58 Replies to "Police looking for witnesses in Delridge bicycle crash"

• AJP August 18, 2009 (9:38 am)

  I hope she’s ok!

• JEM August 18, 2009 (9:44 am)

  That is the stretch of Delridge where I take the sidewalk. It is a scary road to bike on. I hope she is okay.

• Shell Marr August 18, 2009 (9:45 am)

  Saw the police activity this morning on the way to work 7:30am, but had no idea what happened. Also thought I heard hellicopters above the area about 7:00am.

  Hope she is ok…

• WSB August 18, 2009 (10:00 am)

  They are REALLY hoping that someone will come forward who saw something – Precinct Capt. Joe Kessler has even checked to make sure we have the info – we’ll check later in the day to see if they got any closer to solving it – TR

• Kelly August 18, 2009 (10:08 am)

  My heart just skipped a beat–I biked by there this morning, saw the police cars and had no idea a cyclist had been injured. I hope she’ll be okay.

• WSM August 18, 2009 (10:11 am)

  Another biker was hit on California yesterday, very close to where the woman was hit and killed several months ago. (california/dawson)

• Jackie August 18, 2009 (10:13 am)

  Ugh, this is so horrible. I’m an avid cyclist and I count myself very lucky that I don’t have to ride on Delridge, it’s such a scary road. My heart goes out to this cyclist, I sincerely hope she’ll be up and riding again in no time. And I hope someone comes forward with information about what happens to her.

• kstineback August 18, 2009 (10:29 am)

  this is heartbreaking, i hope she makes it. i ride this route every day and the holden/delridge intersection is scary for a lot of reasons. i can’t wait until the fauntleroy bike lane is done.

• Aaron August 18, 2009 (10:31 am)

  Such a busy intersection, I really hope someone saw what happened.

• bj August 18, 2009 (10:42 am)

  I feel really bad for this woman but it is becoming harder and harder to share the roads with bike riders. I would like to see them take classes on road etiquette. I have had close calls twice lately, I go to make a right turn at a red light (after stopping) and all of a sudden there is a rider coming up fast on my right and blows the light and goes straight ahead. Or, last night I’m down on Beach Dr where I had pulled over to answer a call. I’m not in a bike lane. I was watching my rear view mirror and saw a gal coming on her bike with her head down and not stopping or seeing me. I had to honk and she looks up like “OH my! Drivers have road rules. Why don’t bike riders follow them as well if they want to be respected and able to share the roads.
  I do hope this young lady is OK though.

• datamuse August 18, 2009 (10:44 am)

  Wow, nine whole comments before the inevitable. Is that some kind of record?

  That can be a difficult road to drive, never mind ride. Hope she’s all right and they figure out what happened.

• amused August 18, 2009 (10:45 am)

  The city has created very hazardous conditions by creating share lanes and bike lanes which do nothing but create a false sense of security for bicyclists (and angers motorists who actually pay for use of the roads).

• Aaron August 18, 2009 (10:50 am)

  BJ, this argument goes in both directions, and has been argued here and elsewhere countless times. Someone was seriously injured in an accident, and pointing the finger at the cyclist with life-threatening injuries does not help the situation or our community at large. If driving a car is becoming too much of a challenge for you, might I suggest riding a bike?

• Aaron August 18, 2009 (10:50 am)

  BJ, this argument goes in both directions, and has been argued here and elsewhere countless times. Someone was seriously injured in an accident, and pointing the finger at the cyclist with life-threatening injuries does not help the situation or our community at large. If driving a car is becoming too much of a challenge for you, might I suggest riding a bike?

• DB August 18, 2009 (10:57 am)

  Amused, I’d like to point out that just because a biker is riding to work that day, that doesn’t diminish the amount of taxes they pay.

• WSB August 18, 2009 (11:00 am)

  I went down to that area to see if there was any sign of what had happened earlier – nothing, so I still don’t have info on even exactly what side of the road it was on. But it’s certainly a narrow, rutted stretch, can’t imagine bicycling through it … TR

• KateMcA August 18, 2009 (11:09 am)

  “Oh, I’m sorry that you were rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries after riding your bicycle. May I suggest that I hit you with my car because I was blinded with rage over the fact that I have to pay for roads and look at sharrows?” Seriously? A woman was hurt and may die, and we’re going to turn it into a debate about bike lanes and sharrows again?

