A collection of vehicles, including squad cars from the California Highway Patrol, gathered at the intersection of Alpine Road and Interstate 280 around noon Tuesday (Jan. 18) to do more research into the Nov. 4, 2010, crash in which Los Altos bicyclist Lauren Ward, 47, collided with a tractor trailer and died, CHP officer Art Montiel said.
The CHP has “new information” and was conducting a “follow up,” Montiel said, adding: “If this information changes the outcome (of the investigation), we’ll let you know.”
The new information did not come from a witness to the accident, Montiel said. The CHP is still hoping that witnesses come forward, he added.
The new information has also not led to a reopening of the investigation in which the CHP determined that the driver of the truck was not at fault in the accident, Montiel said.
Officers redirected vehicle and bicycle traffic away from the scene of the accident from about 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Montiel said.
On hand from the CHP were the accident’s investigation officer, the area commander and members of the Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team, Montiel said.
The CHP also required the presence of the actual truck, from Randazzo Enterprises Inc. of Castroville, that was involved in the accident. The driver, Gabriel Manzur Vera, was not present, Montiel said.
The Ward family, represented by attorney John Feder of San Francisco, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Vera and Randazzo.
In an earlier interview, Feder said he had hired an investigative team to conduct a re-enactment. Feder has not yet responded to a request for an interview.
Am I missing something, or is this a non-story? There’s “new information” but absolutely no clue as to what that info is. Thanks for the tease.
LOL!! Thanks for the laugh Paul!
Why are the police afraid to tell the public what this “new information” is?
I waited in traffic for 45 min. The road was blocked from 10 until after 3 at least. I saw 7 cop cars there. I was wondering why this was going on, but really that many hours?
The original CHP report was basically a stenography of the killing driver’s version. As a frequent rider through the same spot where Ms. Ward was killed, it never made much sense. I have no idea what the new potential evidence might be, but we need a version closer to the truth. The previous one was highly suspicious and improbable.
As a former frequent driver of that area, I can tell you that bicyclists frequently do not ride defensively and make stupid maneuvers into harms way. I’m not saying the truck driver was not at fault or doesn’t share fault, I am saying that sometimes it is hard to admit that our loved ones did something foolhardy that took them from us.
I did not find this follow-up story a non-story at all. I found it intriguing being that the driver had killed someone in a former accident that was also ruled accidental.
When doing an investigation, the officials obviously do not tell all they know in the hopes that they will uncover more details.
I am shocked and amazed at the amount of cynics out there ready to pounce on any and every tidbit.
Felicity, unbelievable and insensitive comments! Wow! As a former frequent driver of that area, I can tell you that DRIVERS frequently do not drive defensively and make stupid maneuvers into harm’s way.
Sorry you feel that it was insensitive. I lived on Portola Rd and near there for years and many – certainly not all – rode with an attitude. I had cyclists make left hand turns in front me, cut me off, etc. numerous times. Yes, drivers cause many issues too. I quit riding the hills because of stupid drivers; too many close calls and I chose life over the potential of these accidents. I’m just saying that everyone is always quick to assume the little bicycle got hurt by the Goliath truck and I am just saying sometimes the bicyclist is at fault but no one ever wants to admit that that might have been the case. Not saying that is the case either. Just saying there is at least the possibility. And I have not heard from anyone else willing to postulate that.
It is good to know that the CHP are looking more deeply into this incident.
I still find it hard to believe that there were no other witnesses at the scene, and have the feeling that someone out there knows more – maybe much more.
Without further evidence from a third party, the only option is to let the driver go – he is, by law, innocent until proven guilty, no matter what his actions on the day.
As to the comments about cyclists and drivers – there are good and bad examples of both – a pretty wide spectrum of capabilities and attitudesn my experience. We notice cyclists, as they are a bit of a deviation from the norm in traffic, and require some extra attention at times, inclding when they are riding “by the book”. A little tolerance on both sides goes a long way.
Dr H.
Blaming the victim is shameful unless you really know what happened. And if you were a witness, did you share that information with the police?
The world includes many foolish and insensitive people. Some of them drive automobiles. Some of them drive bicycles. Some of them drive both.
