Publication Date: Wednesday, February 25, 2004
Man clings to life after bicycle crash
Man clings to life after bicycle crash
(February 25, 2004) Hit-and-run driver also killed Mountain View resident
by Bill D'Agostino and Julie O'Shea
A Palo Alto man critically injured in a bicycle accident over the weekend has demonstrated some signs of recovery.
Although Ted Aberg, 65, remained on life support Monday, he has responded to his son's voice -- a positive step two days after a hit-and-run accident left him in the hospital and his bicycling partner dead..
The crash occurred at 1:35 p.m. Saturday along Highway 9 in Monte Sereno when a man driving a red Ford van struck the two bikes and fled the scene.
Jim Dein, a 56-year-old Mountain View resident, was killed by multiple blunt force injuries to head, neck and thorax, according to the county's chief medical examiner's office. The injuries were so severe, an official said, that Dein died minutes after the impact.
A passenger in a passing car witnessed the crash, and tended to the victims. She gave Aberg mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
After Aberg had been taken to the hospital, the woman realized she had seen him before: He fixed her flat tire on another bike route.
"She was a real hero," said his son, Mike Aberg, also of Palo Alto. "My dad is always helping everybody, that's in his nature. Boy it's great that somebody turned around and helped him -- and it turned out to be someone he helped."
The woman did not want her name publicized. Other witnesses followed the van after the crash, and wrote down his license plate number, Los Gatos police reported.
The suspected driver of the van turned himself into police on Sunday evening, more than 30 hours later. David Espino, 38, of San Jose, was booked into Santa Clara County main jail on vehicular manslaughter charges and also for violating probation.
Espino was expected to appear in court on Tuesday morning, after the Weekly went to press.
Aberg, a retired accountant, and Dein, a computer programmer, were bicycling friends for more than two decades. They typically rode more than 100 miles a week.
"They pushed themselves as hard as they could," Mike Aberg said.
Dein -- recently laid off from his job at Apple Computer -- had decided to take time off from job-hunting to go for a joyride, according to his aunt, Susan Matheson, a Palo Alto resident.
The two men liked to start at Bicycle Outfitters in Los Altos and take a break at Pizza My Heart in Los Gatos, and then return back the other direction. It was a 45-mile route, primarily along Highway 9, where the crash occurred.
"You think that if you'd be safe anywhere you'd be safe there," Matheson added. "Obviously we'd like to see some sort of justice done."
Dein never used his car, and only biked. He grew up in Pelham, N.Y. He had a Ph.D. in geophysics and taught himself German and ancient Greek, according to his aunt.
"It was a big shock," Matheson said. "He was very much loved by his family and friends, and we are really going to miss him."
A memorial service for Dein is scheduled to be held on Sunday, Feb. 29 at 12:30 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church in Palo Alto, 625 Hamilton Ave. Those who attend are encouraged to bike, to raise awareness of safety issues.
"I hope car drivers will be more aware and conscious of pedestrians, bicyclist and motorcycles," Mike Aberg said. "Anything that's not a car on the road."
A memorial ride for Dein is planned for later in the month. It will follow the path the two men were traveling on Saturday.
A memorial fund has been set up in Jim Dein's name. Donations can be sent to the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition PO Box 831 Cupertino, CA 95015. The money will be used to subsidize bicycle road skills training.
Bill D'Agostino can be e-mailed at bdagostino@paweekly.com. Julie O'Shea writes for the Voice, the Weekly's sister paper in Mountain View. Bay City News contributed to this report.
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