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CHP investigators are recommending felony charges be filed a...

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 337547	2012-10-31 11:59 AM
Sounds about right. A stupid decision that nearly killed another person deserves to be punished. Has anyone heard anything yet about the other bicycle hit and run from around that same time? The one with the small yellow car near the County Jail?
COMMENT 337567	2012-10-31 12:53 PM
This is a very sad situation for all involved. Too bad the child was so scared he ran, needs to learn to STOP and learn it is not what happens but how you handle them that matters. The gentlemen hit, where the heck was your helmet? Riding a bike anywhere is not safe, an accident is going to happen, PROTECT yourself so a child does not have to suffer knowing that he almost killed you and that you will never be the same! HELMETS Please!
MESARATS	2012-10-31 01:12 PM
Re567. You are joking right?
COMMENT 337579	2012-10-31 01:16 PM
567: It's not required by law to wear a helmet riding a bike, although I agree it is foolish not to. Doesn't change the fact that the kid was entirely at fault here. He hit the guy when he had the right of way, and took off. The kid didn't suffer nearly as bad as the bike rider did. Getting hit by a car is NOT FUN.
COMMENT 337582	2012-10-31 01:19 PM
567...making the driver the victim...thats an interesting way of looking at it. wow.
COMMENT 337591	2012-10-31 01:46 PM
567 I don't have to wear a helmet but drivers do need to respect the other pedestrians and ppl on bikes.
COMMENT 337615P	2012-10-31 02:28 PM
It shouldn't matter what his age is. If he's old enough to drive, he's old enough to suffer the consequences of his actions. It will be interesting to see what the DA and his parents' lawyers end up with.
COMMENT 337616	2012-10-31 02:29 PM
Completely the kids fault, but bikers need to be aware of their surroundings.. if they get hit by a car, the car is going to win.
COMMENT 337624	2012-10-31 02:50 PM
A couple facts here: the "bicycle" rider was on a motorized bicycle going at a fairly high speed. He was in the bicycle lane, though the law requires motorized devices to be in the car lane. And finally, this man on the motorized bike was not wearing a helmet as required by law for motorized vehiicles. This does not absolve the 16 year old driver of responsibility for his inexcusably poor judgement. Merely point out that this case may not be so cut and dried, as the victim showed poor judgement and broke laws as well. Nothing but a terrible tragedy all around.
COMMENT 337547	2012-10-31 03:01 PM
Again, helmets have NOTHING to do with this! It's the fact that the kid left the scene of a serious accident. It wouldn't be prosecuted by the DA if there was no criminality involved. The crime is fleeing the scene, NOT hitting a cyclist (motorized or not) who wasn't wearing a helment.
COMMENT 337624	2012-10-31 03:06 PM
The case hasn't been prosecuted by the DA yet; the CHP has merely made its recommendation. We will know shortly what the DA decides to do.
COMMENT 337633	2012-10-31 03:14 PM
Seeing that the DA is charging a UCSB soccer player with assault after merely pushing a referee, I think the death penalty might be on the table for this youth.
COMMENT 337642	2012-10-31 03:34 PM
Helmets have a *little* to do with this case. That is a motorized bicycle in the photos. In CA you are required to wear a DOT approved helmet on a motorized bicycle regardless of age (CVC 27803) same as a motorcycle. However no helmet does not make it open season and the driver is wholly at fault, assuming all charges are correct.
COMMENT 337655	2012-10-31 03:57 PM
630 - helmets have *everything* to do with this if the victim has sustained a traumatic brain injury. Whether the fall was caused by the criminal act of another or whether he has just screwed up all by himself... the helmet has EVERYTHING to do with the final outcome.
COMMENT 337656	2012-10-31 03:58 PM
633 for the win.
COMMENT 337660	2012-10-31 04:07 PM
Driver may or may not be at fault for the accident (if he was ahead of the bike & the bike plowed into the side/back of his car it MIGHT be (partially) the rider's fault (maybe)), but definitely at fault for leaving the scene. He should be penalized, heavily. However, that doesn't make the victim any less wrong (and dumb) for riding a moped in the wrong lane and without proper protection. Until we know everything that happened it's hard to tell how the accident happened & who was truly at fault (for the accident - the hit & run charge is fairly obvious). I used to move over into the bike lane to let cars pass if I was moving too slow for some people's taste (on Las Positas I could only do about 50-55mph). It wasn't legal, but far safer than having people ride my butt, or try to pass illegally on the left. But I never rode exclusively in the bike lane. I ride a scooter with traffic but am too scared to ride a bike because riding in the bike lanes scares me.