I didn’t see anybody blame the victim. I just saw an openminded comment that either or both could be at fault.
Furthermore, to assume that the cyclist is blameless somewhat by definition implies that the trucker is guilty before so proven.
If you have that evidence, you had better report it too !?
The point is that we don’t know, But we do know that both drivers and cyclists need to be smart when using the roads even though some of both frequently deviate from that standard.
I agree with Felicity that sometimes bikers are in a hurry. It’s not about blaming but this is the truth. One thing humans forget that it doesn’t matter who is at fault, it will almost cost a biker or a pedestrian their life if they are not careful. And if they don’t wait of few extra seconds even if a driver of a vehicle is at fault and coming close to the biker <in this case> or a pedestrian!
Recently we read the news about VTA bus accident and the pedestrian fatality!
With no witnesses yet the only “new information” that I can imagine is the result of the family’s independent investigation.
It’s a miracle this story is being followed. I’m willing to admit it’s a miracle when any story is followed for more than a few days…
Occam’s Razor suggests to me 3 dead cyclists is way too much of a coincidence.
Last Thursday evening, I witnessed a driver run down a cyclist in Palo Alto. It was on the narrow section of Middlefield a couple blocks “north” of University. A place where there is no shoulder to the road at all. We were in the left lane. The other driver passed us on the right and pulled ahead far enough to pull into the left lane in front of us. We saw a bicyclist ahead in the right lane, and then we watched in horror as the other driver stayed in the right lane and hit the cyclist without so much as trying to squeeze over a little. We saw both bike and rider fly up into the air. The driver did not slow down. In fact the car sped up. We called 911 and followed for a few miles; hoping we could keep it in sight until the police could catch up. The car had no license plate (just a dealer ad, I suppose it was a new car) so we really didn’t want to lose it. We followed it down Willow and on to 101, where it sped up once again. We stayed with it until it exited the freeway and kept following. We stayed in contact with 911, and before long, the police caught up and pulled the car over. The driver was arrested. We were interviewed by the police. One of them mentioned that the driver was apparently drunk. We later heard that the cyclist ended up with a concussion, but no other serious injury. I’ve been very surprised that we haven’t seen any mention of this in the news anywhere.
It’s really too bad that there were no witnesses to the incident in which Ms. Ward was killed. My heart goes out to her family, who have no certainty about what actually happened, and how to think about her death.
I am an avid cyclist myself, and witnessing this incident has really shaken me. Seeing another cyclist who was riding responsibly get run down like this. I know that as a cyclist, I can’t watch every single car over my shoulder. But I suppose everything we do carries risk. The driver who hit the cyclist could just as easily have hit a pedestrian or another car. Luckily, this time no one died, and the guilty party was arrested.
Witness – do you know how badly that bicyclist was injured? I’m surprised that a felony hit-and-run was not reported in this newspaper.
Middlefield Road is a trap for bicyclists. There are bike lanes on Middlefield in Menlo Park and in southern Palo Alto. However, those bike lanes disappear around downtown Palo Alto, where speeding and reckless driving are rampant. And there is no signed detour for bicyclists. I hope that the victim is OK.
Witness. Can you tell us whether the bicylist was using lights? This surely is a horrible story, but knowing whether there were lights could be a useful factor in knowing how to prevent accidents like this in the future.
Thanks for what you did and yes, I am pleased to know that the cyclist was not seriously hurt.
Witness,
Now that you have witnessed the laws of physics in action, do you still think it’s a good idea to bicycle on motor vehicle roadways?
Bicyclist’s Condition: Don’t know more than what I put in my original post.
Lights: I don’t remember whether the cyclist had any lights. I kind of think not, but am not sure. Being a cyclist, I usually notice other peoples bike lights, just to see if there is anything better out for me to think about getting. I’m pretty sure that if the cyclist had taillights, they were probably minimal. In any case, the cyclist was perfectly visible to all of us in the car. I guess the street lighting must be pretty good there.
Dear “Outside Observer,” No doubt it was no accident that you called our local streets “motor vehicle roads.” Bet you could go on for hours explaining to the rest of us all the reasons why motor vehicles own them exclusively.