To The Driver of Silver 4-Door BMW Who Hit Ashleigh Jackson on Highway 9 on April 19th: I am sure you did not mean to drive too closely to the bike lane. I am sure you did not know your mirror was protruding into the bike lane, and that it would hit Ashleigh Jackson as she rode her bike in the bike lane. I am sure you did not mean to gravely injure her with your car when you struck her.
I am also sure you were aware that you did make this mistake, because after the impact – and after you hit a second cyclist – you slowed to see what you had done. When you saw her lying in the road, I am sure you knew it was because you hit her. I wonder then what you were thinking as you accelerated and drove away. I wonder if you thought her friend – who was also on a bike – would be able to cycle quickly enough to get her emergency help. I wonder if you just were more concerned about getting a ticket, or having your insurance rates raised, or having to go through the hassle of explaining that what you did was just a mistake, a terrible mistake.
I am sure that was what it was. I am sure you did not mean to mow down this young lady on her bicycle. But the fact remains, you left and you did not get her help. What you did after your mistake is something all of us in the cycling community will have trouble understanding – and forgiving. I know I speak for us all when I say I hope someone turns you in. I hope someone notices your broken mirror before you get it fixed. I hope someone at a repair shop calls the police and has them come check that broken mirror to find out who you are. I hope so because there are many of us. We will be spreading the word to repair shops. We will be telling our friends to be on the lookout for you.
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Comments (25)
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Jacquie Mardell Mon, Apr 20, 2009 - 4:07 pm
Yes, there are a lot of people in this community and we will all be on the lookout.
anne Tue, Apr 21, 2009 - 8:39 am
Well said Lisa. You bet there will be many on the lookout. I’ll be one of them.
Daniel Sat, Apr 25, 2009 - 9:41 am
I am so sorry to read about the accident. I walk down this road to Los Gatos almost every weekend in the bike lane. I see the bikers going to Los Gatos enjoying the day.I wish Ashleigh and her boyfriend a speedy recovery.
As for the driver of the Silver BMW You know who you are but you are just hiding from the authorities. I am sure you could see the bikers down from your rearview mirror. Yes it was an accident and had you stopped and called 911 and offered to help the bikers you would not be facing this more serious charge.
I cannot believe how ignorant you are to this promising bike racer. Now let me ask these questions Were you yakking on your cellphone unaware of your surroundings surroundings? Were you speeding in your luxury car not aware of how fast you are going in tis dangerous area? Just to let you know further down the road is a steep hill and curves where bikers and pedestrians walk. I could have been the one hit as it is a narrow area for bikers and walkers.
This could have been your own daughter and friend. How would you feel if this happened to someone dear in your family that a hit and run driver hit your daughter and friend and severely injured them? I think you are egocentric and only think about your $50,000+ car and showing off your speed.
I wish that a cop was at the intersection to track you down.
To the community I will lookout for this car and senseless driver and will try and pass along the info to local car repair shops. I am afraid that this is an out of town person who lives far away and won’t be reading this. You neeed to take this nationally not just locally since the driver could be from New York.
I hope we will find the culprit and that they are tried and jailed for life.
To the Biking Community we need to make Highway 9 a safer place especially in this area where it is hard to see people at night.
Kitty Mathieson Tue, Apr 28, 2009 - 9:14 am
Unequivocally, this driver must be found and prosecuted. But, on another more real and less politically correct note…After living in Los Gatos for over 30 years, I can not tell you how many times cyclists have insisted on demanding use of the entire road. Sometimes riding down the middle of the street MAKING the driver creep slowly behind them. I live on Wimbledon and see it daily! The cyclists don’t give a shit that the road is narrow and it was created for cars! In the last ten years, the bike riders have become arrogant and rude, flipping off and swearing expletives at drivers because horns honk to notify the biker to get over on the side of the lane. It has been ridiculous at times and talk about egocentric! It is downright dangerous! The road is made for cars. The state has added a lane on the far right to keep cyclists safe, so use it and don’t insist on using the road like you are a car. I’m sorry, but it is the truth. I have shared the Open Letter on my Twitter and Facebook site because NO ONE should leave the scene of a crime or injury. Bike or not, we need to be more responsible and honorable about sharing our space with one another. It doesn’t have to be one or the other. It can be used with respect for one another, by both!
Daniel B Thu, Sep 10, 2009 - 7:04 pm
“The cyclists don’t give a shit that the road is narrow and it was created for cars!”
Uhm, if the lane is not wide enough that a bike and car can fit side-by-side safely (called a standard width lane in the law of California), the bike rider is legally allowed to make use of the entire lane.
