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# Subject: Two bicylists killed by deputy on Stevens Cayon Road
# http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_8513728
# Two bicyclists struck and killed by sheriff's vehicle in Cupertino
# By Leslie Griffy Mercury News <[email protected]?subject=San
# Jose Mercury News: Two bicyclists struck and killed by sheriff's
# vehicle in Cupertino> Article Launched: 03/09/2008 12:21:11 PM PDT
# Click photo to enlarge
http://www.mercurynews.com/portlet/...jsp?articleId=8513728&siteId=568&startImage=1
# A group of Santa Clara County Sheriff's investigators gather on Stevens
# Canyon Road... (Josie Lepe)
# - « <http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_8513728?nclick_check=1#>
# - 1 <http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_8513728?nclick_check=1#>
# - 2 <http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_8513728?nclick_check=1#>
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# Two bicyclists were killed when a Santa Clara County sheriff's
# patrol car crossed the double-yellow line on Stevens Canyon Road in
# Cupertino and hit a group of riders shortly before 10:30
# a.m. Sunday.
# The crash on a beautiful Sunday morning left the local cycling
# community as the sheriff's department shaken.
# "It's just horrible," said Mike Riepe of San Jose, after hauling his
# mountain bike up a trail near the crash site.
# The opportunities for hill climbing and downhill coasting along
# Stevens Canyon make the road tempting for cyclists. So on Sunday
# morning four cyclists training for an event decided to give the
# hills a shot. The group collided with the deputy's car while the
# deputy was on a routine patrol in the area, Sgt. Don Morrissey said.
# Coming around a corner, near a straight-away, the deputy
# accidentally crossed the center line and struck the group. He called
# for help and immediately began CPR on one of the fallen cyclists,
# Morrissey said.
# Two cyclists, a 29-year-old San Francisco man and a 30-year-old
# Oakland woman, died. A 20-year-old man was seriously injured, CHP
# officer Todd Thibodeau said. The fourth rider was not hurt.
# Sunday's accident rattled the whole department, Morrissey said. The
# deputy involved in the crash will be placed on administrative leave
# until the investigation is complete. He's been on the force for
# about a year and half.
# "He's taking it very hard," Morrissey said. "The whole department is
# saddened."
# Fatal crashes are rare for the sheriff's department, even though
# deputies often drive as many as 200 miles in a single shift,
# Morrissey said.
# The last fatal crash involving a sheriff's patrol car happened in
# 1994, when a deputy trying to keep a suspect from running struck and
# killed the man near the intersection of West San Carlos and Bascom
# Avenue. The deputy was cleared of wrongdoing.
# On a good weekend, thousands of cyclists cruise the winding road
# leading to Stevens Creek Reservoir, said cyclist Steve Paterson, 49,
# of Cupertino, as he was turned away from a road block near Ricardo
# Road set up because of the crash.
# "There are so many rides up here," he said. "Club rides, sponsored
# rides, groups of friends."
# It's unclear whether the cyclists involved in the crash were riding
# as part of larger group, Morrissey said.
# Local cyclists noted that riders in large groups will sometimes ride
# two-abreast. The practice is not illegal but can be extremely
# dangerous on narrow, winding roads with a large amount of traffic.
# It was unclear if the cyclists involved in this crash were doing so,
# Thibodeau said. But cyclists said they've seen dangerous behavior
# from those on both two-wheels and four.
# "I've seen bicyclists who ride crazy," Paterson said. "And I've seen
# cars that go too fast."
# In 1996, cyclist Jeffrey Steinwedel, 46, died on Stevens Canyon Road
# just up the road from Sunday's crash when a quarry driver struck him
# as he took a winter ride. The driver, Jon Nisby, was sentenced to a
# year in jail.
# The CHP is asking anyone who witnessed the crash to call (408)
# 467-5354, ext. 337.
# ------------------------------
# *Contact Leslie Griffy at [email protected] or (408) 920-5945.*
--
Jobst Brandt
