Good kid dies biking on Manhattan Bridge



On Nov 19, 8:37 am, dgk <[email protected]> wrote:
> He sounds special and it's too bad that we won't get to hear from him
> in the future. The only time I rode over the Manhattan bridge was with
> a 5-Boro Bike Club ride where we rode over the East River bridges at
> night, so I'm not sure what happened, but you shouldn't be able to
> fall onto the lower roadway from the upper roadway.
>
> http://www.newsday.com/news/printedition/longisland/ny-lihind19546776...


i have to tell you if you are an inexperienced rider, riding over tall
bridges can get pretty scary. a loud noise, been attached to the
pedals, other aggressive riders, etc. that is too bad.
carlos
www.bikingthings.com
ride fast, get fit, live better, be happy
 
"The son of Brooklyn Brewery co-founder and former Newsday editor Stephen
Hindy, Sam Hindy of Brooklyn died Friday of head and torso injuries after he
fell from the upper deck of the Manhattan Bridge to the lower deck and was
struck by a car. He was 27. "

How did he manage to fall from the upper to lower deck? Was something wrong
with the bridge?

I think any kind of accident of this nature is tragic and sad...no matter to
whom it happens.



<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:72ebe7db-be3b-45cd-b921-d94f189850f6@b32g2000hsa.googlegroups.com...
> On Nov 19, 8:37 am, dgk <[email protected]> wrote:
>> He sounds special and it's too bad that we won't get to hear from him
>> in the future. The only time I rode over the Manhattan bridge was with
>> a 5-Boro Bike Club ride where we rode over the East River bridges at
>> night, so I'm not sure what happened, but you shouldn't be able to
>> fall onto the lower roadway from the upper roadway.
>>
>> http://www.newsday.com/news/printedition/longisland/ny-lihind19546776...

>
> i have to tell you if you are an inexperienced rider, riding over tall
> bridges can get pretty scary. a loud noise, been attached to the
> pedals, other aggressive riders, etc. that is too bad.
> carlos
> www.bikingthings.com
> ride fast, get fit, live better, be happy
 
On Nov 19, 11:49 am, "Roger Zoul" <[email protected]> wrote:
> "The son of Brooklyn Brewery co-founder and former Newsday editor Stephen
> Hindy, Sam Hindy of Brooklyn died Friday of head and torso injuries after he
> fell from the upper deck of the Manhattan Bridge to the lower deck and was
> struck by a car. He was 27. "
>
> How did he manage to fall from the upper to lower deck? Was something wrong
> with the bridge?
>
> I think any kind of accident of this nature is tragic and sad...no matter to
> whom it happens.



Without attributing it as a cause in the chain of events, the article
noted that he and the pal had been DRINKING at BARS -- plural --
before deciding to ride with the cars, then deciding to turn back
after getting honked at!

Due to the construction which closed the pedestrian/bike path to them,
there was a gap in the floor which was barricaded by concrete
blocks...unfortunately, the "good kid" may have been so drunk that he
flipped over his handlebars downstairs!
 
On Mon, 19 Nov 2007, "Roger Zoul" <[email protected]> wrote:

>"The son of Brooklyn Brewery co-founder and former Newsday editor Stephen
>Hindy, Sam Hindy of Brooklyn died Friday of head and torso injuries after he
>fell from the upper deck of the Manhattan Bridge to the lower deck and was
>struck by a car. He was 27. "
>
>How did he manage to fall from the upper to lower deck? Was something wrong
>with the bridge?


The Times has more detail:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/18/nyregion/18bike.html

Bicyclist Killed in Fall on Bridge
Published: November 18, 2007

A bicyclist riding on the Manhattan Bridge late Friday died after taking a
wrong turn and flipping over a retaining wall on the bridge’s upper level,
causing him to fall 15 feet to the lower level, where he was hit by a car.

The man, Sam Hindy, 27, of Eighth Street in Brooklyn, was riding shortly
before midnight with a friend on the bridge when they decided to turn
around.

Mr. Hindy’s father, Steve Hindy, said the police told him that the two
riders had taken the wrong ramp and found themselves on the roadway with
trucks and cars.

“Obviously, it was dangerous,” the elder Mr. Hindy said. “So, they pulled
into the middle, into a construction area, away from the roadway.”

