http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/16512537.htm

I hope this community can pull together and help. going to her site you will see that she is a caring loving mom and wife. There family could really use any help that we may offer. No matter how small the value of donation it will all add up if we all doanate someting. Good wishes to her family.

Wow -- sorry to hear about this. This has been an awful year in this respect for the cycling community (and I'm now wondering what's going on in the Peninsula region with drivers).

My best wishes to MaryAnn and to the Metromint team. It's not easy seeing this happen to a teammate, but it looks like she's a fighter and will make a good recovery. And it's heartening to hear that though the -- can't even express it right now -- tried to flee the scene, selfless people risked themselves to stop the culprit.

Please let us know what happens legally -- that's probably not something appropriate for the caringbridge site.

P.S. Once had an inline pelvic fracture (three places) from being run over by a car -- as long as you don't stress the fractures, healing goes pretty well and pretty quickly. Hope that's the case for MaryAnn.

Jesster - I am one of Maryann's teammates. Metromint Cycling would like to do all we can to support Maryann in the criminal case against the driver. You have a lot of knowledge and I'd like to get more information from you about how we can do this. Will you please e-mail me your phone number so we can talk? My e-mail is LKSimonson@gmail.com. Also, if anyone else has any information about how we can help in the criminal case please feel free to e-mail me as well. Thank you and I'd like to second what Julie said and thank those cyclists and drivers who stopped to help Maryann. Please let us know who you are so we can thank you in person.

Better Link...

http://www.caringbridge.org/cb/inputSiteName.do?method=search&siteName=m...

Not to hijack this thread too far away from it's sincere origin... Consider moving to the Valley. I do almost all my training in the area east of Sac, the foothills, and lots of time on the 40+miles of off-street bike trail along the American River between Sacramento and Folsom. I can also do 4+ hour MTB rides with less than 10 minutes of that total time spent on pavement. During my on-bike training I rarely ever encounter a dangerous situation with car drivers.

When I'm driving towards the Bay Area I can see the drivers getting more and more aggressive from about Fairfield westward.

Jess in a courtroom... Would he be the Court Jesster?

-Warren

Pandora's box has opened, Jesster, yet we all know how defenseless we feel against a two ton behemoth. :(

I'll set aside my anger momentarily and present this helpful information to the community:

Vehicle Code section 23153(a) is DUI causing injury. It is a "wobbler," meaning it may be made a felony or a misdemeanor. Generally on a first offense with no other aggravating circumstances (like prior record or high blood alcohol content), it would be a probation case, possibly a misdemeanor. In either case, the penalty would be between no jail and one year in jail. If probation was denied, the penalty would be 16 months, 2 years or 3 years in state prison. In any case, restitution would be ordered for her damages, including medical bills, lost wages, and anything else reasonably related.

Let me say as a Public Defender that the bane of my professional life is a noisy community. Judges and DA's are political and react very strongly to victims, their advocates, and their supporters.

It would not be difficult for someone on the victim's behalf to identify the DA who will be prosecuting the matter, and to distribute that person's contact information to the community, who are free as the public to voice their opinions about sentencing to that civil servant.

Also, the accused's case will be set for preliminary hearing (within 10 court days of the offense if the guy's in custody), and likely a status conference preceding such hearing, at which plea offers will be discussed. Certianly any community opinion should be voiced before any offers are extended. That means now. It is unlikely that the case will go to trial -- most resolve fairly early.

Perhaps a teammate or other interested person can find out the time and location of the prelim/status conference and post it for the community. The public is welcome at such hearings, and the presence of supporters in the audience will have an effect on the resolution of the case.

Although the frame-mounted weapon is more satisfying on a visceral level, this is probably the more practical alternative for seeking justice.

And by the way, if you guys ever try this strong-arm advocacy on one of my cases in Napa, I'll be pissed.

Jesster

There may not be much we can do to help right now, but when the trial begins there will most likely be a need for a big presence from the community, as this was apparently the driver's first offense (meaning that the penalties aren't automatically as stiff as I for one believe they should be).

That will afford us all a way to use our outrage constructively.

I mounted mine with the barrels pointed towards the rear so it would not have too adverse of an effect on aerodynamics.

As for weight, I like to rider a heavy bike during the off-season anyway.

There is another practical side to this:
Have any of you seen all the wild turkeys running around? Looks like dinner.

All joking aside, I think everyone is truly sending kind wishes and prayers that a fallen rider make a speedy and full recovery.

I also think that Jester's comments come from a feeling of well placed anger for the situation and a feeling that there is not much we can really do about it at this time.

Heard, acknowledged, and I am with you.

Ron

Yes, drunkenness is the great qualifier that should save the wretch from my ire. I'm sorry, Supervisor, but even a 17-year public defender who's represented people culpable for this and similar crimes is angry as all hell about another one of ours getting hurt.

I'm just sick and tired of people speeding by us too close, turning in front of us, swerving around us, flipping us off for just being there, or throwing debris at us because our jerseys are too colorful. These people are not all drunk, but they are all idiots.

Now obviously a shotgun on the downtube is not a feasible solution. It would weigh too much and could interfere with my cadence. Not to mention the effect of the recoil on my aerodynamics. But you may have something with the helmet-mounting. I hadn't thought of that ....

To those of you that did or didn't know the Metromint cyclist, she
is a wonderful person that love's to ride. Her smile was always
present when she came to the races. Our thoughts and prayers
are with Her...

Here is a link to a web site if you would like to show your support.
http://www.caringbridge.org/cb/viewHome.do

I usually reserve this statement for rare ocurances, but you earn it. "hey dumb ass he was drunk, as most of our fatalities are caused by. there for a shot gun or a tank turret mounted on your helmet would not of gotten his attention."

julie sorry to hear about your team mate. I often see you all out training together on my own sessions. Metromint has a nice program (though I know you all are not drinking your own product out of those bottles...) and I hope that this will not deter any of you from continuing. good luck, and I hope for her full recovery.

My God. I hope that she'll be quick to recover.

It is time to get ABSOLUTELY PISSED OFF!!

Do you know that it is not illegal in the State of California to mount a shotgun to the downtube of your road bike? As long as it remains in plain site (which is where we want it anyway), perhaps the prospect of buckshot in the quarterpanel will discourage these homicidal idiots in their humvees and pickup trucks from risking our safety as they speed to live their unimpressive lives.

A Vengeful Psychlist
:evil: :twisted: :D