• Byron August 18, 2009 (11:10 am)

  I think we’re up to 3 bike deaths this year and lost track of all the accidents.

• sa August 18, 2009 (11:11 am)

  Please take the discussion about politics to another chatroom.

• Joan August 18, 2009 (11:30 am)

  I surely hope she recovers and tells the po what/who is responsible. I bike through there almost every weekday about the same time this was reported, including THIS morning, but must have been earlier than this incident as I didn’t see a thing. SCARY!

• austin August 18, 2009 (11:41 am)

  The excuses some car drivers are trying to make here are pathetic. If you’re really that unsure about safely operating your heavy machinery you should be taking the bus. I hope the cyclist has a full recovery.

• Michelle August 18, 2009 (11:50 am)

  I saw the ambulance drive by this morning as I turned on to Delridge on my own bike. I’m with Joan, this is scary!

  Of course, I’m also with others who, despite their lack of diplomacy, want cyclists to follow the laws.

  While cyclists have a legal right to share the road I think, due to their / our increased vulnerability, we need to have heightened awareness and ride defensively.

  I really hope this young woman recovers.

• big gulps,eh? well, see ya later. August 18, 2009 (11:57 am)

  My thoughts go out to her and her loved ones.
  –
  Datamuse, you are right, that was a record. Nine comments before BJ pushed blame at bikers and launched into an account of the two bikers he witnessed that did not follow the law. None of us have accounts of motorist not abiding by the law.
  –
  Bike and car interaction really brings out a visceral reaction from part of the motoring population in this region. It is a strange phenomenon.

• kstineback August 18, 2009 (12:10 pm)

  @ amused, such a sad comment to make when someone’s life hangs in the balance!

  it is AMUSING that you think that drivers actually pay for roads. perhaps if drivers actually bore the real cost of roads (and all their negative environmental externalities) they would drive less and make it safer for all of us to bike!

• Gabriele August 18, 2009 (12:18 pm)

  Whilst it is not clear whether a car was involved or not, I hope that somebody comes forward and that the lady is going to be alright.

  That aside, am I the only one that notices that HARDLY ANY drivers on Delridge keep to the speed limit? I’ve had a few close calls as a pedestrian myself! It doesn’t seem to matter that the police station is right there, since ever since I’ve lived here I’ve yet to see a speed trap!

  Same goes for Sylvan Way, past the cemetary and the new High Point development. Both are like a race track!

• rdm August 18, 2009 (12:27 pm)

  I too hope the rider recovers. Does anyone know for sure if she was in fact hit by a car? Until then maybe we should stop pointing fingers and hope for a quick and full recovery.

• vincent August 18, 2009 (12:28 pm)

  ” I hate people who don’t drive, it would be better if there were more cars on the road ”

  I love the kneejerk comments about road sharing, they make a ton of sense.

  Best wishes to the hurt rider, its tough asserting your rights, even in this town. Speedy recovery.

• Bikejuju August 18, 2009 (12:34 pm)

  Kelly – so this wasn’t you, thank goodness, I thought of you immediately!
  —
  I also ride that stretch of Delridge on the sidewalk, and then get on the Longfellow creek trail, or at the very least the neighborhood streets, the rest of the way to the bridge. Ironically, this happened within a block of the police station. Delridge sucks for cyclists.
  —
  What does it say when the trajectory of comments on a blog post about a seriously injured cyclist is totally predictable, always devolving into “blame the cyclists” after a few comments, with the totally predictable post that bikers are under some exceptional burden to “follow the rules of the road” since all drivers and pedestrians are otherwise behaving perfectly.

  Gosh, Seattle must be on the verge of taking down those traffic signal cameras, surely they have not caught a single motorist misbehaving yet! But those damned bicyclists – scofflaws!

  A young woman is at HARBORVIEW with life-threatening injuries. Cut the crap.

