Petoskey Bicyclist Ran Over While on Shoulder, Driver Gets Pass

[XLFD]

During the noon hour on Sunday, an elderly man in a car runs over an elderly woman on a bicycle riding on the shoulder of the road according to investigators of the crash.   The woman dies shortly thereafter, the man of course, receives no injuries.

Yet over a day after the incident, the driver, Frank Veraldi, 66, has not been charged with anything, nor is it likely he will ever be unless the family of Tracy Butler, the innocent victim who wasn't even on the roadway when she was struck, sue for civil damages. 

The laws not only need to be strengthened to insure that there will be consequences for drivers whose reckless and negligent behavior lead to the deaths/disability of vulnerable users of the road (BMPs) riding within the law, but also law officers must be willing to overlook their prejudices to BMPS and do their part in enforcing those laws. 

Let's face it, if Butler was killed in a legally parked car on the shoulder, there would have been an arrest of Veraldi immediately.

EMMET COUNTY, Mi. (WPBN/WGTU) -- A 61-year-old Petoskey woman was killed after deputies say she was hit by a vehicle while riding her bike in Bear Creek Township.

It happened Sunday around 12:48 p.m. on US-31 north, near the entrance to the Fotchman Industrial Park [EDITOR:  likely in the shoulder of the lower yellow area, where the shoulder transitions into a right turn lane.]

According to the Emmet County Sheriff's Office, a 66-year-old was heading north in a Chevrolet Impala when he hit a northbound bicyclist, Tracy Butler.

The sheriff tells us that Butler was riding on the paved shoulder area of the northbound lane of US-31.

Butler was taken to the hospital where she was pronounced dead.

This crash remains under investigation.

http://upnorthlive.com/news/local/sheriff-61-year-old-bicyclist-hit...

[AQUAMAN]

X, can you pinpoint where the accident happened with marks on the map & compass? I also am interested in more detail to quantify whom may or may not be at fault, just to be sure. No traffic lights, so no cams.? Dreadful accident or fatality for sure, so sorry for both families. Saddd!

[XLFD]

Nothing in the three news sources I looked at has anything more precise than what was given above, nor any revealing picture or video of the scene.  In looking at the bird's-eye view of the area they say it happened, I found it more likely to have been located in the statistically more-dangerous place where the shoulder begins to merge into a turn lane.  When a bicyclist is riding in that shoulder, they see that shoulder disappear quite suddenly, and cars get into that shoulder area before they should, which leads to accidents like this.  I hope to verify this and get more data, but can't guarantee anything since county sheriffs don't always FOIA well.

[XLFD]

Just out, the driver was charged on Monday with operating while intoxicated causing death, reckless driving causing death and second offense habitual offender.  He's behind bars, awaiting a court hearing on Wednesday.

The problem is that he should have been charged with reckless driving causing death on Sunday, with or without the drunk driving charges.  As noted in many previous posts, the absence of DWI involved makes these deaths go unpunished even when extreme reckless or careless driving is involved.  We sadly learn that Tracy Butler's husband was riding with her on the shoulder and had to experience this homicide firsthand.   

[XLFD]

Just earlier today, another common motif, a driver turns in front of a motorcyclist in Midland County.  The helmeted biker died.  "The 29-year-old from Coleman who was driving the car said he never saw the motorcycle when he attempted to make the turn."

As drugs or alcohol don't appear to be factors, the sheriff's office will just investigate and file their reports unless someone strongly advocates for the decedent, Ted Jennings.

[AQUAMAN]

Sad updates, hope strong actions are taken against Veraldi this time.