Black SUV filmed running over cyclist at Broad and Dickinson, leaves scene

[supersupper]

That isn't true at all.

I have to admit I'm just taking a guess here, but I don't think I've ever heard anyone be accused of drunk biking(after a short web search apparently many injured bicyclists are indeed found to be drunk- I never knew).- of course bikers are accused of every sin under the clear blue sky so I'm not surprised. The biker could have simply made a mistake.

It certainly didn't look like he was drunk-biking because it looks like he made a pretty quick attempt at a duck of some sorts right when he sees the truck, and I don't normally associate quick response times with someone who is drunk.

Anyway, I could never imagine biking drunk without getting into trouble after a very short while (is there even a law against it?). Please elaborate.

[Elizabeth]

It's a real shame, but who rides a bike in the rain & fog at 3 am. It seems like people lost all common sense.

The guy was riding home after his shift at work, I think it's a more logical assumption that he doesn't have access to a vehicle and needs to ride his bike in the rain and fog at 3am to collect his PAYCHECK. Why is everyone jumping to the conclusion that he is drunk? You all seem to have misplaced your souls. The known crime here is that the SUV did not stop when it ran over a human being to make sure he was ok.

Caught On Video: SUV Hits Bicyclist, Drives Off - Philadelphia News, Weather and Sports from WTXF FOX 29

[Gladys]

The guy was riding home after his shift at work, I think it's a more logical assumption that he doesn't have access to a vehicle and needs to ride his bike in the rain and fog at 3am to collect his PAYCHECK. Why is everyone jumping to the conclusion that he is drunk? You all seem to have misplaced your souls. The known crime here is that the SUV did not stop when it ran over a human being to make sure he was ok.

Caught On Video: SUV Hits Bicyclist, Drives Off - Philadelphia News, Weather and Sports from WTXF FOX 29

Agreed. Accept there were two crimes. The bike ran the red light.

I know lots of people who bike in nearly all weather conditions. As long as you are wearing bright stuff and have your bike lit properly, follow traffic laws there's nothing wrong with that.

Perhaps the SUV was involved in some sort of criminal activity itself and didn't stop. We just don't know.

[concourse]

.08 its really hard to ride a bike??? The SUV did not hit the bike, the bike ran the light & hit the car. It's a real shame, but who rides a bike in the rain & fog at 3 am. It seems like people lost all common sense. I'm sure they will turn themselves in once they lawyer up.

Someone who needs to get home from work? It's a much longer bus ride at that hour than bike ride at that hour.

[BarryG]

I have to admit I'm just taking a guess here, but I don't think I've ever heard anyone be accused of drunk biking(after a short web search apparently many injured bicyclists are indeed found to be drunk- I never knew).- of course bikers are accused of every sin under the clear blue sky so I'm not surprised. The biker could have simply made a mistake.

It certainly didn't look like he was drunk-biking because it looks like he made a pretty quick attempt at a duck of some sorts right when he sees the truck, and I don't normally associate quick response times with someone who is drunk.

Anyway, I could never imagine biking drunk without getting into trouble after a very short while (is there even a law against it?). Please elaborate.

I don't know if he was drunk or not. Yeah it may be hard to bike if you're totally sloshed, but there is nothing difficult about hopping on a bike after a handful of drinks that puts you over the legal limit -- which can lead to reduced caution and awareness, and increase risk taking.

[Jayfar]

I don't know if he was drunk or not. Yeah it may be hard to bike if you're totally sloshed, but there is nothing difficult about hopping on a bike after a handful of drinks that puts you over the legal limit -- which can lead to reduced caution and awareness, and increase risk taking.

More than likely someone biking home from work at 3am was just fatigued enough to be a little inattentive and careless. Kind of like the time in 1979 when I plowed my Checker cab into the rear of an Audi stopped at a red light (fortunately no injuries, but the end of my short cab driving career).

[BarryG]

More than likely someone biking home from work at 3am was just fatigued enough to be a little inattentive and careless. Kind of like the time in 1979 when I plowed my Checker cab into the rear of an Audi stopped at a red light (fortunately no injuries, but the end of my short cab driving career).

Sure. I was just responding to supper's absurd claim that nobody rides drunk because it's too hard or something.

