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Test results delay charges against driver in fatal pickup-bicycle crash
A bike lies on the ground on C Street SW, after an accident on Thursday, July 29. (Christopher Pratt/The Gazette)
Charges against the driver of a pickup involved in a crash that killed a bicyclist won’t be filed until the results of toxicology tests on the victim are known, police said Tuesday.
Susan M. DeSotel, of Cedar Rapids, died Aug. 2, four days after she collided with a pickup at the corner of C Street and Wilson Avenue Drive SW. She was 51.
Witnesses told police the driver of the pickup, Robert H. Fleming, 55, of Alburnett, turned left into DeSotel’s path before she and her bicycle hit the front of the pickup.
Sgt. Cristy Hamblin, a police spokeswoman, said Fleming will not face a serious charge such as manslaughter or vehicular homicide, because those charges require evidence of recklessness or impairment.
“He was not intoxicated or impaired, nor did he drive in a reckless manner,” Hamblin explained in an e-mail. “He made a driving error, as do hundreds of other citizens in Cedar Rapids. But in this case, that driving error cost someone their life.”
Hamblin said Fleming, who was not hurt in the accident, may be issued a traffic ticket for failure to yield. She said investigators consider many factors, including witness statements, roadway conditions and the conditions of the people involved before deciding what charges to pursue.
Toxicology tests were done to see if anything unusual was in DeSotel’s system, Hamblin said. The test results, which are sometimes used in civil lawsuits, won’t be known for a few weeks, police said.
“They want to make sure there aren’t any other factors involved,” Hamblin said.
Hamblin expressed sympathy to the DeSotel family. She said there was a connection between DeSotel and a member of the police department.
“I cannot stress enough the pain that our department feels for the DeSotel family,” Hamblin said.
Attempts to reach Fleming for comment have been unsuccessful.
Kill someone and get a ticket and a slap on the wrist for it. Outrageous.
It was a flat out accident with no driver impairment or recklessness. Accidents happen. Just like farming accidents.
You don't seem to understand that people make mistakes and sometimes those mistakes result in death or serious injury. The law recoginizes that and does not punish unless there is some contributing willful behavior that pushes it beyond simple human error. Any of us (unless we're one of those "I never make a mistake" individuals) can think of some instance when we've made an error that could have ( conditions right ) resulted in death or injury.
It was an accident!! Get over yourself!
What happened to the responsibility of driving? If I rear end you because you hit the brakes and I don't see that it's my fault and I have to pay for the damage to your car. Kill someone on a bicycle because i don't see them and it's no big deal. This is reminiscent of the person killed at WalMart last year where the driver got away with it . These laws need to be changed.
Paying for damages to someone's car is part of the civil process, usually worked out by the insurance companies, but sometimes going to civil court. The same process would apply here. If the driver of the truck is responsible, he could end up paying a substantial amount of "damages" in civil court.
Yes, unless they could prove impairment, a ticket is all they will get from the government. However, I hope her family sues the house out from underneath him. Not much chance of him doing this again if he ends up living in a van, down by the river.
The bicyclist had a responsibility to drive without hitting someone as well. She regularly rode that county road that people travel 55mph on near sunset according to the article, she hit a truck 90 minutes before sunset as the truck turned west, into the sun, into her path and she could not stop in time. She was taking her life into her own hands and eventually her luck ran out. According to the information provided I would say it was 50/50 fault. If bicycles want to share the road they should require the same headlights/turn signals as a motorcycle in order to warn motorists they are there.
The section of C Street where the rider was is in the city limits. I ride through there all the time and I know the speed limit is 35 mph. As for your defense of 'the sun was in my eyes'. The sun has never prevented me from looking north, as this truck was heading, from seeing oncoming traffic that was traveling south before I made a left turn to the west as this driver did. The motorist is at fault here for not paying attention.
Having said that, given the facts as I know them, this appears to be an accident. And it's too bad that it resulted in the loss of life. Thoughts and prayers to the victim, her family and her friends. As well as to the motorist, and his family and friends. I'm sure he wishes he could re-do those few seconds where he didn't pay attention.
The road quickly turns to 55mph outside of town, the article states she regularly traveled at dusk on this road outside of town to Solon and back. If she was just leaving for Solon 90 minutes before dusk, she would have been riding back nearly in the dark with traffic going 30-40 mph faster then her bicycle. I was bringing to light the risks the woman took.
As a motorcycle rider riding with turn signals and headlights turned on motorists don't see me so I am ready to take evasive action. If they don't see my 500 pound bike with working headlights, why did this woman this they would see her 20 pound bike with no lights? And as I understand it, the woman hit the truck, not the truck hitting her. Her lack of adequate brakes and ability to swerve was just as much at fault as the truck driver's lack of awareness of what was going on outside of his truck. My point is bicycles do not have the necessary gear to drive on roads, especially roads where vehicles might be going 30-40mph faster then the bicycle… AT DUSK!
The portion of C St she was hit while traveling on is a long way from outside city limits. That doesn't happen until you get past highway 30 on C St. Between where she was hit and the city limits it does get more narrow and rural but it's still within the city limits. I don't bicycle but I do take the city bus and used to work out on C St.
Actually, where the accident occurred is a good mile and a half from the where the speed limit jumps up to 55 mph. As I've stated, I take this road regularly. You have to cross the RR tracks at the bottom and get most of the way up the hill on the other side before it reaches 45 mph. And then you have to be well past YellowBook before it goes up to 55 mph.