  Though it is a small miracle nobody has posted “was she wearing a helmet” yet.

• Amy August 18, 2009 (12:45 pm)

  “I went down to that area to see if there was any sign of what had happened earlier – nothing, so I still don’t have info on even exactly what side of the road it was on. But it’s certainly a narrow, rutted stretch, can’t imagine bicycling through it … TR”
  .
  .
  TR, It was the Northbound lanes. Northbound-only closure was from Thistle to Kenyon, and it appeared the accident actually happened at the intersection in front of WestRidge Park.

• Angela August 18, 2009 (12:46 pm)

  I had just dropped some folks off at the airport and hit the scene at about 615. There was only one fire truck there and one squad car had just arrived. The cop jumped out and was trying to direct traffic around the firetruck and scene. When I was able to get around, I could see there was someone on the road, but I couldn’t tell if it was a cyclist or a pedestrian. There were two cars stopped, so I had hoped that they had been witnesses or involved. I checked the blog when I got home (630-ish) and then again around 715-ish. I sent an e-mail to the blog at that point and then went for a jog that took me past the scene again at which time there were forensics officers on site, photographing and documenting and I saw a bike and a backpack at that point. I checked the blog and my e-mail and then decided to call WSB, as I suspected it was a fatality and thought it odd that the blog hadn’t mentioned it by 9 am. Thank you for following up after the call.

  The accident was between SW Kenyon and SW Holden on Delridge going northbound. The woman was sort of in the middle of the northbound lane, but hard to say if that’s where she was or if medics moved her. Later, there was a bike that appeared undamaged leaning up against a mailbox (still on northbound side), but no way to know if that was involved or not. Either way, really scary and I wish I had more to contribute. Sending healing prayers to the cyclist….

• rw August 18, 2009 (12:48 pm)

  Let’s see……

  I’m a car driver who gets pissed off at bicyclists who ride two or three abreast and hog the road, even on busy streets with lots of car traffic (and don’t even get me started on the Critical Mass morons).

  But I’m also a cyclist who wonders whether the next car that comes up behind me or at cross streets is paying enough attention to even realize that I exist.

  The fact is that there is plenty of negligence and disregard for safety among both drivers and bicyclists.

  The fact is that both bikes and cars are piloted by people, who too often are not driving/riding defensively.

  I hope the woman who was hit recovers.

  I hope the driver who left the scene of the accident feels remorse and comes forward.

• WSB August 18, 2009 (12:49 pm)

  Thanks, Angela. I’ve checked all our boxes and we didn’t get your note (our e-mail does eat things daily so I’m sure the problem’s on our end). We really appreciated your call – SPDBlotter posted about it just as I was picking up the phone to call SPD Media after Patrick got off the phone with you. As I think he explained, often it’s clear when something is big, just by checking the 911 log, and we roll out to check, but this wasn’t even listed as a “7 per rule” which means resuscitation needed or possibly needed, which we usually routinely check out. We did get a Facebook note at 7 am and were remiss in not having checked FB at that hour, we are usually better about monitoring the half-dozen possible sources of breaking-news info … But the BEST way is ALWAYS by phone – we answer the phone 24/7 – 2936302 – thanks again so much – TR

• Angela August 18, 2009 (12:50 pm)

  Amy and TR — It was definitely north of the intersection, so I don’t suspect it happened there. TR — There is some orange paint on the road that were marking the location of something. The orange paint was right where the forensics folks were photographing at least.

• WSB August 18, 2009 (12:52 pm)

  I saw the orange paint when I went down there around 10:15 but that is usually surveyor stuff. Thanks, I’ll go back for a pic, even so long after the fact it helps for people to be able to envision the scene, who knows, might even jog someone’s memory … TR

• Angela August 18, 2009 (12:53 pm)

  Thank you, TR — I read the blog religiously, but I’ve never actually contacted you all before, so I wasn’t sure. I will certainly keep that in mind in the future. Thanks again for the follow up and the answers. I (obviously) live right there, so I was really concerned (and still am) that it was one of my cycling neighbors.