COMMENT 337663	2012-10-31 04:11 PM
Why do kids have carte blanche to cause immeasurable suffering to others if their actions and decisions leave them scarred for life? Another example of lousy parenting... of parents teaching kids that strangers don't matter. 16 is way too young to deal with the responsibilities of driving and kids have proven time and again they cannot be trusted with such responsibilities. It's been convenient for parents to allow their underdeveloped spawn to be licensed to drive but parents have not proved adequate to the task of raising responsible teens to take driving seriously. Enough with this failed social experiment. Change the laws and make 18 the minimum age for driving.
COMMENT 337667	2012-10-31 04:22 PM
Anyone could have turned right in front of what looked like a bicycle thinking it was going slower, then it turns out it was a motorized bike going faster. No blame to the driver IMO. I've had this happen with bicycles, non-motorized, who are in the car lane, as a car, until they get to the light and then try to do the change-up and transform into a bicycle in the bike lane, and a pedestrian in the crosswalk on a bike, bypassing all the cars who were lined up in front of them as cars, then acting offended because they can't have it both ways and drivers turn right in front of them, when they should have stayed like a car and waited like a car and been safe. A felony charge is ridiculous IMO and they should ticket the bike rider, or motorized bike, or, well who IS that creature who wants it both ways. Now a kid is screwed, blued and tatooed because of a moron on a bike/scooter/whatever he wants it to be this minute.
COMMENT 337633	2012-10-31 04:22 PM
The felony is not for the HIT, it is for the RUN. Helmet worn and/or type of vehicle driven by the victim is immaterial to the charge.
COMMENT 337690P	2012-10-31 05:09 PM
With regard to complaining about the age people can get licenced to drive, the highest accident rate is in the first 200 hours of driving. It doesn't matter is they start to drive at 16 or 18. In fact the 16 to 18 year old drivers have some pretty severe but reasonable restrictions on their driving privilages that the 18 year old plus drivers don't have. The biggest problem I see is the lack of patience that drivers exhibit. Slow down, the 2 seconds saved is really not worth it. And never ever try to run away. Very sad for all concerned.
COMMENT 337711	2012-10-31 06:00 PM
I'm having a hard time with this recommendation. Normally, I totally approve when minors are given the full adult consequences of their illegal (and usually malicious) behavior. I highly highly doubt this kid was at all being malicious. I can see a 16 year old new driver panicking and making a poor choice. Interested to see what the outcome will be...
MESARATS	2012-10-31 06:21 PM
It is behavior I would expect of a 6 year old, not 16. Teenagers generally run when they know they screwed up. I wonder if they tested him for drugs or ETOH. I find the absence of common decency and compassion for the victim disturbing.
COMMENT 337739P	2012-10-31 07:31 PM
There's a lot that we don't know. Did the driver have a license? Insurance? Any previous tickets? Was he driving under the influence of anything? Was the vehicle he was driving his or someone else's?
COMMENT 337826P	2012-11-01 09:06 AM
@668 +1
COMMENT 337840	2012-11-01 09:27 AM
I live in this neighborhood. There are a handful of teens in the area who are horrible drivers and I've witnessed multiple accidents over the years between cars and bikes. I myself was the victim of a hit and run in my teens in this area. If the parents aren't able to monitor their kids driving habits or teach them how to handle these types of situations, the only recourse for preventing this type of behavior in the future is for the law to do its job.
COMMENT 337847	2012-11-01 09:38 AM
Schools have removed drivers training and we depend on a written test to approve licensure? NOTHING beats actual driving sceanarios, you DONT learn from a written test that's heavy on DUI BS. Arrest this kid.
COMMENT 337642	2012-11-01 10:27 AM
847 - When you're under 18 you still have an in-car driving exam with the DMV, not just a written exam.
COMMENT 337890	2012-11-01 10:59 AM
I would like to see 862 removed. Sounds like an issue with the mother and very insensitive to the minor.
COMMENT 337916	2012-11-01 11:43 AM
Regarding comment 337624, motorized bicycles are allowed to travel in bike lanes as long as they don't endanger bicyclists. So the victim did not break any laws.
COMMENT 338200P	2012-11-01 08:30 PM
This is such a tragic incident all the way around. I'm sorry for the victim, I'm sorry for the 16 year old driver and I'm sorry for their families ... they must be worried sick. Leaving the scene of an accident, especially one so serious, represents a huge failure in judgement, and yet, I somewhat understand that due to his age and maturity level, he probably just panicked. I don't know what the DA will decide to do, but I'd imagine that some type of community service would be beneficial in this situation ... have the boy go on a campaign, so to speak, to alert other young drivers about what happened and his terribly wrong actions afterward. I have teenaged drivers, and this was an incredible teaching moment at our house, both in terms of driving safely around bikes and what to do when an accident does happen (stay and call for help!). I always tell my kids that it's not the act that get's people in the most trouble ... it's the cover-up afterward, whether it's telling a lie or fleeing the scene. I hope the man on the bike recovers, and I also hope that something positive comes out of this for the boy as well.

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