I have been out of the country for the last couple weeks, so I haven’t been hearing follow up stories regarding last month’s tragic cycling fatalities in this state. When I returned, I was a bit surprised to read this story out of Columbia. As I have mentioned before, South Carolina has a poor track record when it comes to prosecuting motorists who hurt or kill cyclist, so I was glad to hear that the driver who killed Lee Ann Barry and Tom Hoskins is being charged with murder.
The article contains a statement by the Hoskins family in response to charges.
"Just like a bicycle, the wheels of justice must turn. Nothing can replace the lives of Lee Ann Barry and Tom Hoskins. It is our hope that those operating a motor vehicle will be focused on the road before them. The death rate continues to rise due to the inattentiveness of motor vehicle operators. Two spouses must now walk through life alone raising families."
Let’s hope that South Carolina continues to take cycling fatalities like these seriously. I am glad that they are doing so in this case.
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3 comments:
There is another side to this story. The driver crested a hill going the posted speed limit and did not see the cyclists until it was too late. From some accounts, Lee Anne and Tom were stopped in the road when they were struck.
Because of the accident, the driver had a miscarriage and lost what was supposed to be her first child.
I agree that drivers should be held responsible for negligence when it comes to hitting cyclists.
However, in this case, I'm not convinced the driver's negligence caused the accident.
We'll just have to wait and see.
Thank you for the comment. It is true that no one but the driver knows exactly what happened, but it is a tragedy for all involved. You are right, we will have to wait and see.
I wrote a response to a similar comment at this post.
The "other side of the story" is incorrect. The driver who hit the cyclists was trailed by her husband in a separate car. He told police that he saw the cyclists before impact even though he was behind the driver. And the police investigators found that there was no doubt that the riders were in motion at the time of impact.
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