Did you just say that? Thu, Jun 03, 2010 - 12:02 pm
“the bike rider is legally allowed to make use of the entire lane.” THIS IS SO DANGEROUS… *Enter at your own risk*... If there is no bike lane: there should be NO BIKES…its bad enough you guys dont pay taxes for the road that you hog. Its horrible to hear someone was hit, but c’mon, where should you go when driving a big car like a cadillac and a box truck is in the other lane, whilst a biker merges into the highway? You’re choice: slow down rapidly potentially causing a wreck, go around the biker to get into a head-on or cause the truck to avoid you (to hit a mountain or biker or fall off a cliff,) or stay in your lane and try to avoid the truck getting close to the biker in your lane? ...stay on the trails and stay off the highways. Esp. hwy9. STAY OFF HWY 9!!!
Steve Tue, Apr 28, 2009 - 8:07 pm
Thank you Lisa.
What started as an accident turned into a crime. However the driver justifies the cowardly act of leaving the scene of the accident, we all know the driver is now just a common criminal, a felon on the run, an inmate who should be serving time in state prison.
I am sure the driver will continue to live the good life, not thinking much of Ashleigh or her uncertain future. No matter what this driver has accomplished or will accomplish in this life, nothing will ever remove the fact the driver committed such a heinous crime.
Steve Thu, Apr 30, 2009 - 7:32 am
Dear Kitty,
Just to be clear, Ashleigh and her partner were riding single file in a bike lane, obeying all traffic laws when they were both struck by the silver BMW.
While an inconsiderate cyclist may delay you a few minutes, Ashleigh is lucky to be alive and facing months of rehabilitation because of one careless, criminal driver.
jay Wed, May 20, 2009 - 3:49 pm
Dear Kitty,
Boy do you have some things WRONG. So what if a cyclist is making a driver creep slowly! What is it going to make you 1 minuet late to your nail appointment? Yes I agree many cyclists don’t give a rats arse. That is due to instances such as this one. Let me educate you, DO NOT I repeat DO NOT honk, even if its ever so lightly, at a cyclist. We are on very tiny thin wheels. The slightest noise that we do not expect could startle us and make us crash very easily. Even if we are going slow a small crash could be devastating. Look at it this way, would you play softball in shorts on the cement and slide into second base to try and be safe at a speed of lets say 5 miles per hour? Of course not. So imagine what it would be like if a cyclist crashed from a higher distance than a runner would onto the pavement. But back to where YOU are WRONG, The road was not made JUST for cars. It is perfectly legal for a bicycle to ride on any road so as long as all the laws are obeyed. Look it up at your local DMV, matter of fact the only paved roads cyclists are not allowed on are ones that are clearly posted with signs. Oh yea and even some freeways allow bicyclists. Ill save you the trouble, here is the link
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/hdbk/shr_slow_veh.htm#bike
Kitty Mathieson Tue, Aug 11, 2009 - 4:09 pm
I have nothing wrong. After 30 years of living in Los Gatos, I shared what I experienced. What is it to me that a rude cyclist is purposely riding slowly in the middle of road? Dude, it’s rude what can I say. You don’t freakin’ own the road and either do I. THAT was my point which you MISSED. You funny guy, don’t need to educate me about anything, you need to teach yourself to realize that the road is to be shared, not arrogantly OWNED by either car or bike. If you’d have your bike in the bike lane like you should we wouldn’t be havin this little chatfest. I wouldn’t be stupid enough to be playing softball on the cement for one and when I played softball, I played by the rules. I played in the field not in front of someone’s home, throwing the ball through their window. I know Ashleigh and I found the entire even disturbing and reckless for that jerk to hurt her and move on. It was wrong, but it doesn’t make owning the road by either party (NOT Ashleigh!) (hypothetically speaking - you need to relax, pal!) We need to respect and be considerate and stop DEMANDING our own F’ing way - we live in a democracy my friend and if I were you I’d put my energy into riding my bike and respecting the road and the cars that drive upon it. I never said Ashleigh did anything wrong and you know what they say about assuming something. Good luck my friend and I hope you aren’t one of those assholes you ride slowly down the road making all cars stop behind them for miles. It’s ridiculous…move over and let the cars pass so we don’t have to crawl at 3 miles per hour too scared of angry outburst to ask you to move your ass over. Relax!
charlie Wed, Aug 19, 2009 - 7:03 am
Kitty is absolutely right. A terribly sad event needs to be discussed and learned from. “Sharing” the road is an issue all throughout Los Gatos (Kennedy Rd).