• Kayleigh August 18, 2009 (1:53 pm)

  Since her friends and family may well be reading, I don’t think this is the place for the very tired debate between bicyclists and drivers.
  .
  Wishing her speedy healing.

• Jake August 18, 2009 (1:54 pm)

  I just rode that stretch yesterday afternoon. It’s one of the worst sections of road in Seattle (and I ride about 100 miles a week to and from work/grocery shopping/etc). The problem is, there’s not much of an alternative for cyclists, unless you want to wind through side streets and up and down steep hills. I don’t remember seeing anything in particular about South Delridge on the Seattle Bike Master Plan. Is there a way to lobby for that to be addressed?

• kstineback August 18, 2009 (2:42 pm)

  The alternative to Delridge is up the hill, east to 16th, which has a dedicated bike lane almost all the way to the bridge. Soon Fauntleroy will have a northbound lane too. I know this intersection well, just north of it, near the bus stop is a lot of broken up concrete – I have often found myself swerving not to hit a large pot hole, always worried about the traffic around me. It is dangerous! The bike master plan calls Delridge a major route, but obviously little has been done to improve the conditions. I am going to investigate this one…

• kstineback August 18, 2009 (2:49 pm)

  Checked the bike master plan. The priorities for WS are listed as the following. Clearly, it recognizes that Delridge needs dedicated bike lanes. In my estimation, the shoulder is wide enough to accommodate this.

  West Seattle
  • Connection to Low Level Bridge via Delridge Way SW.
  • Bicycle lanes on Delridge Way SW.
  • Bicycle access on 35th Avenue SW.
  • Crossings of 35th Avenue SW.
  • Improvements to Alki Trail.
  • Improvements to Beach Drive SW.
  • Improved access to the Fauntleroy Ferry (to Vashion Island and Southworth).
  • Bicycle connections through the West Seattle Greenbelt.
  • Signage and wayfinding to and across Low Level Bridge.
  • Identifying and improving east-west routes.
  • Bicycle lanes and wayfinding signage along SW Avalon Way, SW Admiral Way,
  California Avenue SW, and Harbor Avenue SW.

• bj August 18, 2009 (3:08 pm)

  Hey Aaron , I wasn’t blaming this rider and I hope for the best. It’s not my car that is becoming a challenge it is the riders who think they are above the rules of road!! I’m happy to share but don’t blow stop signs, red lights or pass on the right side when cars are turning. Who is at fault? I suppose you will say it is the car drive. Ya , right!! I’m also not blaming all bike riders..there are good as well as bad just like car drivers. It’s just that it has seemed to me that bike riders are getting more careless.
  If truth be known I would rather see bike riders use the sidewalks. We would all be safer.

• Will August 18, 2009 (3:42 pm)

  BJ: The sidewalk is the worst place for bicyclists to ride. Driveways, pedestrians, cars pulling out of parking lots. Cars aren’t exactly looking for fast moving bikes on sidewalks. (Not to mention it’s essentially illegal to ride a bike at a reasonable clip on a sidewalk in Seattle.)

  Car drivers break laws (I see at least one car run a red light each week… let’s not mention speeding), bicycle drivers break laws. Because car drivers break laws, I say we should relegate them to the sidewalk. We would all be safer.

  Maybe you’re seeing more cyclists breaking laws because you’re seeing more cyclists. Which is a good thing. We will ALL be better off when there are more cyclists.

• Under_Achiever August 18, 2009 (4:29 pm)

  Oy, such contention!

  I ride cycles — with and without a motor. My motorcycling training courses have taught me that I can be right and dead at the same time. When on two wheels I don’t argue who’s breaking laws because it simply doesn’t matter.

  Perhaps it’s time for operators licenses for bicyclists. We’re all sharing the same road space why shouldn’t we be all held to the same regulatory standards. Oh, and much better braking systems on bicycles — just try to stop one in a reasonable distance when going over 20 mph.

• seriously? August 18, 2009 (9:48 pm)

  What is wrong with people and their issues with bikes vs. cars in this town? I have lived in cities with just as many if not more bikes on the road, and nobody whines over the taxes and points the fingers at one another. Grow up!

