Hit and run driver kills Phoenix cyclist; police looking for silver BMW
These are the ones that terrify me the most. This man was apparently a commuter. He was in the bike lane and he had lights on his bike. I hope they find the driver soon. Meanwhile, if you live in Phoenix and know anyone who drives a silver BMW, take this opportunity to inspect it for front-end damage.
Police looking for driver who fatally struck bicyclist
by Ofelia Madrid – Aug. 8, 2009 07:58 PM
The Arizona RepublicPhoenix police are looking for a driver of a BMW sedan who struck and killed a bicyclist in north Phoenix around midnight Friday.
Police gave this account:
Shortly after midnight, a bicyclist was riding southbound on Cave Creek Road just north of Mountain Gate Pass Road in the marked bicycle lane when a silver BMW driving at a high rate of speed drove into the bike lane and struck the bicyclist, killing him instantly.
The cyclist, 52, was riding home from work and was in full compliance with the bicycle laws. He was riding with a bike light and a rear flashing light in the bike lane.
The BMW driver continued without stopping. Witnesses reported that the BMW was speeding and weaving just prior to the collision.
Witnesses describe the vehicle as a silver late-model BMW four-door with dark window tint and an Arizona license plate, police said.
There is extensive damage to the right front headlight section along with windshield damage on the passenger side.
The front right clearance marker lamp and fog lamp was found at the scene, police said.
There is no description of the driver, police said.
Anyone with information about the incident or driver is asked to call Phoenix police at 602-262-6141 or Silent Witness 480-948-6377.
Story here.
–EBR
August 10th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
Terrible story. I am pleasantly surprised by the tone of the article, though.
August 10th, 2009 at 8:17 pm
After reading this latest tragedy, it dawned on me that we have had 3 fatal hit-and-runs in less than 3 months in Phoenix.
http://azbikelaw.org/blog/phoenix-hit-and-runs-disturbingly-similar/
Mindy: I had the same thought as you, that the story had a good tone. Much of that came directly from the Phx police spokesman. And in another one of the prior incidents, “Police say that Thompson was riding his bike legally”
August 10th, 2009 at 8:18 pm
Any more news about the kids who got hit last week? It really fell off the radar .
August 11th, 2009 at 9:14 pm
Is there a precedent for police using the myriad traffic surveillance cameras at intersections to actually ID and find a hit and run driver?
August 12th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
They found him!! What a jerk.
http://www.azfamily.com/news/local/stories/Phoenix-news-081209-fatal-hit-drive-suspect-arrest.d3b9aff5.html
August 12th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
^^^^^good question!
August 12th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
The driver has been apprehended. See most recent blog post on biketempe.org. http://www.biketempe.org/?p=418
Traffic surveillance camera would only be useful if it is a full motion video camera (which most intersections don’t have, yet).
August 13th, 2009 at 3:03 am
“Is there a precedent for police using the myriad traffic surveillance cameras at intersections to actually ID and find a hit and run driver?”
I don’t know of any hit-and-runs, but the guy that killed Irma Quintana claimed he had a green light — the camera said otherwise…
http://azbikelaw.org/blog/28-672-in-the-news/
August 13th, 2009 at 9:44 am
Glad they caught the guy….a terrible story nevertheless. While I appreciate that they made the point that the bicylist was riding “in full compliance with bicycle laws”, you could interpret it as suggesting that this case was unusual and most victims are at least partially at fault. Maybe I am just being paranoid, but like they say, it’s not paranoia if they’re really out to get you.
August 13th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
There is loose talk of a memorial or “ride for rights” ride in September at some point. TBAG is also investigating placement of a ghost bike as it’s about time we make this a habit in Phoenix. Any/all Tucson riders are welcome to join. We’ll post more information to http://biketempe.org when available.
August 13th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
I think those cameras are used to get live video of the intersections for traffic information and emergency services, but don’t actually record the video.
August 16th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
Dude tried to trade the car in!! What a D-bag…
August 17th, 2009 at 8:57 am
***This is a tragic crime that’s taken place because it’s taken the life of a man who was going home from work***
–Phoenix Police Sgt. Tommy Thompson
Makes no sense. It would have been less tragic had he been going home from the movies?
Wonderful that this creep was caught, in any case.
August 17th, 2009 at 11:07 am
I hate the use of the word tragedy.
Macbeth is a tragedy. Oedipus Rex is a tragedy. Tragedies stem from character flaws that lead men to their downfall. By calling this a tragedy, people are saying that bicyclists are flawed persons who could have avoided death if they just gotten in a cage.
This is not a tragedy. Call it what it is:
Murder.
August 17th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
Hmmm, you have a point Radar Man, about the word “tragedy.” But it isn’t always murder, either. I doubt this man meant to kill anyone, he was just an idiot driving around in a deadly weapon.
It was negligent homicide though — not that prosecutors in this state ever exercise that option for a dead cyclist.
EBR