But the construction area ends suddenly, he said, and his son “hit a low
concrete barrier, a retaining wall, and fell” 15 feet. He was then hit by a
Brooklyn-bound 1995 Toyota, the police said.

The other rider stopped in time and was unhurt.

Mr. Hindy, a computer engineer with Double Click, a digital marketing firm
in Manhattan, suffered massive head trauma and was pronounced dead at New
York Downtown Hospital at 12:30 a.m. yesterday.

Steve Hindy, 58, is a founder of Brooklyn Brewery. The rider’s mother is
Ellen Foote, principal of Intermediate School 89 in Battery Park City.
 
On Mon, 19 Nov 2007 07:25:26 -0800 (PST), [email protected]
wrote:

>On Nov 19, 8:37 am, dgk <[email protected]> wrote:
>> He sounds special and it's too bad that we won't get to hear from him
>> in the future. The only time I rode over the Manhattan bridge was with
>> a 5-Boro Bike Club ride where we rode over the East River bridges at
>> night, so I'm not sure what happened, but you shouldn't be able to
>> fall onto the lower roadway from the upper roadway.
>>
>> http://www.newsday.com/news/printedition/longisland/ny-lihind19546776...

>
>i have to tell you if you are an inexperienced rider, riding over tall
>bridges can get pretty scary. a loud noise, been attached to the
>pedals, other aggressive riders, etc. that is too bad.
>carlos
>www.bikingthings.com
>ride fast, get fit, live better, be happy



Maybe, but he wasn't inexperienced. If he's riding fixies with
Critical Mass I'd guess he knew his stuff. Still a kid though at 27,
and it sounds like someone I would have liked to know. Certainly his
father is a character. First a war correspondent, then a Newsday
editor, and he gives it up to start a brewery. Finally got his
priorities in order I guess.
 
"Don Wiss" <donwiss@no_spam.com> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Mon, 19 Nov 2007 14:39:41 -0500, dgk <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>Maybe, but he wasn't inexperienced. If he's riding fixies with
>>Critical Mass I'd guess he knew his stuff.

>
> Is that a fixie in this picture?
>
> http://www.nydailynews.com/news/200...n_of_brooklyn_brewery_owner_27_killed_-1.html
>
> Don <www.donwiss.com> (e-mail link at home page bottom).


Apparently, there was drinking involved and honking cars. Those combined
with gaps in the lanes and night time made for a deadly combination.
 
On Mon, 19 Nov 2007 18:10:29 -0500, "Roger Zoul"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>"Don Wiss" <donwiss@no_spam.com> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> On Mon, 19 Nov 2007 14:39:41 -0500, dgk <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>>Maybe, but he wasn't inexperienced. If he's riding fixies with
>>>Critical Mass I'd guess he knew his stuff.

>>
>> Is that a fixie in this picture?
>>
>> http://www.nydailynews.com/news/200...n_of_brooklyn_brewery_owner_27_killed_-1.html
>>
>> Don <www.donwiss.com> (e-mail link at home page bottom).

>
>Apparently, there was drinking involved and honking cars. Those combined
>with gaps in the lanes and night time made for a deadly combination.
>

NA$CAR Penis Power killed him.

WTF were those morons honking for if not to threaten, menace and
force the cyclists off the road?
--
zk
 
"Zoot Katz" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Mon, 19 Nov 2007 18:10:29 -0500, "Roger Zoul"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>
>>"Don Wiss" <donwiss@no_spam.com> wrote in message
>>news:[email protected]...
>>> On Mon, 19 Nov 2007 14:39:41 -0500, dgk <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>
>>>>Maybe, but he wasn't inexperienced. If he's riding fixies with
>>>>Critical Mass I'd guess he knew his stuff.
>>>
>>> Is that a fixie in this picture?
>>>
>>> http://www.nydailynews.com/news/200...n_of_brooklyn_brewery_owner_27_killed_-1.html
>>>
>>> Don <www.donwiss.com> (e-mail link at home page bottom).

>>
>>Apparently, there was drinking involved and honking cars. Those combined
>>with gaps in the lanes and night time made for a deadly combination.
>>

> NA$CAR Penis Power killed him.
>
> WTF were those morons honking for if not to threaten, menace and
> force the cyclists off the road?
> --
> zk



It's tragic, but they were riding on motorized vehicle only level. I used
to commute over Manhattan bridge bike path all the time, but riding in
traffic over the bridge AT NIGHT would be near suicidal.
 