  Hope this gal can make a speedy recovery.

• brandon August 18, 2009 (11:09 pm)

  I am all for license plates on bicyles. And tabs.

• cyclist1 August 19, 2009 (10:22 am)

  Any new info on the cyclist’s condition or cause of crash? I can’t find an update.

  Could the bike-phobic nutjars please shut up? After the recent death of the Lake WA Blvd cyclist and others, it’s simply inhuman to spew your ignorance here. Thanks.

• WSB August 19, 2009 (10:30 am)

  What I added to the story last night, received from a friend via e-mail, is the only condition information. Without a name, it is impossible to call the hospital and ask for information (privacy laws changed several years ago), and even if we had the name, the family can choose to say they don’t want information released. I am sending a note back to the person who kindly provided the info to ask if anything more is known today. Regarding the cause of crash, as I believe I noted above, I checked with police late in the day and they had nothing new, I will be asking again today – TR

• Morally Sickened August 19, 2009 (1:03 pm)

  I am a friend of the family’s and you people make me sick. She is doing better but not good, and to use this as a forum for bike/car debate just shows me where we are at with our moral compass. She is in ICU and this is what you have to talk about!

• Friend August 19, 2009 (1:53 pm)

  *She’s a friend of mine and all prayers would be much appreciated! If anyone has any information please contact the police department. She is still in the hospital undergoing surgeries for internal bleeding and face. Again, thoughts & prayers for her and her family.

• bluebird August 19, 2009 (4:23 pm)

  I think a *news* article informing us of an anonymous accident is a perfect place to discuss opinions. That doesn’t diminish that everyone has expressed sadness and well wishes for a full and rapid recovery to whomever this is about.

  “You people make me sick” is much more offensive. No one wants this to happen, ever. Expressing that you wish all cyclists (and motorists) obeyed and followed traffic rules is not mean spirited. It means we worry about things just like this happening.

  The only other comment was to state the sharrows give a false sense of security. Those thoughts receive all this anger and scolding?

  There is no family speaking up to personalize this event, so at this point it shouldn’t cause such harsh condemnation by everyone to speculate and discuss. It’s a perfectly normal reaction to try and assign a cause so we understand a tragedy, whether it be motorist, cyclist, road conditions, etc. That does not translate to blaming the victim. Hopefully talking will prevent another occurrence.

• Born To Be Mild August 19, 2009 (5:50 pm)

  Whether it was bicyclist error or driver error I hope she heals and the responsible party learns. Can someone help me on the problem I see when I make a right turn where there is a bike lane or sharrows. I’d like to think that I look out for bicycles but who is at fault when a bicyclist passes on the right while I am making a right turn?

• Jose August 19, 2009 (7:39 pm)

  God be with this young woman.

  Under_Achiever, best suggestion in a long time. I ride too, and I’d like to see more accountability for bicyclists.

• Jose August 19, 2009 (7:59 pm)

  “Friend,” any word on what caused her injuries?

• bj August 19, 2009 (10:45 pm)

  Bluebird…you said it beautifully. There was no malicious intent with my remarks about car vs riders. To the friends and/or famiy…it also doesn’t mean that we are not concerned about the woman’s condition or that we aren’t hoping the best for her. It just seemed like a time to talk about it. One thing that someone pointed out to me that I had not ever considered when I suggested maybe ride on the sidewalks. They were right, people back out of their driveways way to quick sometimes and it would danger the rider. Point taken. The ideas and suggestions are helpful.
  Again, wishing her a fast and good recovery.

• Anonymous August 20, 2009 (11:36 am)

  I am a good friend hers as well, and first would like to thank everyone on WSB, on behalf of her family, for all of their concern, thoughts and prayers. Her overall condition as not changed much over the last couple days, they are still assessing the extent of her injuries, which is difficult given the severity and quantity. Her condition is currently stable, but they do not yet know what her recovery will look like. It is too early for any specific information other than her trauma was major. Right now her family is grateful for prayers and for any information on the accident, which should be directed towards the police. Thanks WSB for your concern for our dear friend.

