Questions in the Deadly University City Crash Involving an SDPD Officer
Posted By Thomas Bahde on November 12, 2009
In the three days since Walter Freeman was killed by a SDPD cruiser in University City, questions from the bicycling community have continued to roll in. The primary concern is that the officer in question may have been driving distracted. Freeman exited a driveway and crossed a bike lane and two other lanes of traffic, wearing a reflective vest and red helmet before being struck from behind by the cruiser, which according to the SDPD was traveling under the posted 45 m.p.h. speed limit.
Residents of the area said Freeman was an avid bicyclist who rode the area regularly, but witness statements claimed that Freeman moved left suddenly into the path of the cruiser, emphasizing a common misperception that bicyclists are erratic and unpredictable. But if Freeman was the experienced and safety-conscious bicyclist he seems to have been, it seems unlikely that his move reflected anything other than an assumption that a police car, of all things, would obey traffic laws and allow him to merge left.
As anyone who has been in a fender-bender knows, police typically assign fault in rear-end collisions to the driver in back for failing to yield or traveling at unsafe speeds. In this case, the officer claimed to not see Freeman until it was too late, but it seems that Freeman had done everything within his power to be seen. The SDPD was quick to label this fatality an “unfortuante accident” but the investigation is ongoing and we hope the department will provide more information about what exactly the officer was doing inside his car when Walter Freeman entered the roadway.
There’s a lot of confusion over what happened. I walked to the intersection (which is near my house) at about 9:00 a.m. They had removed Mr. Freeman’s body by that point, and the police cruiser had been towed away, but the bike was still in the intersection, and a bunch of glass very near the cross-walk on the west side of the intersection.
Based on the story in the paper, which was based on the police info, and based on the photo of the police car with the story, and where all the glass was, it seems like the police car was travelling in one of the through lanes, probably the right lane. So if Mr. Freeman “veered” or “turned” suddenly from the bike lane into the through lane, there wouldn’t have been a lot of time for the officer to react.
Adding to the confusion is that the southbound bike lane crosses over to the left of the right-only turn lane just before the intersection.
Plus, someone on the bike coalition discussion board posted an eyewitness account that had an entirely different scenario: Freeman was actually travelling eastbound on Governor, turning left onto northbound Genesee. So that brings up the whole “who had the green light” issue that was thought to be a central issue in the first hours after the event.
It just seems there’s too little information to even speculate about what happened, and I hope there will be a thorough investigation with all of the witnesses being interviewed. I know there’s a lot of cynicism about whether that will really happen.
I follow the Dutch law of vehicle & bike accidents: it’s always the fault of the driver of the automobile unless they can prove otherwise and very explicitly that it the collision was unavoidable. This guy could have swerved a bit to miss some road debris or who knows? But this is America and the person with the bigger more expensive vehicle is usually cleared of any wrong unless they’re intoxicated. A car is a loaded weapon in my opinion and should be treated as such – by both drivers and the law.
Apparently we’re not the only ones who are confused. Two different broadcast news stations reported last night that Freeman’s family is criticizing the SDPD for lack of communication in the wake of the crash. While it’s understandable that the police would be reluctant to provide much information while the investigation is ongoing, I can’t help but wonder if internal investigations like this ever produce satisfactory results for the victims and/or their families.
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