Ian Wed, May 05, 2010 - 3:54 pm
Kitty is in fact not right. If you go to the DMV link above, you will see that “icyclists on public streets have the same rights and responsibilities as automobile and motorcycle drivers.” While cyclists are supposed to “ride as near to the right curb or edge of the roadway as practical,” oftentimes it is not practical to ride on the absolute right side of the road (due to debris, parked vehicles, overhanging trees, etc.). Where a cyclist feels it necessary to take the full lane to proceed safely, he may do so. A car may only pass “with caution, and only when safe.” Generally speaking, this means the car has to be able to give the bike 3-4 feet of clearance without risking a collision with oncoming traffic (which includes not passing when you can’t see whether there is oncoming traffic). The law aside, all of this is just common sense.
I agree that there are some rude cyclists on the road. However, most of us are far more conscious of the need to share the road than motorists. If you see a cyclist reacting angrily, 99 times out of 100 it is because the cyclist feels something the motorist did endangered the cyclist’s life. One extremely common example is a motorist who doesn’t give enough clearance (which happens quite often because motorists don’t have the slightest clue how wide their vehicles actually are; many times the motorist then proceeds to drift over the white line thinking he is just moving back to the center of the car lane). Similarly, a motorist who guns it to pass and then cuts across the bike lane to make a right turn is doing something dangerous, stupid, and illegal (as the DMV notes, a car must “[n]ot overtake a bicyclist just before making a turn”).
Those of us on two wheels are quite happy to share the road. We try to act as predictably as possible and make it as easy as possible for that to happen. All we ask in return is that motorists keep things in perspective. Next time you are frustrated about losing a few seconds of time while waiting until it is safe to pass, remember that those few seconds of your time could mean the difference between life or death for us.
Mark Sun, Jun 14, 2009 - 3:26 pm
I can relate to Kitty’s point of view. Its not a matter of who has the right to do what. Its a matter of mass verses impact. Would you invite your son or daughter to walk that close to traffic simply because it is legal to do so? Sometimes we have to inject common sense in place of personal agenda.
Ian Wed, May 05, 2010 - 4:00 pm
Mark,
Your point of view is that common sense dictates that no one should ever ride a bike on a road, even if there is a bike lane? Seems strange reasoning to me.
Cyclists know that they are risking their lives every time they go out on the roads. The same is true of many activities in life. The fact remains that if a cyclist is paying careful attention to his surroundings and is acting in a predictable manner and signalling his intentions, there is absolutely zero excuse for a car to ever hit the guy on the bike. None at all.
You would instead have us ride on the sidewalks? Many of us move 25-30 mph on the flats, and faster still on downhills. By your logic, where should the pedestrians go, since it clearly isn’t safe for them to be so close to cyclists on the sidewalks? Or do we just abolish bicycles altogether?
Mike Sun, Aug 30, 2009 - 2:52 pm
Dear biking community and others,
I live in the Los Altos area and have to share the road with bikers on a daily basis. I myself bike to school, but think it is insane to trust drivers with my own safety and hence I only bike on sidewalks.
The fact that biking on the road is legal, does not make it safe or fair. Bikers and drivers need to be aware that speeding or not, everyone is fallible and can make a driving error; you would be lying if you say you haven’t. This fact makes biking on the road an inherently dangerous activity which puts too much legal responsibility on the driver, since they are the ones with a vehicle that can kill. Bikers are putting a driver’s livelihood in danger when they engage in this activity, since these inevitable driving errors can cause a driver to go to jail on manslaughter charges.
Drivers don’t like bikers, not because they get in the way, but because drivers don’t want to unintentionally hurt bikers and be the ones held responsible for it. When bikers choose to share the road, they are making drivers walk on egg-shells. Eventually an egg shell will break, and when it does, who is responsible? The one who put the eggshells in the way, or the one who inevitably broke one?
Gold Thu, Oct 22, 2009 - 3:26 am
I had a great time reading around your post as I read it extensively.Excellent writing! I am looking forward to hearing more from you.
Regards,
Gold
Terry Thu, Dec 03, 2009 - 10:20 am
Mike,
Humans are not eggshells. If you can’t take responsibilty for your actions while driving a car, don’t drive. There’s no excuse for hitting a biker in a bike lane.
As you said, you’re driving ‘a vehicle that can kill’. You have no choice but to take responsibilty for the killer vehicle you are driving.