• rob August 20, 2009 (5:34 pm)

  I ride down Delridge every morning to work, and despite how bad it is sometimes, I happily take it as an alternative to 35th or HP way. I usually don’t have too many problems aside from people who don’t think that going around a bike is “passing” or people who don’t look in their mirrors before opening their car door. I get about two lane squeezers per day and usually around one car door a week, which given the number of cars isn’t a lot.

  HP way isn’t so bad in terms of traffic and how people behave on it (mostly because its 4 lanes, and except for the speed some people travel down it), but its really steep and I have had several problems with cars at the bottom. Its just a bad situation, because of the layout and a bike being a small thing to see, you kind of appear out of nowhere to cars at the bottom. The only way to get down it at all safely in my opinion is to use the sidewalk, and you have to ride your brakes the whole way to keep from going too fast. Its just not too practical unless I really have to go that direction, so I avoid it if I can.

  35th on the other hand is absolutely ridiculous. It really isn’t safe in a car, let alone on a bike. People drive way too fast (the only time I have driven it and not seen multiple speed nuts is late at night when no one is on it), burn through red lights, stop and then signal left turns, etc. At any given moment it seems there are at least a couple people who think they need to go at least 50 and weave in and out of traffic to do it. Since we started getting red light cameras, I have been wondering why we aren’t getting speed cameras too. You could put one every two feet on that street and fund a new basketball team.

  To those who would pick their way down residential streets as an alternative…I really don’t think this is safe. I do it when I have to, and my experience has been that I get seen and/or paid attention to much less than on an arterial. On streets with parking on both sides and room for only one vehicle to pass, I have been squeezed by oncoming cars that didn’t see me at all. Since moving to southwest Seattle I have developed a habit of stopping at every traffic circle in my car because the vast majority of drivers I have met at these intersections don’t seem to know or care what they are supposed to do at them. It is even worse on a bike because in addition to not knowing or caring what to do with the intersection, they just don’t see you because they either aren’t paying attention (saw a girl typing with both hands on a tmobile sidekick thing yesterday) or just don’t see you because you blend into the background too well.

  I seriously doubt that the real prompt for the negative sentiment to bikes people are displaying here is really in response to the few bad bikers who do things like running stop signs and passing on the right (which is a really dumb thing to do if you don’t know that the cars know you are there, which ironically applies if you’re doing it in a car as well). More likely its a result of people in a hurry developing hatred for anyone who dares slow them down and delay them from their latte. Much easier to indict everyone on a bike for things done by the few scofflaws instead of admit they have to be wherever they want to be as quickly as possible. Who would admit that though right?

  Yeah, I am talking about the people who honk at me as they pass me in the lane despite the fact that I am maintaining about 30 mph on a 35 mph street. The buses hold you up way more than I do.

  But now that I have joined that argument I suppose it would mean less for me to point out that those who would use this as a forum to begrudge cyclists are implying they assume this girl who was injured somehow must have been riding unsafely. Since they don’t seem to know even whether or not a car was involved, seems pretty foolish to draw such a conclusion.

  What is known is that someone was seriously hurt doing nothing more than trying to get to work, and that could happen to any one of us whether we are biking, driving, walking, or taking the bus to work. Show some compassion and wish her well.

• Dennis August 26, 2009 (4:25 pm)

  Any word on how she is doing or if anyone has come forward with information about how this happened?

• WSB August 26, 2009 (4:39 pm)

  I haven’t checked in with the person who provided us the above information in about a week. The victim was still in the hospital and facing several surgeries. Last time I checked with police, they had not received any information regarding the crash’s cause but I’ll check again – TR

• gb August 29, 2009 (7:19 pm)

  the rider is a dear friend of mine and we are all praying so hard for a full recovery. she has sustained severe and traumatic brain injuries. please, everyone, think positively that she will fully return to us.
  as soon as anyone knows what actually happened, perhaps there is a discussion to be had. until then, please pour this energy into good thoughts for her and her family.
  thank you, it is so much appreciated.

Sorry, comment time is over.