Interesting story in today's local newspaper. It's nice to know that at
least one badly behaved motorist got what he had coming, although I'd like
to see him lose his license for a long while. I've scanned it for people who
don't want to register to the newspaper's website. For those who do follow
the link, there's a provision to comment on the story at the end of the
article, as I did.
http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20051112/NEWS/111120036
--
mark
November 13, 2005
A 'breakdown of common sense'
BY SHAUNA FARNELL
eagle county correspondent
November 12, 2005
VAIL - Not many cases of motorist versus cyclist make it to
court. But not many end in a woman getting punched in the face.
David Matthews of Black Forest pleaded guilty Monday to assault
and battery in a July 9 incident that occurred in East Vail during the
Triple Bypass bicycle race from Evergreen to Avon.
Pam Zaske was coming down Vail Pass into East Vail as it was
raining around 6 p.m. on July 9, and was riding on Big Horn Road going about
35 mph, when Matthews pulled up next to her in his Lexus SUV.
"I was staying very close to the white line, but I made a
conscious decision that I didn't want to be crossing in and out of it
because it was slick," Zaske said. "He came up behind me with his vehicle.
He honked his horn. He slowed down and stayed right at my side. He made
three distinct movements, closer to me and closer to me. I was doing what I
could to slow down and stay away from that line and not crash."
Matthews continued after Zaske slowed down, and she saw his car
pull a U-turn down the road and park in a dirt lot facing the oncoming
cyclists. She rode up to his car, motioned for him to roll down his window.
When he did, she began telling him how dangerous his actions were.
"I probably got four words out, when he blew up at me and
started yelling," she said.
A short screaming match ensued, and when Zaske went to leave,
Matthews grabbed her jacket with one hand and punched her in the jaw with
the other. Matthews then drove away to a party he was attending in East Vail
with his mother and two boys - aged 9 and 12 - who were also in the car.
Zaske called the police, who found his vehicle shortly thereafter and
arrested him.
Zaske had been riding for 12 hours and it was her third Triple
Bypass race. A long-time cyclist, she does several charity races and rides.
While occasionally having people yell out their car windows and honk, she
had never had a problem sharing the road with motorists until her encounter
with Matthews.
"I know there are some gonzo cyclists out there who ride three
or four-abreast. I'm not one of those," she said. "It's too bad there are
these people who just perpetuate the conflict and the stereotype."
Sorry for the hit
Matthews expressed remorse in the Vail Municipal Court last
Monday.
"I knew instantaneously," he said. "My son came and said,
'Daddy, there are some police outside looking for you.' I knew I acted
poorly. I deeply apologize."
Zaske said that she was told it would be difficult to charge
Matthews with reckless driving because it would be difficult to prove, thus,
she and Vail city attorney John Clune compiled a plea bargain for Matthews,
wherein he agreed to work alongside the Vail Police Department doing traffic
control for the Courage Classic cycling event in 2006 as well as donate $250
to the event, which is a fundraiser for Children's Hospital in Denver.
Matthews was also required to write a Letter to the Editor apologizing for
his behavior, as well as write an apology letter to Zaske as well.
Judge Buck Allen asked Zaske, who broke down during Monday's
sentencing as she spoke about how afraid she was for her life when Matthews
was driving so close to her, for her input as to whether or not she wanted
to see him go to jail. Zaske left the decision up to Allen's discretion.
"When you're passing a cyclist on the road, every bit of common
sense in the world tells you to give them a wide berth," Allen told Matthews
in court Monday. "When the weather is bad, you give them a wider berth. If
you run over a bicyclist, you have to clean up a mess. The bicyclist is
either maimed or dead."
Matthews said that he was under a great deal of stress at the
time, having just made a decision to take his ailing father off of life
support. His attorney Paul Dunkelman pointed out that the entire incident
could be, from Matthews' end of things, assessed as "a breakdown of common
sense."
"In addition to the plea bargain agreement, Allen sentenced
Matthews to 18 sessions of counseling and a fine of $1,305, $120 of which is
restitution for Zaske's medical expenses, which included a visit to the
dentist for her swollen jaw and sleeping pills.
"Every time I'd lay down to sleep, my pulse would race," Zaske
said. "My mind would replay the incident."
The bigger issue
Zaske said that being punched was traumatizing, but more
traumatizing was what might have resulted from Matthews' actions in his car
while she was riding her bike, which, she said, is the larger issue.
Clune said that his report showed that during Matthews' booking
he made a comment to the attending police officer to the effect of, "Hasn't
a cyclist ever done anything to make you mad?"
"There seems to be a growing issue of animosity between a small
group of cyclists and a small group of motorists," Clune said, adding that
when the case first presented itself, there was no question that it should
call for jail time, but now that the sentencing process has started, the
trauma of the event has subsided through time.
Matthews never admitted that he deliberately tried to steer
Zaske off the road in his car.
"I agree that we all have to share the roads," he said. "I don't
have a problem with that. I had no intentions of running anyone off the
road. I'm not that type of person. I was just a little beside myself. I
would never want to see (Zaske) or anyone else hurt."
Matthews also pointed out that before Monday, he had never been
to court.
"I doubt it was accidental," Allen said of the driving incident.
"A Lexus SUV is a big, heavy truck. Any time you have car vs. bike, the bike
never wins."
Allen also said he wasn't entirely convinced by Matthews' story
that he had stopped down the road so his mother could make a phone call.
"That's one explanation," Allen said. "There are certainly
darker explanations."
At the end of the sentencing Allen told Matthews that he came
very close to being sent to jail. Matthews said, "I've learned my lesson,"
but declined to comment further to the Vail Daily. Zaske said while she was
pleased that it was over and she was pleased that the judge understood the
gravity of the motorist vs. cyclist aspect of the case, she wondered if a
few days in jail, or a sentence wherein Matthews would have to spend several
hours on a bicycle sharing the road with motorists, wouldn't have been an
additional learning tool.
"He still kind of denies that it was an intentional portion on
the bike," she said. "But it wasn't my place to say he needs to go to jail.
I was happy to see the turn of the focus to the bicycling portion, which is
what I've been saying the whole time. I'm glad it's over."