Suffer the Cyclists Among Us
The driver of the van who on a lovely July morning struck five cyclists is seeing his trial come to a conclusion. All of the cyclists whom he struck with his van, veering directly toward the bicycle lane, making no attempt to steer away, and hitting them one after the one, have miraculously survived. One suffered such severe neurological damage he is now a quadriplegic. The others, horribly injured, will never surmount the trauma they suffered, although they survived the carnage.
OPP constables have testified that Sommit Luangpakham's breath betrayed that he had been drinking. It was a stale, recognizable odour to the law professional, who identified it as representing someone who had imbibed some hours earlier, before the occurrence of the dreadful accident.
When Mr. Luangpakham was charged, impaired driving was not among the charges. It was explained that because there were no signs of physical impairment a Breathalyzer test could not be demanded. His balance was normal, speech good, eyes normal and he seemed to experience no problems in locomotion.
"There were runners, there were bicycle parts, there were helmets, there were water bottles, there were bicycles, and as I found out, there were people", explained Ottawa bylaw officer Brenda Girault who happened to be one of the first people to come across the scene of the crash. "I thought I had come across a mock disaster scene at first."
Ms. Girault immediately began an assessment of the condition of those bodies scattered everywhere. The cyclists were spread over a 72-metre area from the impact they had suffered.
Four of those cyclists, (Robert Wein, Rob Harland, Mark White, Hilary McNamee and Cathy Anderson), were taken to hospital in critical, life-threatening condition. One was airlifted by helicopter.
"One gentleman was lying on his stomach but he was twisted really funny, like not normal for a body, and there was blood coming out of his mouth", while another lay against the curb with a "massive" pool of blood forming about his head", testified Ms. Girault.
Only yesterday, in downtown Ottawa, a 33-year-old woman cyclist met her death on Queen Street. A parked car door opened just as she was cycling past, knocking her from her bicycle, where she was run over by another vehicle. Passersby desperately lifted the vehicle from the body of Danielle Nacu, and though she was still breathing in a laboured manner, by the time paramedics arrived her vital signs were absent.
And on Sunday in Mississippi Mills, a 60-year-old man was charged with careless driving after he collided with two cyclists. The 51-year-old man and 50-year-old woman cyclists were riding on a side road when they were struck. Both were taken to Carleton Place Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Their bicycles were heavily damaged.
The vulnerability of cyclists. The horrendous lack of responsibility among motorists.
OPP constables have testified that Sommit Luangpakham's breath betrayed that he had been drinking. It was a stale, recognizable odour to the law professional, who identified it as representing someone who had imbibed some hours earlier, before the occurrence of the dreadful accident.
When Mr. Luangpakham was charged, impaired driving was not among the charges. It was explained that because there were no signs of physical impairment a Breathalyzer test could not be demanded. His balance was normal, speech good, eyes normal and he seemed to experience no problems in locomotion.
"There were runners, there were bicycle parts, there were helmets, there were water bottles, there were bicycles, and as I found out, there were people", explained Ottawa bylaw officer Brenda Girault who happened to be one of the first people to come across the scene of the crash. "I thought I had come across a mock disaster scene at first."
Ms. Girault immediately began an assessment of the condition of those bodies scattered everywhere. The cyclists were spread over a 72-metre area from the impact they had suffered.
Four of those cyclists, (Robert Wein, Rob Harland, Mark White, Hilary McNamee and Cathy Anderson), were taken to hospital in critical, life-threatening condition. One was airlifted by helicopter.
"One gentleman was lying on his stomach but he was twisted really funny, like not normal for a body, and there was blood coming out of his mouth", while another lay against the curb with a "massive" pool of blood forming about his head", testified Ms. Girault.
Only yesterday, in downtown Ottawa, a 33-year-old woman cyclist met her death on Queen Street. A parked car door opened just as she was cycling past, knocking her from her bicycle, where she was run over by another vehicle. Passersby desperately lifted the vehicle from the body of Danielle Nacu, and though she was still breathing in a laboured manner, by the time paramedics arrived her vital signs were absent.
And on Sunday in Mississippi Mills, a 60-year-old man was charged with careless driving after he collided with two cyclists. The 51-year-old man and 50-year-old woman cyclists were riding on a side road when they were struck. Both were taken to Carleton Place Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Their bicycles were heavily damaged.
The vulnerability of cyclists. The horrendous lack of responsibility among motorists.
Labels: Human Fallibility, Human Relations, Ontario, Society
posted by Pieface | 7:16 PM
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