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Young Bicyclist Killed in Hesperia Crash, the Cold Case, the Moral

This article is an update on a tragic accident that happened in early 2010 in Hesperia recounted in the BUMPS article of the same name. In that article, I was very disappointed in the way that it was handled by the authorities, being that I thought the motorist, who was a teacher, must have been distracted to have not seen the girl bicyclist get near and cross the road.

My interest in this was rekindled by recent events wherein we had a local teacher pass another vehicle and ran into two motorcyclists and killing them, get prosecuted and went to court. He was given a fine, plus community service, and the community learned a lesson in the process about what a moment of inattention can do. I would be kidding myself if I didn't mention that my own loss of a young woman (non-traffic related) recently played a small part in having me seek the police report on this accident I thought should have been avoided.

Let me commend the Oceana County Sheriff's Department for their reply to my FOIA to them. Unlike the State police, and most all the public bodies around the Mason County area, I actually got a very professional response, as can be seen by this cover letter: page 1 and page 2. This professionalism also extended into their report and their investigation. After reading the reports, I realized that a lot of my problems with the incident was based on a simple reporter's error.

Shoreline Media which ran the COLDNews and all Oceana newspapers, reported that: "Brittney Olson was southbound on Bonn Street and failed to stop at the signed intersection of South Street, according to the report. Olson rode into the path of oncoming traffic and was struck by a vehicle driven by Kathleen Lollis, 48, of Hesperia, which was travelling eastbound on South Street."

Police records show that Brittany (not Brittney) was traveling north on Bonn Street, not south, which makes a big difference. The sight lines to the north are terrible, buildings and a tree make it so that traffic perpendicular traffic don't see each other until they are near the corner. This shows the situation before the crash occured:

Aggravating the situation is a big hill that the bicyclist was coming down, however, the stop sign does indicate the need to yield to traffic going by on the main road (South Street). It would be difficult to hold the motorist to blame for such a situation, unless there were other factors involved. Even worse for both, there may have been a burgundy car parked close to the corner further blocking sight lines, as seen in this police scene picture looking north on Bonn Street:

The driver assented to a blood test, which came out clean, and young Brittany did not yield at the stop sign. Most police agencies may stop at this point in their investigation, but the OCSD also checked out the car's records. She had a Crash Data Retrieval System (CDRS) which activated on the impact

recorded the cars speed prior to the crash. Two to five seconds before impact, the car was traveling 48-49 mph in this 45 mph zone, according to the CDRS, which is technically, speeding, a civil infraction. Maybe 45 mph in this area is more than it should be. As it was, everything was turned over to the prosecutor, who decided it was not worth pursuing.

I cannot help but think that accidents like this should not be happening. We had at least three things contribute to this accident: Brittany's violating right-of-way rules, the driver violating the speed limit, and the traffic engineers and/or local zoning board creating a dangerous intersection-- this is in the midst of downtown Hesperia, there are no sidewalks and it's clearly a dangerous intersection with restrictive sight lines. The genesis of a perfect storm.

Here is the full police report and investigation, again I must commend the Oceana County Sheriff's Department for their completeness and professionalism.

Crash Report.pdf

Inv pt1.pdf

Inv pt.2.pdf

Brittany Olsen's candy necklace, a terrible reminder of what happened that day

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Patricia Ann Olson on April 12, 2013 at 3:29pm

I am Brittany Olson's grandmother and We (the family) think that she was texting or using her cell phone at the time of the accident. Why? Because after she had hit Brittany she refused to allow my other granddaughter to use her cell phone to call her dad, one other motorist let her use his phone. Kathy Hollis said her phone didn't work.

Permalink Reply by XLFD on April 12, 2013 at 5:19pm

Patricia,

I am very sorry for your family's loss. Distracted driving was not really looked into on this particular accident, and perhaps it should have been, so as to see whether Ms. Hollis had some other moving violation other than incidental speeding. Her interview revealed she could barely remember anything leading up to the actual collision, which could also support your theory, and the police may have attributed that to shock.

Even with visibility issues, I find it difficult for her to be fully aware and only remember seeing the accident's aftermath. However, I also think she had made the effort to brake within a second or so before the impact, since her speed decreased from 48 mph to 44 mph between the two to one seconds prior.

Permalink Reply by AQUAMAN on April 12, 2013 at 5:33pm

Way too many people are constantly cell talking and texting while driving, having absolutely no idea of what is going on around them in traffic. Then when accidents like this happen, do you actually believe they will admit to their incompetence and distractions? I am also truly sorry for your loss Patricia, very sad.