D.C. bicyclist charged in collision that killed Kiplinger editor

[mahatmakanejeeves]

As I was headed to work a few morning ago, I was in a marked crosswalk along with some eight to ten other people. The weather was clear. There was a stop sign before the crosswalk. A bicyclist went right past the stop sign without stopping and through the people in the crosswalk. I said "Crosswalk! Ya gotta stop for the pedestrians!" He said nothing, and he kept on going. He just plain did not care.

This incident was going through my mind at the time.

D.C. bicyclist charged in collision that killed Kiplinger editor

By Peter Hermann

April 13 at 10:03 AM 

A 27-year-old bicyclist has been charged with disobeying a traffic device after police said he fatally struck a woman who was trying to cross a street at Franklin Square in Northwest Washington.

Zakkai Stanley Kauffman-Rogoff of Northwest Washington was issued a citation, said Aquita Brown, a spokeswoman for D.C. police. Brown said in a statement that “the investigation is still ongoing, and {police are} working with the United States Attorney’s Office to determine if any additional charges may apply.” ... Kauffman-Rogoff’s attorney, David Benowitz, said that his client “denies culpability in this unfortunate event, and that he has cooperated and will continue to cooperate with the investigation.”

The woman, Jane Bennett Clark, 65, had been an editor and writer at Kiplinger magazine, overseeing articles on personal finance and retirement planning for the business periodical. She started working there in 1977.

Clark had left her office near 13th and K streets NW about 6:30 p.m. March 9 and was walking south to the Metro Center station, headed to her home in Takoma Park, Md. At I Street, police said, she stepped off a curb and was struck by a bicyclist traveling south on 13th Street. The bicyclist stopped after the collision. Clark died the following day.

Peter Hermann covers crime for The Washington Post. Follow @phscoop

[still_one]

1. Bicyclists have to obey the same laws as cars, and that includes DUIs

[Me.]

2. It's Like The Wild West Where I Live

Riding through lights, wrong direction, on sidewalks, criss-crossing intersections, speeding all the way. Yet all we hear are complaints from bicyclists and nothing about the way they disregard pedestrians and traffics lights.

[Hoyt]

3. Used to be into bicycling, but you gotta follow the rules. Not doing so just gives drivers an excuse

to buzz you, throw things at you, etc.

With that said, I've had drivers screw with me on roads even though I'd ride as close to the edge as possible. A few times we've almost come to blows. But that doesn't give us an excuse to disobey rules and put pedestrians at risk. I quit riding some of my favorite National Park dirt trails when the rangers posted speed limits. When you are used to going 30 mph or more, 10 mph ain't much fun.

Good reminder.

[PoliticAverse]

4. Does "disobeying a traffic device" mean "went through a red light"? n/t

[Thor_MN]

5. Could mean stop light or a stop sign, even a Yield sign

Might even extend to crosswalk markings.