LDN Staff -
Monday, April 26, 2010
A 12-year-old Hesperia girl was killed Sunday when she rode into the path of oncoming traffic on S. Bonn Street (M-20) in Hesperia, according to a press release from the Oceana County Sheriff's Office.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. Pro Med ambulance personnel attempted to treat Olsen, but she was pronounced dead at the scene. The accident remains under investigation but, according to the release, "appears to be a tragic accident."
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Definitely a tragedy, and my sincere condolences go out to the Olson family and all who knew Brittany. Before I jump to the conclusion that she was the cause of this accident, as per the article and the initial police conclusion, I would like to understand a few more things about this accident.
I have seen and read many police reports and news articles with obvious bias against bikers (motor or not), where the blame was more appropo for the motorist involved. Likewise, the paper says nothing of witnesses, so was Lollis the only surviving witness on the scene? Contrarily, since Brittany was only twelve, she may have not properly yielded the right-of-way as a grown up bicyclist would. Children usually do not have that experience yet to determine when to go.
Here's my analysis w/o the total facts of the case, and I hope I can get more facts later. Hesperia is a little ways away from me, but I include a satellite image at the end to illustrate my line of thinking. Brittany headed south on Bon, and was struck by an eastbound car on W South St.
South Street looks to be four lanes wide, and her bike had already crossed two of those lanes at least before it got struck by the eastward moving car. I don't know what the speed limit is on South St. at that point, it could be as low as 25 mph since it is within the city or up to 55 mph. Assuming the lanes are 9 ft wide, with a 2 ft shoulder, her bike would have been over 20 ft into the intersecting roadway before it was hit.
A twelve year old would likely have enough sense to slow down and look both ways before yielding and crossing the roadway, but may not have the ability to determine whether she has enough time to get across safely. This comes with practice, and she may have been used to crossing two-lane residential streets, not elevated-speed four-lane roads.
Visibility seems to be good for eastbound traffic there, a motorist should be able to see someone to the north before they enter the intersection. Let's assume an attentive motorist could see at least 10 ft. up Bon St. If we assume Brittany slowed down, it would take her three seconds or more to get across the 30 ft gap made by the two lanes and this 10 ft distance.
The questions should be asked: Was the driver paying attention? Were they driving beyond the speed limit? Did they exercise due caution when they saw that the cyclist had entered the roadway, legally or not? Those all could be more contributary to the cause of this accident than the poor judgment in yielding of a young girl.
I ride both a bicycle and drive a car, and I drive a lot differently when I see a young person as a pedestrian or bicyclist near the roadway. Why can't the police and news outlets just once point out in their reports and articles the need of motorists to drive safely, instead of laying all the blame squarely on the inexperienced user of the roads?
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