the truck.  

You know, had I been the truck driver ready to make that turn and seeing a bicyclist in front of me, I would have allowed him the space he needed up until he got past the driveway.  I would have similarly noticed I could not give him at least 3 feet clearance up to that point, it's the law for passing bicycles in Michigan, and I would have kept behind him for that reason too.  If he does fall over, or needs to go temporarily on the road because of the poorly planned infrastructure, he has those options.

At 4:40 PM the sheriff's office gave the COLDNews an update with a corrected age of 51, but they were right the first time.   What a couple of clown outfits, that in three hours after the family has been informed, the rest of the public knows nothing of who actually died and has been given conflicting ages with a 30 year difference courtesy of the local news and law enforcement.

The bicyclist was Richard Swiger, 81, pictured at the front of this article, a local for most all of his life, who made a career working on the car ferry and other sea-faring vessels, a person I considered a second father who could spin yarns and who loved westerns.  This last winter, we sat through a few marathons of Have Gun Will Travel.  His dream was to get an adult tricycle because he wasn't able to drive anymore.  He got a fancy blue and white one this spring.  It was still in ridable shape this afternoon.  He, sadly, was not. 

If we are to 'fix the roads' let's at least work on creating better facilities for bicyclists and pedestrians along state highways.

[Freedom Seeker]

So completely sad. My deepest condolences to the family.

[Inquiring Mind]

So Sorry for your loss. He was a very nice man we talked when he rode past our house.

[XLFD]

Thank you both, I will pass your condolences over to the family.  He was very cordial, understanding, and full of innovative ideas.  He didn't have a lot of extra money to put those ideas into practice, but he always had dreams.  Even at his ripe age.

[XLFD]

It's incredibly maddening to me to try and analyze and synthesize what happened in this accident when the story keeps changing depending on the news source.  TV 9 & 10 had a crew at the scene and reported:  

"The Mason County Sheriff says the man was riding his three-wheeled bike on the paved shoulder of the road when he tried to go over a curb into a parking lot.
That’s when the bike tipped and the man fell under the tires of a semi-truck that was getting ready to turn into a business.
The sheriff says it appears at this point to be a tragic accident."

This doesn't add up, a three wheeled bicycle is very stable, going over a curb (and he would have been going down the curb) won't tip you into the road beside you, it ain't going to pitch you ahead into the Urka driveway, the center of gravity is too low for a one inch drop to do that.  And there is not a parking lot to turn into except deep into Urka's territory.  

[XLFD]

Mlive reports:  "The Scottville man was riding his three-wheeled bicycle Aug. 1 west along the paved, untraveled shoulder of U.S. 10 when he tried to ride up on a sloped curb, said Mason County Sheriff Kim Cole.
In doing so, his trike tipped over and the man fell under the tires of a westbound semi-tractor trailer on U.S. 10 that was slowing to make a right turn, Cole said."  

This is a whole other animal, if he was riding up a sloped curb, then he would have had to have been in the roadway, but the article says he was on the paved, untraveled shoulder where he would only be able to go down a curb-- unless he was on the safe western side of this driveway, which he wasn't.  Even then It’s nearly impossible to tip over a tricycle.  

This is looking more and more as if the semi driver and the sheriff are trying to protect the negligent semi-driver who should have never been that close, and likely ran into this man.

[XLFD]

Another Sheriff Cole version on TV 7 & 4:

MASON COUNTY, Mich., (WPBN/WGTU) -- A bicyclist is dead after crash with a semi on a Mason County highway.
Mason County Sheriff Kim Cole said the 81-year-old Scottville man was riding his adult tricycle on the curb of US-10 near Dennis Road around 12:40 p.m. Thursday when he attempted to drive over the curb cut to a business parking lot.
While doing so, the tricycle tipped over and fell under the trailer tires of a semi-truck, owned by Vesco Oil Corp. of Grand Rapids, said Cole.

