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Hollywood
Sr. Member
Joined: 15 Sep 2007
Posts: 232
Location: Vinings
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 Posted:
Sat Nov 15, 2008 3:24 pm |
 
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John Wigren, an Acworth cyclist, was killed in a hit & run accident early Friday morning. Here's the link to the story in the AJC today: (
http://www.ajc.com/search/content/2008/11/15/bikebrief.html
) - and the text is below...
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Cyclist killed by hit-and-run driver
By Derrick Mahone
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Saturday, November 15, 2008
A 64-year-old Acworth cyclist was killed by a hit-and-run driver early Friday morning on his way home from work.
Kennesaw police spokesman Officer Scott Luther said John Wigren was riding his bicycle shortly after midnight on McCollum Parkway at the intersection of Cherokee Street.
Wigren was stopped in the safety zone at the end of McCollum Parkway when he was hit by a red Chevrolet Silverado.
The driver of truck kept going.
Heavy fog may have played a role in the accident, Luther said. The truck may have damage to the front passenger side bumper, headlight and hood. It has a ladder rack and ladder on its bed. Anyone with information should call police at 770-422-2505.
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TimH
Sr. Member
Joined: 18 Feb 2007
Posts: 351
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Sun Nov 16, 2008 11:43 pm |
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What the heck is a "Safety zone?" Do they mean the gore stripes? I want to have a look at that intersection tomorrow.
Hit and run, what a coward. Prolly drunk. Now he will get homicide and tampering with evidence if he so much as replaces the headlight.
Anyone know Wigren? Was he a cyclists or just a guy riding a bike?
-Tim- |
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TimH
Sr. Member
Joined: 18 Feb 2007
Posts: 351
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Sun Nov 16, 2008 11:46 pm |
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SandyS
Sr. Member
Joined: 26 Oct 2005
Posts: 237
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Mon Nov 17, 2008 9:03 am |
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I heard somewhere that due to fog, visibility was extremely low at the time he was hit. Police think that there is a very good possibilty that the driver did not know he hit a person, he may have just thought he ran over a concrete island.
BTW, what's the difference between a cyclist and guy riding his bike? |
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dcepar
Sr. Member
Joined: 29 Sep 2005
Posts: 232
Location: Smyrna, GA
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Mon Nov 17, 2008 12:09 pm |
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| SandyS wrote: |
| Police think that there is a very good possibilty that the driver did not know he hit a person, he may have just thought he ran over a concrete island. |
Yeah, the officer says that in the video as well. Just shows you on whose side the police is and what is going to happen to the guy if they catch him. "Don't worry buddy - you couldn't have possibly known you have hit a human. Just a bump in the road."
You not only feel it - you can hear the metallic sound of a bicycle crashing which a concrete barrier won't give. That's assuming the visibility was 0 and the driver could not see the biker even when he hit him or when he was a couple of feet away. You only make a justification this ridiculous when you are trying to cover up for the driver.
I am 98% certain the driver was drunk. There's no way he could have mistaken the cyclist for a plastic bag in his widshield if he were sober. The problem is how are you gonna prove the guy was drunk three days ago even if they catch him today. Of course he's gonna say he was sober and thought he hit the conrete barrier. 
So the driver goes free, the rider is dead and the police don't care.
It is indeed a wonderful place to ride. |
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SandyS
Sr. Member
Joined: 26 Oct 2005
Posts: 237
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Mon Nov 17, 2008 12:45 pm |
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No, he won't go free. It's still hit and run, because he'd have to know he hit something, even if he didn't realize it until after he got home and saw the damage.
The law used to be that hit and run, or leaving the scene of an accident, carried a much lower penalty than DUI. They changed that in the 1980s, so that it's just as much of a crime.
Even if he didn't realize he hit a person when he did, he would have known it was more than a concrete island when he got home, so he should have called or checked.
He may also be an illegal alien and fear giving himself up for that reason. |
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bigb
Jr. Member
Joined: 26 Jul 2004
Posts: 36
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Mon Nov 17, 2008 1:01 pm |
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BTW, what's the difference between a cyclist and guy riding his bike?[/quote]
"He always had a basket on it, Mardi Gras beads" (from the Fox News link)
Thats a "guy riding his bike". |
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SandyS
Sr. Member
Joined: 26 Oct 2005
Posts: 237
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Mon Nov 17, 2008 1:04 pm |
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That guy rode his bike back and forth to work every day. Probably was his only form of transportation.
But he doesn't count as a cyclist? |
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bikecop
Full Member
Joined: 15 Apr 2003
Posts: 98
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Mon Nov 17, 2008 1:29 pm |
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Looks like the driver turned himself in and was actually charged.
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/17997748/detail.html
Rouen was charged with misdemeanor driving too fast for conditions, misdemeanor failure to maintain lane, misdemeanor duty to report, felony duty in accident resulting in death and felony homicide by vehicle. |
_________________
The benefits of clean air, exercise, and self-locomotion are undisputable and yet passers-by often pity the unfortunate person who rides his bicycle, not knowing that they are in fact the ones who are missing out. -- from Shimano |
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SandyS
Sr. Member
Joined: 26 Oct 2005
Posts: 237
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Mon Nov 17, 2008 1:55 pm |
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Wow.
Doesn't sound like they're holding back on any of the charges.
I saw a "guy riding his bike" going home one night last week when it was foggy and visibility was bad. He had a headlight on his handlebars, but it was barely noticeable on a road with lots of other distracting lights.
But he had those stock flat pedals with reflectors on the front, and that's how I spotted him first and could tell it was a bike, because he was pedaling and that motion is actually pretty distinctive. I didn't even know what the headlight was until I spotted the pedals and looked up for it.
Maybe putting some kind of reflective tape on the toes of your shoes is a good idea. My shoes came with reflective patches on the heels already. |
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tefkar
Sr. Member
Joined: 13 Dec 2005
Posts: 217
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Mon Nov 17, 2008 10:00 pm |
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Good for Kennesaw police. I'd bet money Atlanta police would have done little to nothing. Maybe ticket the victim posthumously for riding too far from the curb. |
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dcepar
Sr. Member
Joined: 29 Sep 2005
Posts: 232
Location: Smyrna, GA
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Thu Jul 29, 2010 1:07 pm |
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I was curious what happened with this case so I checked the Cobb County Superior Court Clerk's website where you can browse criminal and other dockets. Looks like the guy went to trial in September last year on two counts: (1) homicide by vehicle in the 1st degree and (2) hit and run. Found guilty on both counts and got 10 years. |
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Benaslopok
Full Member
Joined: 20 Nov 2003
Posts: 98
Location: Reidsville, Georgia
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Thu Jul 29, 2010 5:29 pm |
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What'sa going on here!! This criminal had been convicted in September last year ?? Is that right , and he's still loose ?? Something ain't right !! |
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