Dead police cruiser-bike crash victim ID’d
Monday, November 9, 2009
A 63-year-old man was killed today when the bicycle he was riding collided with a police car on a University City street during the morning rush hour.
Walter Freeman of San Diego pedaled out of a gas station in the 3800 block of Governor Drive shortly before 7:30 a.m., crossed the southbound side of the roadway and rode directly into the path of the cruiser, which was traveling southbound in the far-left lane, according to police and the county Medical Examiner’s Office.
Freeman died at the scene. The involved officer, who has been with the SDPD for 18 months, was uninjured.
At the time of the crash, the patrolman was en route to investigate a non-urgent traffic accident call and had not activated the cruiser’s roof lights and siren, according to police.
The squad car was traveling below the posted speed limit at the time of the accident, SDPD traffic Detective Dan Wall told reporters during a mid- afternoon briefing.
Tags: bicyclist, Medical Examiner's Office, san diego fire-rescue, San Diego police car, San Diego police Detective Gary Hassen, SDNN
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Comment by: DizzleFaShizzle Posted: November 9, 2009, 2:02 pm
having things like helmets and accessories for your bike will help avoid situations like this. 2wheelbikes.com is the best place to go for bikes and bike accessories. I got my beach cruiser from them for college and have been happy ever since. I would recommend these bikes.
Comment by: cardiffreef760 Posted: November 9, 2009, 3:54 pm
this is very unfortunate for the rider. people even cops need to be aware of cyclists on the road at all times, considering bikes obey the same laws as motor vehicles and should be respected just like cars.
Comment by: Vic Posted: November 10, 2009, 12:05 pm
This cop have a name? Were there witnesses? Did anybody there do more than rip a press release out of a fax machine? Wake the hell up and update this with something that has meat on its bones.
Comment by: T Posted: November 10, 2009, 8:23 pm
DizzleFaShizzle You are talking out of your pump for a bike shop and are despicable or ignorant or both. The victim had a vest on to make him visible, and a red helmet… which did not stay on during the crash… because he was thrown over 20 ft and did major damage to the passenger side of the police car.
Yes there were security cameras. No they weren’t intended to record bike accidents.
The accident happened as the road (divided) flattens out from a steep hill. I suspect at least one party was yammering on a cell phone or radio and as such was distracted.
It is a very nasty junction, and people are hit there on an infrequent but regular basis – because it is the crown of a hill and it is very difficult to judge speeds… and it takes longer to get across the junction than you might expect because it is wide and it is very easy to pull out at the wrong time. Most cyclists are utter morons who blithely go through red lights and don’t wear helmets or figure they are on a bike so the pedestrian should get out of the way. This cyclist took safety seriously enough to wear a neon vest and a bike helmet. It’s a shame it wasn’t enough.