William Wilson, motorist who severely injured El Tour rider Gary Stuebe, to be sentenced Monday, June 22
Carhead, Our eternal quest for Platinum Status, getting off easy again, hit and run, safety, upcoming bicycle related events June 16th, 2009
It’s before Judge Richard Nichols at 9:00 AM in Room 675 of the Superior Courthouse in Tucson if you want to go.
The Superior Courthouse is the big one on the southwest corner of Congress and Church street right in downtown Tucson.
You can read more about Gary Stuebe, the El Tour rider who was critically injured by William Wilson, here. Gary is still recovering from his injuries, and has a very long rehabilitation ahead of him.
–Erik Ryberg
June 16th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
The bicycle powers that be have
a problem….maybe actual cyclists
can help solve it.
There is a very bad intersection
at Broadway-4th Ave.-Toole(west)&
Congress. The underpass will soon
be opened and the asphalt filling
the gap in the streetcar tracks will
be removed.
There will be a signal at Broadway &
Toole(east) and one at 4th Ave.& Toole
(west).
How would you like to be able to
negotiate this intersection and the
tracks riding in on Broadway and going
either onto Toole(west) or Congress?
There will be a free right-turn lane for
going to the underpass; a middle lane for
Toole(west) and a left lane for Congress.
The trick is getting from the right to
either the middle or left lanes and
negotiating the tracks while in traffic.
Suggestions so far have been:
A speed table prior to Toole(east) to slow
the cars and help cyclists to claim their
intended lane along with road markings to
clarify the options.
A bike path (expanded sidewalk) on the right
so that you could cross 4th (as a pedestrian)
and then continue on Toole(west) or cross to
Congress thus avoiding the tracks and lane
shifts in traffic.
Or, if you once used this route, now plan
to avoid it altogether mainly because of
the added man-made hazard of the tracks.
Any other suggestions or thoughts?
Tony – keep it simple.
June 16th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
Eric, does Mr. Wilson have to appear in person? Didn’t they let him move to Florida to an assisted living facility? Will he plead diminished mental capacity?
June 16th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
Mark, my guess is he will be there, but he might have gotten permission to appear telephonically or in some other fashion because of the nature of this hearing and his age, mental capacity, health needs, and distance from Tucson. This is sentencing, so it is really just a matter of the judge rubber-stamping the plea. (Or not — he doesn’t have to.)
EBR
June 16th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
Is there a civil suit pending? Venue? Will the money part of this be worked by insurance companies? And, if they can’t work it out, will there be a civil suit? How does this side of these unfortunate events work?
June 16th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
Red Star, yes, there is a civil suit. I reported about it some time ago. The state brings criminal charges, the victim files a civil suit. Since Wilson was from Pima County and the accident occurred in Pima County, venue is likely proper here in Pima County. I doubt this will actually get to litigation, but who knows.
EBR
June 17th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
Speaking of civil suits, and insurance GENERALLY (let me be very clear — i have NO IDEA about this particular case).
It seems to me that un and underinsured motorists are a huge socialized cost (a.k.a an externality — not paid for directly by the one causing the damage) of motoring that no one seems mention. People seriously injured by motorists; who may be a ped, a cyclist, or most likely another motorist have a high probability of becoming a ward of the state — since very few motorists carry multi-million dollar liability insurance, and otherwise can’t afford to pay. These poor souls end up on medicaid/medicare/SSDI. Which are all publicly funded.
There was an article written by John Semmens, someone with which i don’t usually agree, which points out the absurdly low minimum requirements for insurance liability coverage — and some novel ideas on how to restructure the market. link here:
http://azbikelaw.org/blog/31/
June 17th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
Ed, you are completely right. I have written on my Website about how important it is for bicyclists to carry as much UM/UIM coverage as they can afford. Compared with health insurance it is very inexpensive. My own policy covers me to a million dollars for about 30 bucks a month. And it follows me wherever I go, whether I am in a car or on my bike or just walking — I can be run down in a crosswalk, hit by an airplane while river-rafting, or squished under a runaway train.
Here in AZ you can carry as little as $15,000.00 in liability coverage, and that’s what most folks have. Which means if you get hit by one of these folks and you aren’t carrying UM/UIM coverage, you had better hope your hospital stay is real short, because it doesn’t take much to rack up a medical $15,000.00 bill.
