RAAM Tragedy

Discussion in 'Road Cycling' started by B. Lafferty, Jun 18, 2003.

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  1. B. Lafferty

    B. Lafferty Guest

    This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

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    From theis morning's VeloNews:

    RAAM rider killed in New Mexico This report filed June 18, 2003 A member of the Vail-Go Fast team
    contesting the Race Across America was = killed late Tuesday night outside of Pie Town, New
    Mexico.=20

    The rider, whose name has not yet been released, was struck and killed = by an 18-wheel tractor
    trailer.=20

    We expect a report from VeloNews reporter Steve Medcroft later this = morning as further details
    become available.=20

    IIRC, this is the first major accident at RAAM since the Canadian = (name?) was hit by a truck in
    1985 and the first death during RAAM. RIP = and lets hope this doesn't have a major negative impact
    on this race.

    ------=_NextPart_000_0041_01C33572.C03134E0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="Windows-1252"
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    <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META
    http-equiv=3DContent-Type content=3D"text/html; = charset=3Dwindows-1252"> <META content=3D"MSHTML
    6.00.2800.1170" name=3DGENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY>
    <DIV><FONT color=3D#0000ff size=3D2>From theis morning's = VeloNews:</FONT></DIV>
    <DV><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
    <DVI><FONT size=3D2><STRONG>RAAM rider killed in New = Mexico<BR></STRONG>This=20 report filed
    June 18, 2003<BR>A member of the Vail-Go Fast team = contesting the=20 Race Across America
    was killed late Tuesday night outside of Pie Town, = New=20 Mexico. </FONT></DIV>
    <DVII><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
    <DVIII><FONT size=3D2>The rider, whose name has not yet been released, was = struck=20 and killed by
    an 18-wheel tractor trailer. </FONT></DIV>
    <DIX><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
    <DX><FONT size=3D2>We expect a report from VeloNews reporter Steve = Medcroft later=20 this
    morning as further details become available. </FONT></DIV>
    <DXI><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
    <DXII><FONT color=3D#0000ff size=3D2>IIRC, this is the first major = accident at RAAM=20 since the
    Canadian (name?) was hit by a truck in 1985 and the first = death during=20 RAAM. RIP
    and lets hope this doesn't have a major negative impact = on this=20 race.</FONT></DIV>
    <DXIII> </DIV></BODY></HTML>

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    #1 B. Lafferty, Jun 18, 2003
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  2. David Ryan

    David Ryan Guest

    http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/?id=2003/jun03/jun18news3

    RAAM Competitor killed

    The Race Across America (RAAM) suffered a terrible blow early Wednesday morning as racer Brett Malin
    was struck and killed by a truck along US route 60 in New Mexico. The accident, which happened at
    around 2:30am EST, marks the first fatality in the race's 21 year history. Malin, a member of
    four-person Team Vail-Go Fast, reportedly was struck by the truck as it attempted to swerve to avoid
    the collision, which was deemed an accident.

    Brett Malin, a road cyclist from Vail, Colorado, was 30 years old.
     
    #2 David Ryan, Jun 18, 2003
  3. Psycholist

    Psycholist Guest

    This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

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    Here's the latest on the tragedy. I confess I jumped to the conclusion = that it must have been the
    evil truck driver. I guess not. Tragic all = the same. My heart goes out to the victim, the family
    AND to the = driver.

    Bob C.

    "A member of the Vail-Go Fast team contesting the Race Across America = was killed late Tuesday
    night, outside of Pie Town, New Mexico.=20

    Thirty-year-old Brett Malin, of Vail, Colorado, had just finished riding = a 30-mile stretch when he
    was struck and killed by an 18-wheel tractor = trailer. Malin was part of a four-man team riding in
    shifts across the = 2970-mile RAAM route.=20

    VeloNews correspondent Steve Medcroft, who has been riding in the team's = support vehicle said the
    team had divided duties between two shifts of = two riders, who would then trade-off 30-mile rides.
    Malin finished his = 30-mile stretch at 11:45 p.m. on Tuesday and was relieved by teammate = Zach
    Bigham.=20

    As is the practice in RAAM, the team's pace car had continued on, = following Bigham. Malin was then
    to have been picked up by the team's = follow vehicle. Malin apparently opted to turn around on the
    road to = ride back to the follow vehicle instead of waiting.=20

    According to Medcroft, Malin made the maneuver on a blind turn on the = empty highway and did not
    hear or see the tractor-trailer approaching. = The driver of the truck swerved in an unsuccessful
    attempt to avoid = striking the rider.=20