# http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_8513728
# Two bicyclists struck and killed by sheriff's vehicle in Cupertino
# By Leslie Griffy Mercury News <[email protected]?subject=San
# Jose Mercury News: Two bicyclists struck and killed by sheriff's
# vehicle in Cupertino> Article Launched: 03/09/2008 12:21:11 PM PDT
# Click photo to enlarge
http://www.mercurynews.com/portlet/...jsp?articleId=8513728&siteId=568&startImage=1
# A group of Santa Clara County Sheriff's investigators gather on Stevens
# Canyon Road... (Josie Lepe)
# - « <http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_8513728?nclick_check=1#>
# - 1 <http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_8513728?nclick_check=1#>
# - 2 <http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_8513728?nclick_check=1#>
# - 3 <http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_8513728?nclick_check=1#>
# - 4 <http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_8513728?nclick_check=1#>
# - » <http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_8513728?nclick_check=1#>
# Two bicyclists were killed when a Santa Clara County sheriff's
# patrol car crossed the double-yellow line on Stevens Canyon Road in
# Cupertino and hit a group of riders shortly before 10:30
# a.m. Sunday.
# The crash on a beautiful Sunday morning left the local cycling
# community as the sheriff's department shaken.
# "It's just horrible," said Mike Riepe of San Jose, after hauling his
# mountain bike up a trail near the crash site.
# The opportunities for hill climbing and downhill coasting along
# Stevens Canyon make the road tempting for cyclists. So on Sunday
# morning four cyclists training for an event decided to give the
# hills a shot. The group collided with the deputy's car while the
# deputy was on a routine patrol in the area, Sgt. Don Morrissey said.
# Coming around a corner, near a straight-away, the deputy
# accidentally crossed the center line and struck the group. He called
# for help and immediately began CPR on one of the fallen cyclists,
# Morrissey said.
# Two cyclists, a 29-year-old San Francisco man and a 30-year-old
# Oakland woman, died. A 20-year-old man was seriously injured, CHP
# officer Todd Thibodeau said. The fourth rider was not hurt.
# Sunday's accident rattled the whole department, Morrissey said. The
# deputy involved in the crash will be placed on administrative leave
# until the investigation is complete. He's been on the force for
# about a year and half.
# "He's taking it very hard," Morrissey said. "The whole department is
# saddened."
# Fatal crashes are rare for the sheriff's department, even though
# deputies often drive as many as 200 miles in a single shift,
# Morrissey said.
# The last fatal crash involving a sheriff's patrol car happened in
# 1994, when a deputy trying to keep a suspect from running struck and
# killed the man near the intersection of West San Carlos and Bascom
# Avenue. The deputy was cleared of wrongdoing.
# On a good weekend, thousands of cyclists cruise the winding road
# leading to Stevens Creek Reservoir, said cyclist Steve Paterson, 49,
# of Cupertino, as he was turned away from a road block near Ricardo
# Road set up because of the crash.
# "There are so many rides up here," he said. "Club rides, sponsored
# rides, groups of friends."
# It's unclear whether the cyclists involved in the crash were riding
# as part of larger group, Morrissey said.
# Local cyclists noted that riders in large groups will sometimes ride
# two-abreast. The practice is not illegal but can be extremely
# dangerous on narrow, winding roads with a large amount of traffic.
# It was unclear if the cyclists involved in this crash were doing so,
# Thibodeau said. But cyclists said they've seen dangerous behavior
# from those on both two-wheels and four.
# "I've seen bicyclists who ride crazy," Paterson said. "And I've seen
# cars that go too fast."
# In 1996, cyclist Jeffrey Steinwedel, 46, died on Stevens Canyon Road
# just up the road from Sunday's crash when a quarry driver struck him
# as he took a winter ride. The driver, Jon Nisby, was sentenced to a
# year in jail.
# The CHP is asking anyone who witnessed the crash to call (408)
# 467-5354, ext. 337.
# ------------------------------
# *Contact Leslie Griffy at [email protected] or (408) 920-5945.*
--
Jobst Brandt