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The California Highway Patrol today released a few more details about a deadly crash Saturday morning between a truck and a bicyclist on a road in Contra Costa County, east of San Ramon.
The bicyclist killed in the collision, reported around 9:45 a.m., was part of a group of about 50 to 60 people cycling on eastbound Highland Road, less than a mile west of Carneal Road.
The collision occurred in an area east of San Ramon and north of Livermore.
The bicyclist was a 40-year-old Dublin man. He was riding a Specialized bicycle and wearing a helmet, according to the CHP.
The man’s name has not yet been released.
The cyclist was traveling at the back of the pack and likely to avoid a crash between at least two bicyclists at the front of the group he crossed over onto the other side of the road, according to the CHP.
The man, who may have lost control of the bicycle, was then ejected off the bike and landed on the westbound road.
A truck driver, a 56-year-old Livermore man, driving a 2001 Peterbilt truck, saw ahead of him the bicyclists at the front of the pack crash and veered to avoid them. That is when he struck the bicyclist who was in the roadway, along with his bicycle.
Many cyclists tried to help the struck man, but emergency personnel pronounced him dead at the scene.
Another person suffered major injuries and a third bicyclist suffered minor injuries, CHP officials said.
The truck driver was not injured, according to the CHP. He was wearing a seatbelt during the incident.
Highland Road was closed for three hours after the crash.
Drug or alcohol use is not suspected as factors in the crash, according to the CHP.
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Not surprised…
I ride also and simply do not understand the need for cyclists to be on narrow roads in large groups. They generally do not ride single file, they insist on riding in the roadway (yes I know they are allowed to by law under some circumstances) and they rarely obey traffic signs and signals. Red lights and stop signs only apply to them if there is traffic coming.
The laws of Darwin will selectively eliminate these morons if they continue to ride this way. Cyclists often do not want to share the road, they want to own the road. So keep trying to win that war between your legal rights and a multi ton vehicle. Darwin will select you out.
cyclist too. I am a cyclist as well. Without being there and understanding what happened,you need to refrain from that type of comment. Rather than try and quarterback from behind your keyboard, how about some sympathy and compassion towards a fellow cyclist. In speaking with riders who where there Saturday, this was no fault of the rider struck by the truck, nor the truck driver. If you read this article, you will have a better idea of who the cyclist was, their family, and their positive impact on the community and society:
http://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/justin-siena-principal-nominee-dies-in-cycling-crash/article_81a35de0-334e-54d4-8d62-8c8c077c78db.html
I can’t believe the lack of compassion of “cyclist too”. My heart goes out to the family of the cyclist who died. May his family and loved ones be supported during this most difficult time. They will be in my prayers. This is not a time to make a tragedy worse with unkind words.
It is not just about the cyclist – the driver of the truck will need to live with this horrible accident every day of his life.
My comments are not to disparage this particular rider — however, there was a group of people, riding close together, on a narrow winding road and he subsequently supposedly crossed the road and lost control of his bike. Does any of that sound as if they should have been spread out, single file and perhaps riding in a less dangerous place?
You can argue all that you want that bikes are allowed to share the road. You can make your case that they should be allowed on any narrow and winding road that they choose. But the fact is that the cyclist will die in the crash, whether or not the cyclist was in compliance with the law at the time. And I say again, most cyclists flaunt the traffic laws on a regular basis.
Darwin is going to even the score with some of the cyclists in downtown Pleasanton. The guy who rides each morning westbound on Stanley and makes his turn onto southbound Main St across traffic and against the light. I have personally slammed my brakes and swerved twice to avoid him. Or the large Saturday riding group that flies down First St, half a dozen abreast, without giving way to pedestrians, cars or stopping for lights. Or the idiot who was riding on the sidewalk on First St and ran into me when I stopped for the traffic light and she planned to fly right through it.
Keep on thinking that the world owes you and your bike the right to be anywhere, anytime and you will end up in a mangled heap. Bikes don’t win that confrontation.