[Volanova]

Well that driver was an idiot. It went from an incident of a stupid biker running a red light and getting themselves hit without any fault of the driver (assuming their registration and license was in order and they weren't drunk), to them being hunted down by the police and community for a hit-and-run.

Morons.

[ndebergerac]

I'm going to go right ahead and assume the SUV driver had reason not to stop. Whether he/she was drunk, didn't have all the required paperwork to be driving, has a warrant out, something. Why wouldn't you stop otherwise?

To echo the thoughts of others, the cyclist is a bit of a moron. Who the eff runs a red light in the dark on a rainy night? Yep, a moron. I'm glad he's alive, even wish his injuries were less severe, but hopefully this is a valuable lesson to cyclists. SUV's are tougher than you, heck, soft top mini coopers are tougher than you.

[JakeL]

I think hit-and-runs are more common than we think, especially when it involves a bicycle or pedestrian. The driver knows they will have a much easier time fleeing the scene in this scenario than if it involved a car. A quick google search finds a boatload of hit and runs against bicyclists in just the past week:

Warren family 'devastated' by fatal hit-run | The Detroit News | detroitnews.com
Driver in fatal Warren hit and run had been drinking - Detroit Crime | Examiner.com
Police: Hit-and-run suspect who hit Pitt professor wasn
Hit-and-run Santa Clarita driver strikes 54-year-old bicyclist - LA Daily News
Wellesley police investigate fatal hit-and-run bicycle crash - Wellesley, Massachusetts - The Wellesley Townsman
Madisonville man arrested in fatal Lacombe bicycle hit and run | NOLA.com
Cycling community plans rally for injured Fort Worth bicyclist | Fort Worth | News from ...

In some of these incidents the perpetrator is found to be intoxicated, in others they are not. A quick glance finds that many of these hit-and-runs are when the bicyclist is hit from the rear, which is actually one of the rarer occurrences for car-vs-bicycle accidents overall (I believe most bicycle accidents occur with turning vehicles). It would be insightful to correlate hit-and-runs to data such as time of day, way that the cyclist was struck, etc, and begin to make some assumptions from this.

[supersupper]

Sure. I was just responding to supper's absurd claim that nobody rides drunk because it's too hard or something.

I never made the claim people dont ride drunk ( I was surprised that lots of people do ride drunk, but not surprised they make up a large chunk of those who end up in the hospital).

I said its really really hard. You say its easy. You may think its easy, even when just slightly drunk. But you'd be wrong.

[rosserx]

so true. i wonder if fox offered them money for it. i hope that guy recovers & i hope the cops catch the d-bag who ran him over...you know...when they eventually get the evidence.

I'm still waiting for the cops to catch the d-bag who totaled my car 3 years ago while it was parked, in front of my house. F'in d-bag.

[jizay]

Well that driver was an idiot. It went from an incident of a stupid biker running a red light and getting themselves hit without any fault of the driver (assuming their registration and license was in order and they weren't drunk), to them being hunted down by the police and community for a hit-and-run.

That's quite an assumption. See the rims on that vehicle?

[szekely]

If the driver had stopped, would s/he have been charged, or does that depend on other factors?

Also, no one has commented on how the cyclist kind of collapsed in front of the car before impact. I assume that's because he completely lost control when he saw the SUV bearing down on him. (I know *I* would lose it). Do you think that's what happened, or did he slip on the wet surface?

[JakeL]

If the driver had stopped, would s/he have been charged, or does that depend on other factors?

Also, no one has commented on how the cyclist kind of collapsed in front of the car before impact. I assume that's because he completely lost control when he saw the SUV bearing down on him. (I know *I* would lose it). Do you think that's what happened, or did he slip on the wet surface?

I think he crumpled up, rather than the bike sliding on a wet surface. The bike would slide out from under you if you went for a turn sharper than the the traction the tires could handle. I didn't see his handlebars turn in a way that would cause the bike to do that.

Given the multiple eyewitnesses, such as the cab driver and passenger, I doubt the driver would be charged. Furthermore, even if they did get charged, it wouldn't make it past the preliminary hearing. Heck, even when a driver is at fault, it's still difficult to get a sufficent sentence.