On Mon, 19 Nov 2007 21:16:39 -0500, "Bellsouth Ijit 2.0 - Global
Warming Edition ®" <[email protected]> wrote:
\
>>>> http://www.nydailynews.com/news/200...n_of_brooklyn_brewery_owner_27_killed_-1.html

\
>>>Apparently, there was drinking involved and honking cars. Those combined
>>>with gaps in the lanes and night time made for a deadly combination.
>>>

>> NA$CAR Penis Power killed him.
>>
>> WTF were those morons honking for if not to threaten, menace and
>> force the cyclists off the road?

>
>
>It's tragic, but they were riding on motorized vehicle only level. I used
>to commute over Manhattan bridge bike path all the time, but riding in
>traffic over the bridge AT NIGHT would be near suicidal.


According to the cited article the bike path was obstructed by
construction.

I would expect that an alternate route would be provided by an
adequately marked detour. I think he made a poor decision but I'm not
familiar with the circumstances.

I can appreciate that motor vehicle operators were not expecting to
see bicycles on the road.

However, that doesn't excuse their behaviour when they did encounter
the bicyclists. Their automobile uberalis attitude has replaced civil
society and contributed to this untimely death.
--
zk
 
On Mon, 19 Nov 2007 21:57:34 -0800, Zoot Katz <[email protected]>
wrote:

>I can appreciate that motor vehicle operators were not expecting to
>see bicycles on the road.
>
>However, that doesn't excuse their behaviour when they did encounter
>the bicyclists. Their automobile uberalis attitude has replaced civil
>society and contributed to this untimely death.
>--

Thanks for the indictment Zoot Katz. I drive in the city and can
easily picture myself hitting a cyclist in that situation. Depending
on the distance ahead where the cyclist fell, it could be impossible
to avoid the peson. Unless one drove over the bridge at an extremely
low speed which is both unexpected and possibly illegal on that
bridge.
 
On Mon, 19 Nov 2007, Zoot Katz <[email protected]> wrote:

>According to the cited article the bike path was obstructed by
>construction.
>
>I would expect that an alternate route would be provided by an
>adequately marked detour. I think he made a poor decision but I'm not
>familiar with the circumstances.


I haven't been over to that bridge in a while. But last time I was, because
of the construction, the bicyclists were instructed to use the path on the
south side instead of the usual north side.

I'm still wondering where the friend that arrived by bus got his bike. I
guess he brought it on the bus?

Don <www.donwiss.com/joyrides> (e-mail link at page bottom).
 
On Mon, 19 Nov 2007 17:09:05 -0500, Don Wiss <donwiss@no_spam.com>
wrote:

>On Mon, 19 Nov 2007 14:39:41 -0500, dgk <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>Maybe, but he wasn't inexperienced. If he's riding fixies with
>>Critical Mass I'd guess he knew his stuff.

>
>Is that a fixie in this picture?
>
>http://www.nydailynews.com/news/200...n_of_brooklyn_brewery_owner_27_killed_-1.html
>
>Don <www.donwiss.com> (e-mail link at home page bottom).


I sure can't tell from the picture. But the Newday article had this
paragraph:

Sam Hindy earned a bachelor's degree from Northwestern University,
then worked for the software company Endeca in Cambridge, Mass., where
he took up fixed-gear cycling. Two months ago, he was hired as a
computer engineer for the Internet advertising company DoubleClick in
Manhattan.

I'm no expert on fixies but my understanding is that folks who like
fixies really like them and don't go back. I could, easily, be wrong
about what he was riding that night.
 
On Nov 19, 7:55 pm, Zoot Katz <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Mon, 19 Nov 2007 18:10:29 -0500, "Roger Zoul"
>
>
>
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >"Don Wiss" <donwiss@no_spam.com> wrote in message
> >news:[email protected]...
> >> On Mon, 19 Nov 2007 14:39:41 -0500, dgk <[email protected]> wrote:

>
> >>>Maybe, but he wasn't inexperienced. If he's riding fixies with
> >>>Critical Mass I'd guess he knew his stuff.

>
> >> Is that a fixie in this picture?

>
> >>http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/11/18/2007-11-18_son_of_brooklyn...