Sorry for all involved here. I hope the family of the cyclist sues the biker who organized this ride as it is crazy for cyclists to choose small country roads to ride on although they have the right. I see bicylists everyday blow stop signs, cross against lights in crosswalks, etc. I think bikes should be licensed with license plates and be ticketed like automobiles. The fees raised could pay for bike lanes, etc.
To Cyclist Too:
This is not the time to start pontificating about the rules of the road. This is a very tragic accident which is being felt by every one of those cycling with him. This is the time for kindness & sympathy,
Pray for all involved and may the poor soul that was killed. May he rest in pease.
I have been riding alone and in large groups for several years and one of the reasons we choose routes on roads like Highland is because there is minimal vehicle traffic there normally.I too would agree that many times cyclists take way too many liberties on the road without regard to others rights to be out there as well and to ride sensibly.But in this case it appears that there was a touch of wheels which caused a domino effect and this person to go down.It’s tragic and my heart goes out to the families of all involved.
If the person at the back of the pack was unable to stop and control his bike in his lane to avoid a collision between two bikes in the front of the pack, it sounds like safe following distance was not observed by the group, and the group was riding above a safe speed for the condition.
I ride a little but have observed a lot. I think with 40,000,000 people in this state it might be unsafe for bikes to share the rode with cars and should be against the law. Bikes should off road. Until this happens I am afraid there will be more tragedies like this one. So very sad.
“it sounds like safe following distance was not observed by the group, and the group was riding above a safe speed for the condition.”
My point exactly. If the only option was to swerve into the other lane of traffic then safe following distance was not being observed.
I am presently in another state and have just witnessed what I fear every time I am forced to pass cyclists on narrow roads. Three riders, riding three abreast, took up the entire lane of traffic on a 35 MPH road. (BTW there was a large lane at the side of the road where they should have been riding). A car behind them had to go into the other lane to pass (it was done legally) and another car pulled out of a driveway without looking, hitting the passing car. Both drivers are seriously injured, the cyclists who caused this by not riding single file in their own lane, failed to even stop. Share the road my a$$.
Unbelievable!! Can’t we just stop the hatred for cyclist in the community for just a few days and have some respect for Herman’s wife and two kids? It was a tragic accident that just happened at exactly the wrong time; rider at the front falls (accident) taking out other cyclist (not intentionally) causing another a rider to fall to the left at the exact same time a water truck was approaching…terrible terrible timing.
Stop blaming every accident and every cyclist for the for the bad behavior of a small minority who ride a bike and don’t obey the law or even common courtesy. The danger in doing so is called “road rage”. Why else would a driver, traveling on a country road, going the opposite direction just randomly flip me off?
Yes, very narrow country road, but cycling on a very wide well-traveled rode can be worse; that’s why so many cyclist chose the specific roads.
As for the driver and his wife/girlfriend who were also at the wrong place and the right time, my heart goes out to them both. They did not deserve that image etched in their minds forever nor do the rest of us who were on the ride.
Is it really that unbearable for some people to hear others raising awareness on the relevant topic on hand, which is at some point cyclists(like myself) have to practice safe riding when sharing the road with other vehicles, pedestrians, etc?
It’s a disservice to everyone to ignore the elephant in the room and just take the easy morally superior way of saying “my sympathies…my heart goes out to the victim…how terrible…” and then ignore a huge part of the equation.
Cyclist too, Your posts here are incredibly obnoxious. You basically called the man who lost his life a moron in the first 2 paragraphs simply because he was riding his bike in a group. A moron is someone who can’t recognize that there might be nuances and circumstances to a story that they don’t know. A moron is someone who makes sweeping generalizations based on some anecdotal experience and then thinks it’s a good idea to anonymously post them online. Nobody cares about your story of blame. This is about what sounds like a very exceptional man who tragically lost his life. Random bad things happen and everyday. I’m sorry for the friends and family of this man.
Of course my sympathies are with the rider, his family and all who knew him. But this is a news story. It is amazing that there are not more tragedies like this on a regular basis.
Cyclists should be self-policing or at least being truthful about the arrogance of what seems like a majority of bikers. Cycle 2 et al are correct about riding behavior.
There waa another person seriously injured and one with minor injuries. The deceased cyclist may not have had any fault… he was reacting to the actions of two other cyclists.