OHP Searching For Driver Who Hit Cyclist on Avery

[pfox]

If anyone has any info on this, please call OHP.  Help us find this person.

http://www.newson6.com/global/story.asp?s=8159914



Posted: April 13, 2008 04:32 PM CDT

Updated: April 14, 2008 09:10 PM CDT


The impact broke off the car's passenger side mirror and state troopers say it's a good lead.



Wayne Mark was riding with a group of other bikers just east of Highway 97 on Avery Drive.



Avery Drive is full of bicycle traffic at all times of the day and warning signs were posted within 100 yards of the hit and run.


A hit and run crash Sunday morning left a cyclist hurt.  It happened on Avery Drive near Highway 97.  The News On 6's Emory Bryan reports the Oklahoma Highway Patrol has a lead in the hit and run, while the man who was hit recovers in the hospital.

The man who was hit is Wayne Mark and he's one of the most elite cyclists in the Tulsa area.  He rides 13,000 miles a year.  At least he did, now he's in the hospital while troopers look for the person who hit him.

"You feel the air, and that's just a wonderful feeling," said Wayne Mark.

Wayne Mark can't forget how much he loves cycling, but he doesn't remember anything about the crash that put him in the hospital.  He has a broken leg and cuts all over.  It is the second time he's been hit by a car.

"I'm just now getting back from that, and now to have this happen," said Wayne Mark.

Mark was hit from behind Sunday morning on the west end of Avery Drive.  His professional grade bicycle was crumpled and Mark rolled over the hood.  The driver didn't stop.

The impact broke off the car's passenger side mirror and state troopers say it's a good lead.

"Kind of an emerald green, this will be the color of the suspect vehicle so anyone who knows this car or sees this car should call," said Oklahoma Highway Patrol Lt. George Brown.

Avery Drive is popular with cyclists because it's one of the few roads with a true bike lane and it's marked with plenty of caution signs.  Still, even with extra room on the road and all the warnings, accidents can still happen.

Judy and Bob Clark are regulars on Avery Drive, and they've had some close calls.

"They think bicycles should stay on trails and don't realize that we have as much right to the road as they do," said Judy Clark.

The spot where the crash happened had plenty of room for cars and bicycles, but witnesses said the car was weaving on the road as if the driver was drunk.

Wayne doesn't know who hit him or why, but he wants to know.

"I hope they catch him.  I really do," said Wayne Mark.

State troopers believe the mirror will lead them to the car, but they hope someone has seen that car and will give them a call.

It's likely an import car, emerald green, with some hood and other damage, and it is missing the passenger side mirror.

Find more stories on NewsOn6.com's Local News page.

[OSU]

Geez I hope they catch the guy. I love riding on Avery drive and have had some close calls myself. If you are looking for a good route that has both road and trails I like riding from the parking lot on Riverparks at the 21st bridge riding south on the trail to NSU Broken Arrow then back north to Sand Springs onto Avery Drive and take that back to the 21st parking lot about 76 miles and very nice.

[patric]

(old thread but might be a better fit; if not feel free to relocate)


https://www.readfrontier.org/stories/preliminary-ohp-report-fatal-crash-fails-mention-possible-involvement-sheriffs-deputy/

There is bound to be dashcam, and the odds are good one of the other 20 bikers had a GoPro.

[heironymouspasparagus]

(old thread but might be a better fit; if not feel free to relocate)


https://www.readfrontier.org/stories/preliminary-ohp-report-fatal-crash-fails-mention-possible-involvement-sheriffs-deputy/

There is bound to be dashcam, and the odds are good one of the other 20 bikers had a GoPro.

Hey, if deputy hadn't made him swerve, he woulda just had to shoot him, so saved a bullet...!  Got a culture thing going on at TCSO!


Is that too tacky??

[patric]

Hey, if deputy hadn't made him swerve, he woulda just had to shoot him, so saved a bullet...!  Got a culture thing going on at TCSO!

Is that too tacky??

Yes, tacky.
A couple of things; its going to make it a lot harder to take OHP accident reports at face value, and,
anticipating the toxicology report on the victim will absolve the deputy who made a U-turn on Avery drive.

Oklahoma law is written so that a person not under the influence can be declared to be under the influence if toxicology finds metabolites from exposure to a drug weeks or months earlier. 

[heironymouspasparagus]

Yes, tacky.
A couple of things; its going to make it a lot harder to take OHP accident reports at face value, and,
anticipating the toxicology report on the victim will absolve the deputy who made a U-turn on Avery drive.

Oklahoma law is written so that a person not under the influence can be declared to be under the influence if toxicology finds metabolites from exposure to a drug weeks or months earlier. 

Sorry... I was channeling my inner Trump there for a minute.


Yeah, kind of a sick way to do it, but they gotta circle the wagons!  It's us or them.  In their collective mind, too often.

[sgrizzle]

I don't know how he verified there was no-one 1/3rd of a mile in each direction when he was in the middle of a curve.

[heironymouspasparagus]

I don't know how he verified there was no-one 1/3rd of a mile in each direction when he was in the middle of a curve.

Yeah, you do.   He lied.

[Conan71]

The U turn right there may have been a bone head move but let's not discount that witnesses say the rider was speeding.

[Ed W]

Regardless, since so much time has passed the chances of finding this driver are almost nil. Contrast this against that motorist who drove off from a documents...um...safety checkpoint, nearly hitting a deputy. They arrested and charged him with AWDW in a couple of days.

[patric]

The U turn right there may have been a bone head move but let's not discount that witnesses say the rider was speeding.

The deputy isnt exactly a "witness"

[heironymouspasparagus]

The U turn right there may have been a bone head move but let's not discount that witnesses say the rider was speeding.

Yeah...every cop says every driver was speeding...


Well, most of the time they are, so it's kind of a safe bet until there is the one or two that aren't.  But chances are good.

[Conan71]

The deputy isnt exactly a "witness"

Unless I misread the article, which I am known to do, this was other members of the group he was riding with who said he sped up ahead of them.

[patric]

Unless I misread the article, which I am known to do, this was other members of the group he was riding with who said he sped up ahead of them.

"He sped up" isnt necessarily speeding but I see where your coming from.

TCSO told The Frontier the "Sheriff's Office is not investigating the matter" but you can be certain the taxpayers will get the bill for the death; just put it on Brewster's tab.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/homepagelatest/tulsa-county-sheriff-s-office-has-paid-million-in-legal/article_c9d15a3a-353f-52b0-9ce3-abb68a158a2f.html




The 18-year-old motorcyclist died in a head-on collision with a car after a Tulsa County sheriff's deputy made a U-turn in the roadway to pursue another motorcycle near Chandler Park.

The lawsuit alleges that the deputy "negligently and recklessly" made a U-turn into oncoming traffic on a curve, giving Tyner "no time" to slow and avoid the crash with the other car.

"Let's say Cobie made a U-turn on Avery Drive. I guarantee if an officer came around that corner and lost his life, Cobie would be charged with vehicular homicide," Tyner said.

https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/father-brings-attention-to--year-old-son-s-death/article_552dc697-4fa0-5ccf-9536-372f87a4000b.html

[Conan71]

"He sped up" isnt necessarily speeding but I see where your coming from.

TCSO told The Frontier the "Sheriff's Office is not investigating the matter" but you can be certain the taxpayers will get the bill for the death; just put it on Brewster's tab.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/homepagelatest/tulsa-county-sheriff-s-office-has-paid-million-in-legal/article_c9d15a3a-353f-52b0-9ce3-abb68a158a2f.html

And I may be biased from years of FOD's (future organ donors) passing me going 100 MPH+ on the curves of the BA.