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Graham Middle School student Andre Retana had fallen off his bicycle in front of a construction truck, whose driver could not see the child prior to the March 17 crash in Mountain View that killed the 13-year-old, according to findings of an investigation released by the city’s Police Department.
Two weeks after the fatal collision at the corner of El Camino Real, Grant Road and state Route 237 in Mountain View, the Police Department released the findings of its investigation in a Thursday, March 31 public letter.
Andre was riding his bicycle from behind the Alliance gas station in the truck’s right-side blind spot and then fell off his bike in front of the truck, police said. The truck driver came to a complete stop at a red light and traffic was clear before he turned right onto eastbound El Camino Real. The driver did not realize he had been involved in the crash until bystanders told him, according to police, who are not releasing the driver’s name.
Emergency responders came to the scene of the collision on the morning of March 17 and Andre was transported to the hospital, where he died. An 8th grader at Graham, Andre is being remembered by family and friends as an outgoing kid who loved sports and couldn’t wait to start school at Mountain View High in the fall. His death has led to an outpouring of community support, including a GoFundMe campaign that has raised over $123,000 for his family.
“The fatal collision that claimed the life of one of our young community members is not one we will soon forget,” the Police Department wrote. “Like you, we have been struggling to comprehend that day.”
To determine what happened, traffic investigators reviewed footage from video cameras at the scene, conducted interviews and studied the crash site, according to police.
“We, the Mountain View Police Department, appreciate the patience our community has given us as we conducted a meticulous, detailed, and rigorous investigation,” police said. “It is not easy to be patient as this work is completed — we know the wait can be difficult.”
The intersection of El Camino Real, Grant Road and state Route 237 has been among the most dangerous in Mountain View. Data from 2018 shows that there were 18 crashes at the intersection in the first half of that year, the most of any intersection citywide.
The city is working with Caltrans, the state agency responsible for El Camino Real, on plans to repave the road in 2023 to add bike lanes, high visibility crosswalks and other safety improvements, according to Mountain View police. The changes will include improving the intersection of El Camino, Grant and 237, police said.
We live in Waverly Park neighborhood MV, which lies along Grant Road. This tragic accident happened at El Camino and Grant about 1/2 mile N of our house. South Grant Rd from the Los Altos border to Cuesta is relatively wide and has bicycle lanes. It’s relatively safe for bikers in MV, and things get dicey in Los Altos where it narrows to 2 lanes of country road with no bike lanes. On north Grant Rd from Cuesta to El Camino, traffic is quite heavy and the road is more narrow, with no room for bicycle lanes.
I’m an experienced bike rider who commuted frequently for many years along Foothill Expressway to work in Stanford Industrial Park. In my opinion, Grant Rd N of Cuesta is far too dangerous for bike riders at ANY time, and El Camino Real is equally dangerous near the El Camino / Grant intersection. Since there is no practical way to widen either N Grant Rd or El Camino, it is my opinion that anyone who dares to ride a bike near Grant and El Camino is in grave danger. At this time, the only practical way to prevent more deaths would be to find a way to discourage (or ban) bike riders anywhere near the Grant / El Camino intersection — particularly at “choke point” Hwy 85 overpass on El Camino. The traffic at the El Camino/85 on and off ramps is particularly dangerous for bikers and even for pedestrians using the sidewalks. The cars are fast, aggressive and can come “out of nowhere”.
Thank you MVPD for this update. The assumption is that in an accident like this the (truck) driver is always to blame.
The truth is that young people on bicycles are still very young and inexperienced when it comes to dealing with complicated intersections where there is a great deal of traffic.
There is nothing wrong with someone dismounting their bike and walking on the sidewalk to cross like other pedestrians. I think that is something sadly lacking in bike education classes, particularly for young people who have not reached driving age. There are many places where getting off the bike and acting like a pedestrian makes much more sense. It is not a bad thing to do for the sake of being safe and it is not a bad thing to tell our children to do. I wish adults would lead the way in this and do the same thing rather than insist their rights. It is better to be safe than anything else when bike riding and right don’t always have to be top of the list. It is not the Tour de France out there, but busy city roads and everyone should be prepared to take the extra time to be safe, even pedestrians and bike riders.
@William Hitchens – I agree with you William that section of road and dangerous but disagree with your suggestion of banning cyclists. Using your criteria of fast and aggressive drivers in a narrow lane setting could apply to any number of roads in the area.
The one thing with riding on El Camino that cyclists have going for them is cars are looking out for other cars and cyclists when they are pulling into the road (assuming they can see the cyclist). The opposite may be true when they are turning right into driveways when they think you are riding at a much slower pace then you are. This is dangerous anywhere. In my 40 years of commuting I have found that riding through neighborhoods can be equally dicey with people backing out of their driveways drinking coffee and not paying attention.
Banning areas just is not the right Idea. Making people more aware of how dangerous some actions can be for a few seconds of time is probably more helpful. There is a video on line from some Indonesian country where they had a training session for bus drivers where they experience what it feels like when a bus passed a bike with three feet of clearance. The drivers where astonished in general.
The question is how do we get society to slow down and take responsibility for their actions and how it impacts other. Where infrastructure isn’t the easy solution, I would suggest education.
Brian
It’s a tragic event for everyone involved:
The family
The friends
The truck driver
Emergency responders
My heart goes out to all!!!
A cautionary tale all around.
And: don’t jump to conclusions before the facts come out.
Now, going forward: awareness and better practices and choices for youth safety, and consideration of improvements from the city and county.
“the only practical way to prevent more deaths would be to find a way to discourage (or ban) bike riders anywhere near the Grant / El Camino intersection”
Banning bicycles from public roads is not legal. There also is usually no practical alternative in getting from ‘here’ to ‘there’. This would just end in bicycles using the intersection anyway, and therefore more dangerous as the ‘solution’ would be ignored and a real solution not implemented.