>
> >> Don <www.donwiss.com> (e-mail link at home page bottom).

>
> >Apparently, there was drinking involved and honking cars. Those combined
> >with gaps in the lanes and night time made for a deadly combination.

>
> NA$CAR Penis Power killed him.
>
> WTF were those morons honking for if not to threaten, menace and
> force the cyclists off the road?
> --
> zk


probably as a warning. duh
 
On Tue, 20 Nov 2007 05:19:56 -0500, John Forrest Tomlinson
<[email protected]> wrote:

>On Mon, 19 Nov 2007 21:57:34 -0800, Zoot Katz <[email protected]>
>wrote:
>
>>I can appreciate that motor vehicle operators were not expecting to
>>see bicycles on the road.
>>
>>However, that doesn't excuse their behaviour when they did encounter
>>the bicyclists. Their automobile uberalis attitude has replaced civil
>>society and contributed to this untimely death.
>>--

>Thanks for the indictment Zoot Katz. I drive in the city and can
>easily picture myself hitting a cyclist in that situation. Depending
>on the distance ahead where the cyclist fell, it could be impossible
>to avoid the peson. Unless one drove over the bridge at an extremely
>low speed which is both unexpected and possibly illegal on that
>bridge.


I wasn't indicting the driver who hit him when he landed on the lower
level. It is a general condemnation of the mindset drivers acquire
in their cars.

What is it that causes drivers to act to like bullying thugs when
they see bicyclists on the road?

They didn't need to be honking their horns. The cyclists knew the
cars were there. I don't believe the unfortunate results of their
actions were unintended consequences. They wanted the bicyclist out
of their way and off the road.
--
zk
 
On Nov 20, 1:33 pm, bluezfolk <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
> If we take you logic to the next obvious level, then bicyclists should
> stay of the road because it should only be used by pedestrians.


Nope, because bicyclists and pedestrians are one and the same, the
same class of road-users. The difference is akin to that between a
passenger car and a long-hailer trailer. Big difference, but same
over-arching category.

> If it
> weren't for motor vehicles our bicycles would still be in the
> factories.


You do know that bicycles were invented before automobiles, right?
 
"Don Wiss" <donwiss@no_spam.com> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Mon, 19 Nov 2007, Zoot Katz <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>According to the cited article the bike path was obstructed by
>>construction.
>>
>>I would expect that an alternate route would be provided by an
>>adequately marked detour. I think he made a poor decision but I'm not
>>familiar with the circumstances.

>
> I haven't been over to that bridge in a while. But last time I was,
> because
> of the construction, the bicyclists were instructed to use the path on the
> south side instead of the usual north side.
>
> I'm still wondering where the friend that arrived by bus got his bike. I
> guess he brought it on the bus?
>
> Don <www.donwiss.com/joyrides> (e-mail link at page bottom).


Yes, south is usually pedestrian only, or has been for a while. It USED to
be dual bike/ped path before they opened the north side (bike only). I rode
over the north side bike only path to work last week, and there were doing
some work, but I could ride around the work crew.
 
>
> It's a really a shame, as all that hostile honking probably panicked the
> kid to make a turn in bad light. I would personally never ride over that
> bridge on the automobile lane, especially at night, and the kids made a
> bad decision given the situation, but it didn't need to end up that way
> and it's just a horrible tragedy. A few months ago, I joined the Ghost
> Bike ride to commemorate all the riders who got killed by automobiles in
> NYC, and am afraid there's going to be a ghost bike on Manhattan Bridge.

The guy was 27 years old! When does a person become a grown-up in Manhattan,
anyway?

Pat
>
 
"Pat" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> >
>> It's a really a shame, as all that hostile honking probably panicked the
>> kid to make a turn in bad light. I would personally never ride over that
>> bridge on the automobile lane, especially at night, and the kids made a
>> bad decision given the situation, but it didn't need to end up that way
>> and it's just a horrible tragedy. A few months ago, I joined the Ghost
>> Bike ride to commemorate all the riders who got killed by automobiles in
>> NYC, and am afraid there's going to be a ghost bike on Manhattan Bridge.


> The guy was 27 years old! When does a person become a grown-up in
> Manhattan, anyway?
>
> Pat
>>

>
>


I call anybody younger than me a kid and anybody with a camera who staggers
all over a bike lane a tourist. Try to catch up.