New Haven Independent

posted by: Cedarhillresident on January 15, 2011  11:24am

Very said for both :(
one must ask why was a 14 year old out that late?
Even with out snow that street has a lot of blind spots at night. It is a street you have to crawl down.
Prayers are with them

posted by: jeff on January 15, 2011  11:26am

Very saddened to read about this.  I am a bike rider and aprreciate how much the former Alderwoman tried to get our City streets safer for all that walk, bike, and ride.

posted by: andy on January 15, 2011  1:23pm

Will Elm City Cycling get itself into new haven’s innercity schools to teach kids how to safely ride bicycles, and hopefully respect the fact that they are not immune to injury, especially when out late, in less then ideal conditions and crossing lanes?  because as awful as this is, i am suprised it doesn’t happen everyday, and the ECC folks seem to take this all very seriously. seems like they’d be perfect to team up with N.H.P.S.

posted by: Teacher in NH on January 15, 2011  5:07pm

He was my student.  He was wonderful.  He will be missed

posted by: Dixwell-Resident on January 15, 2011  6:45pm

Sad tragedy for this family, the youngman’s great grandmother Maxine Long was just buried on friday. My prayes are with you.

posted by: streever on January 15, 2011  8:49pm

What a sad story. I am really glad to see the police actively looking for witnesses. I feel so sorry for the families loss.

Andy:
We’d love to be more at schools—it is hard to find time for proper bike instruction though at all of them—but it is a goal. Right now, we do offer about a half dozen “bike rodeos” a year where we give out helmets, lights, and teach kids the rules of the road.

posted by: Jack on January 16, 2011  9:43am

The driver fled the scene.  Do drivers ever *not* flee the scene in Fair Haven?  I live on Front St, have been rear-ended three times in the past ten years, every time the person who hit me took off at lightening speed.

posted by: L on January 16, 2011  1:20pm

This is terrible, but I can’t say that I am surprised. Front Street is unnecessarily dangerous, and people are wreckless and fly along it at all times. The speed bumps are great, but it’s not enough. There should be frequent NHPD ticketing there. Maybe the plows could have done a better job to plow the street wide enough. And finally, I agree, that the kids in this town need to learn more responsible riding. I can’t tell you how many times a kid darted out into my lane, across it, etc, but since I am doing the speed limit, I didn’t hit them. As a citizen, after seeing a horrible near miss in my neighborhood, I wrote to all the principals in Fair Haven & the Heights, asking them to do a workshop on safe bicycling. Not ONE responded to me. That says something. Maybe there needs to be a “scared straight”-style talk, complete with accident scene photos and personal stories, like they do with teen drivers.

posted by: Opus the Poet on January 17, 2011  1:07pm

So, let me get this straight. The driver hits the cyclist from behind, kills him and leaves the scene, but it’s the cyclist’s fault for being in front of the car? Not the driver for failing to see and avoid a vehicle in the road in front of him, but the cyclist for being on the road? Call me when you get your priorities straight.