Introduction
Introduction Statistics Contact Development Disclaimer Help
I lost a good friend of mine today. Andrew Whitlock was 37 years ol
He was a great engineer and overall rad dude. He was killed while
riding his bicycle home from work yesterday. The criminal who ran h
over was evading police due to an earlier incident. They were using
the bicycle lane as a way to get around the cars stopped in traffic
They have no regard for human life. They chose to mow an innocent m
over to avoid facing the ramifications of their crime and now a
brilliant engineer, son and friend is no longer alive.
I recently started riding my bicycle to work a few days a week. I'v
always known the risks of riding on public roadways. I've been an a
cyclist since before I could drive. This is not the first time I've
known someone hit by a motor vehicle but this is the first time I'v
had someone I knew well killed in such a way. And of all the ways t
have it happen, the most painful thing is that he was doing everyth
correctly. He uses lights, wears a helmet, was riding in the bike
lane, obeyed traffic signals, everything. Sometimes you're just
unlucky I guess.
It started last night, a friend of mine called to make sure I was o
He said some cyclist had been hit in the city and he wanted to make
sure it wasn't me. This morning I woke up to an article about it in
news feed. They had just released the victims name. I couldn't beli
it at first. I started messaging everyone I knew who would know if
was him. I got the first unconfirmed answer around 0930. Andrew had
shown up for work yet, he was two hours late. A few hours later I
received an email from a friend who worked with him. It was an emai
from the company they worked at confirming that Andrew had been
killed in a bicycling accident last night.
It was weird. It still is weird. It's been a weird day. Maybe it'll
get easier. Maybe I'll keep riding to work eventually. For now, I
think I'll be driving to the office. At least for a little while. O
the shock of it all wears off and I can really let it sink in that
this was one of those freak accidents. Once I can go back to
convincing myself that statistically there are fewer bicycle accide
on the roads than car accidents; fewer fatalities. Until then, I'll
cower in my metal box, endure the soul crushing traffic and bordum
that inevitably comes.
You are viewing proxied material from sdf.org. The copyright of proxied material belongs to its original authors. Any comments or complaints in relation to proxied material should be directed to the original authors of the content concerned. Please see the disclaimer for more details.