Riding on the curb, driving over a curb cut, to a parking lot tipped and ran over?!  The tricycle did not tip over, it did not fall under the trailer tires of the semi-truck.  I was there I saw a fully intact trike.  Incredible.  Stick with one story KIm, and try to make it the truth, so this potentially dangerous truck driver doesn't kill more people.

[Freedom Seeker]

It's a tragic accident, and hard to understand as the reports are written. It seems that the truck driver who was travelling westward and slowing to turn right into Urkas would have had a high line of sight of the whole area. Richard was riding his bicycle on the correct side of the paved path (is it an official bike lane?). The law is that vehicular traffic should yield to bicyclists. The reports as written don't make sense.
If the truck trailer was 53' feet long (plus it's cab, approx. 60') had passed Richard or Richard was in that 60' plus stretch length of the slowing truck and slipped off the sloped curb while the truck was readying to turn, and was struck by a tire, that might make more sense. But could the truck driver have seen Richard "swerve" (as one report states) if the truck had had already passed him?
Richard could not anticipate that the truck would be turning, it seems it would have been the responsibility of the truck driver to anticipate that the bicycle would continue its westward travel across the Urka driveway. So sad. Are there eye-witness statements?

[XLFD]

Here's the latest from WWJ Newsradio with direct quotes from Sheriff Cole, they finally confirmed the identity this morning.  

"Authorities say Richard Swiger, of Scottville, was riding a three-wheeled bicycle Wednesday afternoon along the paved shoulder of US-10 just east of Ludington. When Swiger attempted to go up a sloped curb, the tricycle overturned into the road. He fell off the bike and rolled underneath a semi-truck that was traveling westbound on the five-lane highway.
"He actually came off of the paved shoulder and came off a curb cut that was a driveway to a car dealership and in doing that, he tipped the bicycle and fell into the trailer of a passing semi-truck, which was actually slowing to pull into the next business down the road which is another car dealership," Mason County Sheriff Kim Cole told WWJ's Sandra McNeill.
Cole said the 51-year-old truck driver tried to swerve but was unable to avoid striking Swiger. He was pronounced dead at the scene."

This introduces a couple of new things, the first is that the accident occurred in front of Watson's just before Urka's, that's what I had presumed yesterday due to what I saw on scene and that's the curb area I spotlighted in a photo.  But this makes clear that Swiger had already crossed this private drive and was going up the curb on the opposite side, which makes previous reports of going up a curb make sense.  

It also glaringly points out the conundrum of Richard falling into the trailer, and the truck driver swerving to avoid Swiger and failing, signifying that the semi saw Richard fall in front of him.  The impact then should have been with the cab or its tires.  They never say anything about witnesses other than the semi driver so they'll probably go with his account rather than alternative facts of what a thorough forensic study would find.  MDOT is going to be changing these totally hazardous curbs, or wishing they did when I get through with them.

[Du Wright]

Deepest sympathies to you and the family of Richard Swiger.  I really hope that MDOT looks at curb cuts here and know that you will fight to right this wrong and make our bicycling and pedestrian routes safer.  It is even more real when it concerns family and friends.  Most sad.  

[Freedom Seeker]

The picture you provide of the accident area shows that the asphalt "pathway" ends in front of Watson's after their westend driveway. Is this an updated photo? If so, wouldn't a bicycle rider then attempt to use Watson's parking lot to continue westbound travel? If so, then it seems that Richard would be veering northward away from US 10. It really shows the dangerous pathway terminating on Watson's western property. Very sad.

[Freedom Seeker]

A closer look shows that the pathway east of the Watson's driveway was raised above curb level.  West of the driveway, the "pathway" appears to merge into the level of the roadway.  Very dangerous.

[Willy]

I am very sorry to hear about your friend. Another sad tragedy. I do have to disagree again about these types of accidents. In this case the real fact is that tricycles are notoriously unsafe. This is why they are no longer used for atv's or motorcycles. Their instability is legendary. The same applies to human powered trikes. That is why motorized trikes are now built with two wheels up front and the third wheel at the back. The smallest unstable condition on roads and paths translates to unsafe riding when single front wheel trikes are involved.