Assault when officer hit but not when cyclist hit?

Tue June 19 2007
Posted Jun 19, 2007
7,795

Want to get pissed off? Keep reading. Pay close close attention to the words "assault with a motor vehicle". Think about Collier and Sergey in the hospital right now and David Eugene Harris in the morgue.

Driver nearly hits officer directing triathlon traffic TOM ALEX REGISTER STAFF WRITER June 18, 2007 A Des Moines police officer reports he had to jump out of the way to avoid being hit by a motorist during Sunday's Hy-Vee Triathlon. Officer Xavier Barron suffered a bruised right hand. Jennifer Adkins, 36, of Des Moines, was arrested on a charge of assault with a motor vehicle. Barron said in a report that Adkins approached the intersection of Sixth Avenue and Mulberry Street on Sunday afternoon and was ordered to stop. Barron told her Mulberry was closed for the triathlon and she would have to take a different route. She claimed another officer told her she could drive on Mulberry. Barron said he told her twice that it was closed. "She then accelerated her motor vehicle attempting to drive around the squad car," the officer said in his report. "I had to jump out of the way to avoid being struck by the car. My right hand struck the windshield in the process." Two customers of US Bank came to the officer's aid and provided witness statements. Other officers stopped Adkins in the 600 block of Southwest Martin Luther King Jr., Parkway and took her into custody. Source: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070618/NEWS/70618004/1001/RSS01

finding anything odd here?

Names Released Of Two Injured Bicyclists (posted 6/12/2007) DES MOINES, Iowa -- Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Mark Casey said that two bicyclists were taken to the hospital Tuesday morning after they were struck by a car from behind. It happened around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday about three miles northwest of Grimes in Dallas County. John C. Schofield Jr., 41, of West Des Moines, and Sergey Motorny, 26, of Des Moines were biking southbound on R-30 when a car driven by Theodore J. Jenkins, 52, of Granger, also traveling southbound, hit them, according to a crash report. Jenkins told troopers he didn't see the bikers. He was not injured. Each biker hit the front lights and bounced off the windshield. Both men were thrown into the ditch, one man on the east side another man on the west side. Troopers said that the injuries were serious and that one man had many broken bones and possibly internal injuries. They are in serious condition at Iowa Methodist Medical Center. Sgt. Mark Casey said bikers have a right to be on these rural roads, but that they are always taking a chance. "They were side by side could have been single-file, which could have helped a little bit, maybe one of them could get away. They have a right to be on the road like everybody else. When you've got 4,000 or 6,000 pounds (of a vehicle), the odds are against you. This isn't the first time this has happened. I hope it's the last time, but I know it won't be," he said. Troopers said they are talking with the county attorney. So far no charges have been filed. source: http://www.kcci.com/news/13486602/detail.html

Here is another one

Atlantic man dies in car-bicycle accident TOM BARTON REGISTER STAFF WRITER June 17, 2007 An Atlantic man died today after being hit by a motorist while riding his bicycle. David Eugene Harris, 39, was killed after being hit by a vehicle driven by Ross Eldon Kunze, 77, of Atlantic. Harris was riding south on Olive Street north of Atlantic around 12:20 p.m. when he was struck from behind by Kunze, who was also heading south. Harris was thrown onto the hood of the car before coming to rest in the middle of the southbound lane, according to an Iowa State Patrol report. Harris was taken to Cass County Memorial Hospital, where he died. No further information was available.

RANT - Time for Change

Let's see, 3 cyclists hit from behind in less than 1 week. The only thing I can see if that the drivers who hit the cyclists were not under "road rage" circumstances, but come on... What about the pure negligence factor??? I'm getting very irritated with these types of crimes. At the least, it sure would be nice to to see the state of Iowa take it upon themselves and offer a Public Service Announcement for bicycle safety similar to other PSAs. When is the last time you heard of a construction worker getting hit in a highway construction zone? We know fines are doubled there. We know buzzed driving is drunk driving. These highly visible laws are well known and have worked. Iowa does have a full time person designated as the "Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator". Does anyone know their stance? Are they working with Iowa DMV or the Iowa State Patrol to increase the safety of cyclists? Iowa is a bicycle Mecca. How can we be so focused on RAGBRAI, bicycle trails, Trails Capital of the world" status but yet be so separated from the ever growing bicycle "HIT LIST" ?!? Sorry for the rant, but this subject matter really gets to me! We got through this way too many times a year for nothing to be done. Please do not let these matters drop. We have to educate others on what is happening. CYCLISTS ARE NOT DISPOSABLE

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Ideas for this comparison came from the dialogues at www.bikeiowa.org yahoo group