And from previous articles, I thought they stated that the accident happened around 6 pm. That's a far cry from dusk when current sunset is around 8:20 pm. And you may 'understand' that the woman hit the truck. I think that part was worded poorly. But the fact remains that if you are turning left, you have to yield to oncoming traffic – no matter what traffic that may be.
Yeah where it hits 55 MPH is closer to where the city limit is, or it's out where one side of C St is in the city and the other is outside it.
Its her fault for riding a bike to get killed. I cant wait to see your kids riding their bike.
Actually, bicyclists are required to have a headlight at night. Whether they obey that law or not is another issue.
The speed limit at the scene is not 55, the road at that portion is north and south not east and west. Could you stop in time if a car did not yield and turned left in front of you?
I agree 110% with gazettereader. I dont think bicyclists should "share the road" on any road that goes over the speed of 25. It is just too dangerous, there have been many times I have had to SLAM on my breaks because I am coming up a hill and a biker comes out of no where when I am going 55+ and then I have to travel slowly behind them because they ride in the middle of the road until I am able to pass. If you are going to bike on such roads, you have to be prepared of the dangerous circumstances that may arise. Wear protective gear and have lights, day or night.
To Gazettereader……….
After thinking, you have one valuable point.
1. There is a growing mass of selfish people taking chances with automobiles, with no concern of taking responsibilities for their actions.
A "Word Smith" like yourself can take a situation, and twist the facts to justify your beliefs.
The facts: She was riding in town straight on a main road, had a truck turn left in front of her, his poor judgement killed her. She was a very skilled, fast cyclist, not anywhere near the speed limit.
The driver misjudged her speed, gambled he had time turn before she arrived , and turned left into her path and killed her.
Bicycles are not invisible, self centered people just wish they were.
The newer signs "SHARE THE ROAD" have been installed to make us all aware we have a problem to resolve.
Wow arguing over something that was an accident and resulted in a death! Grow up and pray for both families. The gentleman has to feel awful and will for a long time!
The more important question I have (as this is the first time I've heard about this since the incident happened) is was she wearing a helmet? I'd suspect she was if she road bicycle a lot from what I gather from the comments, but I see a lot of people who don't when riding through town.
I think past articles have said that she was wearing one.
OK, thanks.
Iowa Code 707.5 Involuntary manslaughter .
"1. A person commits a class "D" felony when the person unintentionally causes the death of another person by the commission of a public offense other than a forcible felony or escape."
Iowa Code 701.2 Public offense .
"A public offense is that which is prohibited by statute and is punishable by fine or imprisonment."
Isn't Failure to yield a public offense? Charge him and let a jury sort out the facts.
Golf Tees.
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hubby: i don’t know how you do this [journey bicycle house from metro] each day. i’m soaked [in sweat].
very well said mindboggle. I do not treat them as vehicles for the same exact reasons, and i never will. I dont agree with it, this is why there would be what we call a "bike trail"
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The facts: she was riding straight on a main road at dusk, had a truck turn left in front of her, she tried to swerve and brake, she lost control and fell onto the road and bounced into the truck, she died.
I'm not saying it was not tragic. I'm not saying it was all her fault. I'm saying she is just as much at fault as the truck driver.
A take away from this situation would be better brakes on bicycles, an understanding cars will do unexpected things and to try and be ready for them, wear more protective clothing (if she had been wearing motorcycle equipment she would have been fine, if hot), wear clothes to be more visible to cars, put a headlight on your bicycle if you travel at dusk, or better yet don't ride your bike at dusk.
I live in this area and bicycle that section of road frequently. This accident happened at 6:45 pm which is no where near dusk. The sun would have been over the truck driver's left shoulder, not in the line of sight of his chosen path. We do not know if he signaled his turn but even if he did, a reasonable person would expect that he would yield to oncoming traffic which he did not. We do not know if she had time to swerve and brake. From the available photos it appears that he turned into her and she struck the right front of his truck. He should be charged under Iowa Code 321.482A which provides for stiffer penalties for an accident resulting in a serious injury or death. "2. For a violation causing death, a fine of one thousand dollars or suspension of the violator's driver's license or operating privileges for not more than one hundred eighty days, or both." Brakes on bicycles work fine. From what we know she was not doing anything wrong. The truck driver violated her legally given space on the roadway. Will a civil court find that she is some percentage at fault? Perhaps, but I would bet it would be well short of the 50% you ascribe to her.
The picture that accompanied the original article was taken in daylight. Bicycle brakes have a very good ratio of weight to strength. Some bicycles even have disc brakes. Wearing motorcycle leather (and the assumption of imminent safety) for a bicycle is not at all practical. It would actually make riding increasingly more dangerous for many reasons. It isn't fair to blame a victim for an accident.
I think you're reading more into this than there actually is. No where in any of the articles I've read said anything about it taking place at dusk. I saw nothing saying she tried to swerve and brake. I never read anything that says she lost control.
As far as headlights go, it's a law here in CR for cyclists to have headlights if they ride after dark. I'm not sure when, time-wise, that goes into effect. And it's quite costly if you get caught. Personally, as a cyclist, I try to keep track of when the sun sets so that I'm not riding right into it in the afternoons late in the season.