from TheWashCycle by washcycle
Hot off the presses
Maryland State Police said a 24-year-old Bowie woman who was riding her bicycle in Bowie on Friday night was not at fault in the crash that led to her death, contrary to previous reports.
Cpl. James Brazill, a spokesman for the Maryland State Police College Park Barrack, said a 2011 Chevy Malibu traveling southbound on U.S. 301/MD Route 3 near Sylvan Drive at about 9:20 p.m. left the righthand lane of the road and struck Danielle Marie Cooper of Bowie, who was riding her bike in the road shoulder.
“Initially we thought the bicyclist was on the roadway, but (reconstruction) evidence showed that she was on the shoulder,” he said.
Brazill said the shoulder where Cooper was riding is a marked bike path and she was wearing her helmet that night.
“She rode that trail over and over and over for the last couple years,” he said. “I used to holler at her about it, but she was always very cautious.”
No charges have been filed against the driver of the Chevy Malibu, a 19-year-old Virginia woman who remained on the scene that night, according to Maryland State Police.
Brazill said he did not know how fast the car was traveling, citing an ongoing investigation.
I suspect that what they mean is no charges have been filed YET. I said in the comments of the last post on this that the story of a cyclist swerving into traffic sounded fishy. Good job by the state police of investigating the physical evidence.
https://www.thewashcycle.com/2011/09/police-determine-that-cyclist-killed-on-friday-was-not-at-fault.htmloldId.2011091411195746
What I do not understand is how it would have been her fault if she were on the roadway. That is assuming the speed limit is below something like 50-55 (I don’t remember the value)
I believe the issue goes something like this: If car A sideswipes car B, car B is deflected to the right. Since the cyclist (in car’s B spot) was deflected to the left the cyclist must have done a suicide swerve and is therefore at fault. BUT the physics of the bicycle are that if you snap the handlebars to the right, the rider is thrown to the left so it was not a a suicide swerve but a sideswipe by car A.
It takes someone good at cycling crash reconstruction to sus that out.