Dan H
Scary that cement for brains is a father passing on the legacy to the next generation of miscreants.
----- Original Message -----
From: John Schader
To: Oregon Bicycle Racing Association
Sent: Saturday, April 28, 2007 7:30 PM
Subject: [OBRA Chat] Justice To Be Served
To my fellow two wheeled targets of four wheeled psychos:
I am hoping that my HFV teammate's attacker on the road east of Estacada is caught and brought to justice. By coincidence, another story of crimes against cyclists by pickup truck is coming to a close. You may recall my note to OBRA last August (see below) in which I described a hit and run incident in Washington County where my friend Cindy Sharp was severely injured. She could easily have been killed. Thankfully, her long recovery has gone well and she is working again. Sentencing of the driver, one John Carothers, is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. on Monday, May 7th at the Washington County courthouse in Hillsboro. It is open to the public so if anyone wishes to see the outcome first hand, please do attend and show your support for the rights of cyclists on Oregon roads and the justice system that assures those rights.
Some of you may recall subsequent developments after the incident. Carothers and the passengers in that boat towing red pickup were later caught and arrested. I think the TV and other news media were a big help in making that happen. The back seat passenger decided to do the right thing and agreed to testify. He, Cindy and I testified at a Grand Jury hearing last September. The trial was put off a number of times and eventually the driver agreed to a plea deal. First Cindy was told that it was possible that the driver would serve a year in the local jail, with the ability to do work release after a few months (i.e. he lives in the jail, but goes to work). The DA wanted him to plead guilty to a felony and a misdemeanor. Cindy told me she is agreeable to this deal because the driver has absolutely no criminal record, he has a good job, and he supports two teenage kids. She thinks the tax payers of Oregon would not benefit from this guy losing his livelihood and becoming destitute. The irony of the deal is that the hit and run results in a revoked drivers license: he would not be able to drive to work. Later, Cindy was told that it looks like he's going to plead guilty to the felony hit and run, serve 30 days in jail, and then 8 months of work release. She doesn't know what became of the drivers license issue, but says that's not really her concern. As for the boat: he has agreed to sell the boat and the trailer and he will donate $5000 to the Leukemia and Lymphoma society (the organization for which Cindy was cycling and raising money last summer).
Cindy will be at the sentencing to make a victims statement. She also was told by the DA that the passenger, who spit water in her face just before the boat trailer knocked her off the road, plead guilty to a misdemeanor and was supposed to get 30 days in jail. Instead he has been thrown into an Arizona PRISON for 8 months for a probation violation!! The federal judge in Arizona, who presided over his prior convictions, apparently was not amused by the misdemeanor in Oregon. So, the spitter won't be at the sentencing on May 7.
Regards to all,
John Schader
KGW news stories:
http://tinyurl.com/jgxlr
http://tinyurl.com/kuqr4
Washington County Sherrif news release:
http://tinyurl.com/38sxen
ORIGINAL EMAIL:
From: John Schader [mailto: voyagr8@yahoo.com]
To: obra@list.obra.org
Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2006 10:12:11 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [OBRA Chat] Help needed locating hit and run driver!
OBRA members,
Saturday, around noon, I was one of four cyclists descending the hill on Hwy 219 North (Hillsboro - Newberg Highway), a little west of Scholls in Washington County. We were 40 miles into a 65 mile training ride. I was leading a group of Team in Training cyclists preparing to ride their first century next month. They have been training over the past few months and also raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. We were spread out quite a bit on the descent. One of the cyclists was bumped off the road by the trailer of a pickup truck towing a boat. She was probably traveling a little over 20 mph when it happened. Obeying the rules of the road and being as accommodating to motorists as possible, she was riding close to the white painted fog line at the right side of the road. The truck refused to make any allowance for the cyclists it was passing and did not move to the left to give any clearance even though there was no oncoming traffic. We think the boat trailer contacted her, pushing her off the road and launching her from her bicycle. She later said water was thrown at her as the truck passed and that she was definitely struck by some part of the trailer. She was thrown from her bicycle into the bottom of a ditch. The bike was found laying right next to the road. That same boat trailer had brushed my shoulder on its way by me and came extremely close to one of our other cyclists prior to reaching the victim. After my close brush, I tried to catch up to her but was quite a bit behind. Although I could see the boat dangerously close to her, I did not actually see her fall. It happened just after a left curve in the road, out of my sight. The victim's right arm is severely injured and she is expected to undergo surgery today. She also has other less severe injuries. It will be months before she will be able to return to normal. Her husband works full time at night, and they are parents of triplet two year old children. If anyone spots a shiny bright red late model pickup truck towing a very new looking red boat, possibly a 23 foot Centurion model, please get the license plate number and contact the Washington County police, and myself. I know it is two days after the incident, but any information will help. If the driver is caught, I would appreciate any advice from those lawyer OBRA members who have so graciously offered help in the past. More importantly, if anyone wishes to help the victim and her family in some way, please contact me. We already have good people who have volunteered to prepare meals, grocery shop, house clean, etc. to help the husband manage the household during the long recovery.
Thank you,
John Schader
Coach, Portland Chapter, Team in Training
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