    Emergency personnel arrived within 15 minutes, but Malin was declared = dead on the scene. "

    "B. Lafferty" <[email protected]> wrote in message =
    news:[email protected]... From theis morning's VeloNews:

    RAAM rider killed in New Mexico This report filed June 18, 2003 A member of the Vail-Go Fast team
    contesting the Race Across America = was killed late Tuesday night outside of Pie Town, New
    Mexico.=20

    The rider, whose name has not yet been released, was struck and killed = by an 18-wheel tractor
    trailer.=20

    We expect a report from VeloNews reporter Steve Medcroft later this = morning as further details
    become available.=20

    IIRC, this is the first major accident at RAAM since the Canadian = (name?) was hit by a truck in
    1985 and the first death during RAAM. RIP = and lets hope this doesn't have a major negative
    impact on this race.

    ------=_NextPart_000_000C_01C335B6.AAF663E0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="Windows-1252"
    Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

    <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META
    http-equiv=3DContent-Type content=3D"text/html; = charset=3Dwindows-1252"> <META content=3D"MSHTML
    5.50.4522.1800" name=3DGENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff>
    <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Here's the latest on the tragedy. = I confess I=20 jumped
    to the conclusion that it must have been the evil truck = driver. I=20 guess not.
    Tragic all the same. My heart goes out to the = victim, the=20 family AND to the
    driver.</FONT></DIV>
    <DV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
    <DVI><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Bob C.</FONT></DIV>
    <DVII><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
    <DVIII><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>
    <P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=3D-1>"A = member of the=20 Vail-Go
    Fast team contesting the Race Across America was killed late = Tuesday=20 night, outside of
    Pie Town, New Mexico.</FONT> </P>
    <Q><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" = size=3D-1>Thirty-year-old=20 Brett
    Malin, of Vail, Colorado, had just finished riding a 30-mile = stretch when=20 he was struck
    and killed by an 18-wheel tractor trailer. Malin was part = of a=20 four-man team riding in
    shifts across the 2970-mile RAAM route.</FONT> = </P>
    <R><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" = size=3D-1><I>VeloNews</I>=20
    correspondent Steve Medcroft, who has been riding in the team's support = vehicle=20 said the
    team had divided duties between two shifts of two riders, who = would=20 then trade-off
    30-mile rides. Malin finished his 30-mile stretch at =
    11:45 p.m.=20 on Tuesday and was relieved by teammate Zach Bigham.</FONT> </P>
    <P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=3D-1>As is = the practice=20 in
    RAAM, the team's pace car had continued on, following Bigham. Malin = was then=20 to have
    been picked up by the team's follow vehicle. Malin apparently = opted to=20 turn around on
    the road to ride back to the follow vehicle instead of=20 waiting.</FONT> </P>
    <Q><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" = size=3D-1>According to=20 Medcroft,
    Malin made the maneuver on a blind turn on the empty highway = and did=20 not hear or see the
    tractor-trailer approaching. The driver of the truck = swerved=20 in an unsuccessful attempt
    to avoid striking the rider.</FONT> </P>
    <R><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" = size=3D-1>Emergency=20 personnel
    arrived within 15 minutes, but Malin was declared dead on the=20 scene.</FONT> <FONT
    face=3DVerdana>"</FONT></P></FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=3Dltr=20
    style=3D"PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000000
    2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
    <DIV>"B. Lafferty" <<A=20
    =
    href=3D"mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]= .com</A>>=20 wrote in
    message <A=20
    =
    href=3D"news:[email protected]">new=
    s:[email protected]</A>...</DIV>
    <DIV><FONT color=3D#0000ff size=3D2>From theis morning's = VeloNews:</FONT></DIV>
    <DV><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
    <DVI><FONT size=3D2><STRONG>RAAM rider killed in New = Mexico<BR></STRONG>This=20 report filed
    June 18, 2003<BR>A member of the Vail-Go Fast team = contesting the=20 Race Across America
    was killed late Tuesday night outside of Pie Town, = New=20 Mexico. </FONT></DIV>
    <DVII><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
    <DVIII><FONT size=3D2>The rider, whose name has not yet been released, = was struck=20 and killed
    by an 18-wheel tractor trailer. </FONT></DIV>
    <DIX><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
    <DX><FONT size=3D2>We expect a report from VeloNews reporter Steve = Medcroft=20 later this
    morning as further details become available. </FONT></DIV>
    <DXI><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
    <DXII><FONT color=3D#0000ff size=3D2>IIRC, this is the first major = accident at RAAM=20 since
    the Canadian (name?) was hit by a truck in 1985 and the first = death=20 during RAAM.
    RIP and lets hope this doesn't have a major = negative impact=20 on this race.</FONT></DIV>
    <DXIII> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>