EBR
June 17th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Kudos to Ed for making a positive contribution and bringing out the social and economic role of insurance, which seems to be the usual cover for laggardly infrastructure public policy when it comes to cyclists. It would be interesting to learn whether cyclists participating in all the zillions of USA “el tour de…” events “insure up” not to mention everyday cyclist…
Yet, as standard, insurance is not without difficulty:
Settlements and Verdicts
“Bike Rider Coverage” at:
http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/settlements/11521/acuity-bicyclist-insurance-coverage.html
June 18th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
Since I am a renter, and car-free, it is impossible for me to obtain UM/UIM insurance coverage in any amount.
June 18th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Hey ChipSeal,
Not impossible. You can still purchase auto insurance, even though you don’t drive. Whether it makes sense or not, is up to you. It is probably cheaper for you to get a health insurance policy with a high deductible in case of a serious accident. Health insurance will cover you in far more situations, as well.
EBR
June 22nd, 2009 at 8:52 am
Eric, good advice on the UIM insurance. I am going to check on mine and perhaps increase the amount. I never gave it much thought, but after having dinner with my husband’s boss on Friday, and listening to his rant about bicycles on the road, I am more aware that some people might consider me to be a target. I tried to set the guy straight, but because he is my husband’s boss, I couldn’t really speak freely.
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:05 am
Ed and Mike–
I went back and found my source, and the intoxicated business is raw hearsay. So don’t bank on it and I shouldn’t have mentioned it.
EBR
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:40 am
The sentencing for the Mr. Wilson was this morning and I attended. Tucson’s TV channel 13 crew was also there so it will be on today’s news. Bottom line: no jail time, 3 years of probation, he never drives again and he is to remain in an assisted living center in Georgia.
The whole thing had nothing to do with the accident that the driver caused but the fact that he left the scene of the accident. The judge felt that since the driver did contact an attorney (2 freakin’ days AFTER the accident!!!) he complied with the law’s intent that a driver accept responsibility. Never mind the fact that he went home and removed human tissue and bike paint from his car to try to cover up the accident. Whatever. They did mention that a civil suit is going on, that the driver has a $3 million insurance policy, yada yada yada. But the victim with the most serious injuries, the one who was in a coma for 3 months, the one who had multiple brain surgeries, the one who was declared mentally incompetent by the court and now has his wife as his legal guardian because of his brain injury, the one who already has $1.5 million in medical bills hanging over his head…..he had to sit there and watch the driver get off with a slap on the wrist. I was actually crying there in court, the whole thing was so sad. I should also mention that one of the other bicyclists who was injured that day gave an extremely emotional plea to the judge, asking for no leniency in the case. That had to have been so difficult to do, and my hat goes off to him.
I just have a very empty feeling in my stomach now. Damn, damn, damn.
June 23rd, 2009 at 3:48 am
If Mr. Wilson had been younger, he would have gotten alot of jail time. Imagine the press if he was a 20 year old.
We all need to consider why we accept behavior from a “senior citizen” we never would accept from a teenager or a 3 year old.
BTW, I am 48 and ashamed at the level of self-absorption and selfishness Americans, especially judges, tolerate from old people while we want to charge 8 year olds as adults and put 13 years into regular prison with adults.
June 23rd, 2009 at 7:04 am
There are many things the media is not reporting regarding Mr. Wilson. I have known Mr. Wilson for over 15 years. He is one of the finest men I have known. He has a life history of accomplishments many people would be amazed at. He has been extremely active in his local church and schools for many, many years. When he says he is sorry for all that has happened, I guarantee he means it. I assure all he is in agony over this whole incident. Bill is a fine man that I am proud to know.
June 23rd, 2009 at 2:53 pm
Nate, what I am saying is that if Mr. Wilson, whom you are proud to know, was equally sorry, equally a good person, etc. but only 25 years old, his sentance for a hit and run of any magnitude would have included serious jail time. Good people break the law every day. Senior citizens just statistically suffer far less consequences for it than younger people.
June 24th, 2009 at 10:53 am
My son is only 17 years old but I feel sure his moral compass is such that he wouldn’t have driven away from a horrible accident he had caused, after stopping of course to check the damage to his car. As for Mr. Wilson, you’d think such a fine man with a whole life of experience would know better than to behave as he did, and I still say his apology was woefully inadequate.