Family member of bicycle crash victim responds
by Michael DresserMy Getting There column last Monday in the print edition of The Sun, concerning the need to respect the rights of bicyclists on the road, received one of the strongest responses since the column began.
Many were from motorists who vigorously disagreed and who essentially pointted to bicyclists as miscreants who needllessly clog the roadways. But other, more favorable responses came from bicyclists and from the family members of bicyclists who were killed in collisions with motor vehicles.
Here's one email, from Fran Leonard of Elkridge, that I though was worth passing on:
Thank you for your article 'Sharing the road with bicycles is hardly a hardship'. My children's father/step father was struck and KILLED by a driver of a four wheeled vehicle on May 4th, 2006 and died the next day. He was KILLED by someone who has never been caught or punished for this CRIME. SHAME on the people who feel riding a bike is inferior to them driving a car, van, truck or whatever other thing it is they drive. They have no respect for others much less themselves or else they would be more considerate. They are bigoted, self righteous people who think only of themselves. Our grandchildren will never know the love and compassion he had for his family and others. He never hurt anyone and he surely didn't deserve to die that way. The person/persons who ran him down had to have known they hit someone or something didn't even stop, if they had he may still be alive today. It doesn't matter why bicyclist ride on bikes, whether it's to go to work, out of need, pleasure or a Lance Armstrong wantabe. They deserve to be on the road as much as anyone else. <a href="http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/traffic/2010/05/daughter_of_a_bicycle_crashh_v.html">http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/traffic/2010/05/daughter_of_a_bicycle_crashh_v.html</a>;
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