[.steve]

Does anybody know about, or where I can find out information on, an accident involving a cyclist and a car that occurred in the East Bay Hills sometime around 4 Saturday? A close riding buddy of mine was riding solo and was hit. The call went out to his girlfriend after he arrived at the hospital and details are sketchy. If anybody knows anything please PM me, I will be checking throughout the day. I'm pained to say that he died of his injuries and will be missed by anybody that knew him.

 

[.steve]

-update, the accident happened in Berkeley, losing control on a descent and going headfirst into an oncoming car, don't know where exactly though. Why isn't this in any of the local newspapers?!

 

[LouisVuitton]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/06/19/state/n152450D95.DTL

(06-19) 15:24 PDT San Bernardino, Calif. (AP) --

Two drivers have been charged in connection with a crash that killed a pro bicyclist.

San Bernardino County prosecutors on Friday charged Patrick Roraff and Brett Morin with felony vehicular manslaughter.

Police said the crash occurred during a street race on a rural road in April. Roraff tried to pass Morin, but lost control of his car, striking 27-year-old Jorge Alvarado.

Alvarado preparing for a race. He was thrown from his bike and died at the scene.

Lawyers for Roraff and Morin said their clients were not street racing.

Police did not arrest anyone at the scene. Neither drugs nor alcohol were a factor in the crash.

___

Information from: The Sun, www.sbsun.com

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/06/19/state/n152450D95.DTL#ixzz0rT38TXEv

 

[gregg]

Not sure if this is the one you are referring to steve, but:

http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_15344119?source=rss

Oakland bicyclist killed in Tilden park crash

<!--subtitle--><!--byline-->Bay City News Service
<!--date-->Posted: 06/21/2010 12:12:22 PM PDT
<!--secondary date-->Updated: 06/21/2010 12:24:38 PM PDT



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A 40-year-old Oakland man was killed while riding his bicycle in Tilden Regional Park on Saturday, East Bay Regional Park District police said.
William Flint II was riding downhill on South Park Drive near the Grizzly picnic area at about 2 p.m. when his bicycle drifted into oncoming traffic, police said.
He crashed into the side of a 2003 Ford Expedition sport utility vehicle.
The driver of the SUV, with help from an on-duty park employee, rendered aid while they waited for paramedics to arrive.
Flint was taken by helicopter to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek, where he was pronounced dead, police said

 

[.steve]

Yes, Gregg, this was my friend. I was afraid that it was South Park Drive. Notorious for being a steep and scary descent in the Berkeley Hills. It also has a semi-hidden parking lot right off the road. I'm glad that there were people there to help. I will miss him terribly.

 

[gregg]

Sorry to hear about your friend, Steve. My condolensces....40 is too young.

 

[ratpick]

Steve, maybe you know more but I read on the LKHC list that it was likely that Flint was attempting to break a descent time record on strava.com. He apparently used to hold the record for that descent on strava.com but recently lost it. Rumor is that he was attempting to get it back.

I know a bit about this myself. I love bombing descents - it's a huge thrill. I currently hold the descent "KOM" for Kings Mtn Rd. I see others are now trying to beat my time.

This is a wakeup call for me. I'll continue descending at speed - it's too much a part of my enjoyment of cycling to stop - but I'll be backing off from being on the edge.

I know we all need to take responsibility for our own actions, but I'd like to see strava.com stop recording descent KOMs.

 

[Francis Cebedo]

This is tragic. Condolences.

There is some very disturbing info on the mtbr thread here:
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=628841

There is virtual Downhill road racing going on in a site called Strava.com and a lot of info is pointing to this as a factor as Ratpick mentioned.

fc

 

[ukbloke]

This is an awful tragedy. I feel really sorry for the guy, and his family and friends.

I see that strava.com has posted a memoriam on their blog. This could be pretty awkward for them. Their web-site can be seen as encouraging racing on open roads. Up-hill is defensible because the speeds are so low, say 10-15mph. Downhill can easily lead to speeds in excess of the speed limit, and could encourage reckless behaviour that risks others as well as the cyclists involved.

The average on this "KOM descent" was over 40mph, so one can only imagine what the peak was (they don't share instantaneous speeds on their charts). The data on Kim's Edge 305 might tell whether he was racing or not. I could easily see local news having a field day with this story. Imagine the furore if there were a similar site for motorbikes or car racing on open roads.

 

[ratpick]

Thanks for that pointer - I've sent them an email to ask them to either stop recording KOMs with negative grades or at least post a warning.

I'm not one to say they are guilty here, but it's too easy to get caught up in this sort of competition. Others may say they have some liability so I'd be up there pretty fast with a disclaimer if I was them.

[email protected] if you feel like doing the same.

 

[txzen]

Ugh. Condolences to friends and family.

Let's be safe (and a little more smart) out there...

http://www.berkeleyside.com/2010/06/24/did-attempt-to-set-speed-record-cause-cyclists-death/