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    #3 Psycholist, Jun 18, 2003
  4. David Ryan

    David Ryan Guest

    > Malin was then to have been picked up by the team's follow vehicle. Malin apparently opted to turn
    > around on the road to ride back to the follow vehicle instead of waiting.
    >
    > According to Medcroft, Malin made the maneuver on a blind turn on the empty highway and did not
    > hear or see the tractor-trailer approaching. The driver of the truck swerved in an unsuccessful
    > attempt to avoid striking the rider.

    Even I have a problem blaming the driver. But I always default to blaming vehicles in general. But
    the proximate cause appears to have been a tired or inexperienced rider.

    As a frequent night rider alone, I was cognizant whenever the lights of approaching vehicles in
    either direction hit the tops of trees or glowed in the night haze above and I avoided making any
    moves possibly into its path, even edging further to the side of the road. An alert or experienced
    night rider should have noticed that much even without hearing or seeing the vehicle directly.
     
    #4 David Ryan, Jun 18, 2003
  5. mapsno2

    mapsno2 New Member

    Joined:
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    Originally posted by Psycholist:
    ----------------------------------------

    > According to Medcroft, Malin made the maneuver on a blind
    > turn on the empty highway and did not hear or see the
    > tractor-trailer approaching. The driver of the truck swerved in
    > an unsuccessful attempt to avoid striking the rider.

    Do you ever wonder where they come up with stuff like this? How on earth could they know what the rider saw or heard?

    The rider may well have been tired and may well have been at fault. However, I'm always skeptical when I read stuff like this. I've never had a tractor-trailer sneak up on me without me hearing it a mile away and, given that the rider knows damned well he dies if he turns into traffic, I have a hard time believing he didn't look before turning (if indeed that's what he was doing at all). On the other hand, he was probably tired. But the point remains that this article is at best pure speculation.

    CLB
     
    #5 mapsno2, Jun 18, 2003
  6. Kurgan Gringion

    Kurgan Gringion Guest

    "David Ryan" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
    > > Malin was then to have been picked up by the team's follow vehicle. Malin apparently opted to
    > > turn around on the road to ride back to the follow vehicle instead of waiting.
    > >
    > > According to Medcroft, Malin made the maneuver on a blind turn on the empty highway and did not
    > > hear or see the tractor-trailer approaching. The driver of the truck swerved in an unsuccessful
    > > attempt to avoid striking the rider.
    >
    > Even I have a problem blaming the driver. But I always default to blaming vehicles in general. But
    > the proximate cause appears to have been a tired or inexperienced rider.
    >
    > As a frequent night rider alone, I was cognizant whenever the lights of approaching vehicles in
    > either direction hit the tops of trees or glowed in the night haze above and I avoided making any
    > moves possibly into its path, even edging further to the side of the road. An alert or experienced
    > night rider should have noticed that much even without hearing or seeing the vehicle directly.

    Such are the risks of riding with a sleep deficit.
     
    #6 Kurgan Gringion, Jun 18, 2003
  7. Anthony G Gough

    Anthony G Gough Guest

    Read the article..... His father witnessed the accident. So while we may not know what he saw, we do
    know what he did.

    "mapsno2" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
    > Originally posted by Psycholist:
    > ----------------------------------------
    >
    > > According to Medcroft, Malin made the maneuver on a blind turn on the empty highway and did not
    > > hear or see the tractor-trailer approaching. The driver of the truck swerved in an unsuccessful
    > > attempt to avoid striking the rider.
    >
    > Do you ever wonder where they come up with stuff like this? How on earth could they know what the
    > rider saw or heard?
    >
    > The rider may well have been tired and may well have been at fault. However, I'm always skeptical
    > when I read stuff like this. I've never had a tractor-trailer sneak up on me without me hearing it
    > a mile away and, given that the rider knows damned well he dies if he turns into traffic, I have a
    > hard time believing he didn't look before turning (if indeed that's what he was doing at all). On
    > the other hand, he was probably tired. But the point remains that this article is at best pure
    > speculation.
    >
    > CLB
    >
    >
    >
    > --
    > >--------------------------<
    > Posted via cyclingforums.com http://www.cyclingforums.com
     
    #7 Anthony G Gough, Jun 18, 2003
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