An update to the post below

from the same WPD officer.


I have spoken with the investigating officer and found that the cyclist is going to survive. There was a time yesterday when the doctors were not sure how bad the head injury was and felt it was life threatening. His name is Scott 39 years old, did not recognize the last name and can't remember it. The officers who responded to the scene, immediately called myself and [another officer] because they described him as an obvious serious cyclist. They are saying he will be in the hospital for at least a few days but I do not know the long term diagnosis.
This is an opportunity to talk out about the law that some states have passed requiring motorists to pass at least 5 feet over from a cyclist. The reason I bring this up is because the officer who took the report has over 10 years experience on the Department and only works crash investigation. When he talked to me he said he was having a hard time deciding what to charge the driver with. Is it "illegal passing", which the way our law is written, does not really apply (believe it or not) or is it "failure to reduce speed to avoid a collision"? Essentially that charge is when a driver runs into the back of another driver and does not stop in time. The point I am getting at is that our State laws do not neccesarily address this type of accident where a cyclists is in the right with a vehicle travelling in the same direction. Other vehicle laws would apply for other types of crashes such as failure to yield when a car turns in front of a cyclist.
Anyway that is my two cents worth.


I still haven't seen any news on the local media about this, but there is a story about a church selling pumpkins! And thank goodness for that!