Mark Thu, Jan 07, 2010 - 10:14 am
Terry- while I agree that drivers must take responsibility for their vehicle. Unfortunately not all do that, just as not all bike riders keep to their responsibilities. In a perfect world we would not need insurance, but we do because accidents happen. As Ashleigh commented, “It is sad”. What strikes me as also being sad is the strength of each perspective that forgets completely about their personal safety and uses the law to justify putting themselves at risk. In my youth I was struck by a car while riding my bike in a bike lane. Fortunately it was at a slow speed, but the impact was phenominal. I no longer ride where cars compete for space. Instead I choose places which are plentiful and away from traffic, because I know that unintentional accidents can happen as well as intentional ones.
ashleigh jackson Tue, Dec 08, 2009 - 9:49 pm
I got hit from behind, I was in a bike lane, there were two lanes and one, two cyclist. That one car drove in a BIKE LANE, he or she had two other lanes to choose from. It saddens me that this tragic event that almost tok my like, and took my left eye and partial paralyzed my left side…this tragic event that changed my life for ever, its sad that you guys try to blame the cyclist. the bottom line is that people need to pay attention and not be so selfish.. its sad.
Phil Sat, Feb 27, 2010 - 4:51 pm
If you guys don’t believe that a harmonious relationship can exist between cyclists and drivers, then take a look at Holland. If you haven’t been there, then you’ll be shocked to see just how many bicycles commute and operate there on a daily basis. Its about mutual respect. The BMW is clearly at fault no questions asked, however the fact remains that there is a power struggle between 2 wheelers and 4 wheelers. I don’t bike. But I feel just as vulnerable on my motorcycle, since most people don’t know how to drive worth crap and are usually spending their time doing everything from eating to READING A BOOK while driving. That and the fact that a lot of people drive “buzzed” or high is another concern.
People need to shape up and understand that driving is a serious thing, and not soemthing that everyone automatically get good at like walking.
Also, driving a luxury cars has nothing to do with it, since most people driving 60K + cars drive more careful so they don’t hurt their “baby.” Their is no ste demographic that is responsible for the most accidents, its mostly people that don’t know how to operate a vehichle that weighs 2 tons and can do 60 in a matter of seconds.
What needs to be done, is clearer separation of cyclists and motor vehicles.
Most cyclists are responsible, but some feel the need to drive like shit-heads just because there not in a car.
Steve Thu, Apr 08, 2010 - 9:18 pm
The Mercury News reported today Robert Paul Schiro of Saratoga was arrested for felony hit-and-run in the accident with cyclist Ashleigh Jackson.
Lisa Eileen Hern Fri, Apr 09, 2010 - 8:49 am
I am thrilled that Saratoga man Robert Paul Schiro was arrested for running Ashleigh to the ground and leaving her without so much as an annonymous call to report it to authorities. I hope the healing can really begin for Ashleigh now, and that this scourge will remain locked away from others.
LEH
Steve Sun, Apr 25, 2010 - 1:04 pm
The Mercury News reported today Robert Paul Schiro is a convicted drunk driver who was arrested in January 2008 in downtown Saratoga with a blood alcohol level of .149
jay Thu, May 13, 2010 - 7:26 am
Dear kitty,
I apologize if I came across as a angry or rude I wasn’t. By all means I agree we all need to share the road. I never said I don’t, matter of fact I am one of the most respectful of cyclist out there. I’m always in the bike lane when there is one and I move over as far as I can when there isn’t one. I know my life and body will not win in a match against a car.
The points I was trying to make were as follows
#1 Roads were not made just for cars as you suggested.
#2 the softball analogy was to inform all readers on the fact that cyclist can startle and fall easily from a honk and how injuries from a bike fall can be very severe and I was trying to lay it out in a way anyone could understand, not necessarily you.
No you didn’t say Ashleigh did anything wrong, you said other “cyclists” and ect. .
funny how I’m the one that needs to clam down but your the one calling me “funny guy, arrogant, assholes” I’m sure referring to all cyclist not just me.
As far as I know cyclist don’t slow down to piss of drivers, its probably that they are trying to be carful or are tired from a hard effort just before you came across them. I too have seen my fair share of taunting going on, but it has always been the deadly weapons of cars doing it. Pulling into the bike lane and slowing down or slamming on the breaks in front of cyclists. Or even pulling up to the cyclist and turning in front of them at the last second, swerving at them on other occasions. We all need to share the road you are right on that one
You rant about cyclist following the rules, here too I couldn’t agree with you more!!
Bernard T. Harlowe Thu, May 13, 2010 - 7:37 pm
I just read up on the comments, and am pleased to see that Ms. Jackson is on the mend, and that they caught this guy. I still check out every silver 7 series I see as a habit. Glad to know they caught they guy.