The Tulsa Forum by TulsaNow

http://www.newson6.com/global/story.asp?s=11025155

Riding on an off-ramp from the highway...not good.

You've got to respect the cars, no two ways about it.

Always terrible when somebody dies in a collision.

But good grief, a 70 year-old lady riding a bicycle on 75?  Very poor judgment indeed.  Isn't it also illegal?

That's why I stick to the river and MV trail. 

The TW story doesn't mention an off ramp. I'm only somewhat familiar with the area, but by looking at their pictures it looks like it happened on Southwest Blvd itself. There appears to be a yellow line in the middle of a four-lane road where her bicycle is resting.

They say the woman was in her late 50s.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20090901_11_0_Afatal155039

Edit: Looks like it was this road immediately west of I-244. It starts out as an off ramp, but it becomes a two-lane frontage road where she was hit and continues for several miles. It's not labeled on google.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=tulsa,+ok&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&split=0&gl=us&ei=v0CdSv-MGI_kNd-WhIIC&ll=36.137485,-96.008137&spn=0.00383,0.006502&z=17&layer=c&cbll=36.137392,-96.00815&panoid=qtrDM-zpRYi3RuuBRn4VmA&cbp=12,201.5,,0,8.71 (http://maps.google.com/maps?q=tulsa,+ok&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&split=0&gl=us&ei=v0CdSv-MGI_kNd-WhIIC&ll=36.137485,-96.008137&spn=0.00383,0.006502&z=17&layer=c&cbll=36.137392,-96.00815&panoid=qtrDM-zpRYi3RuuBRn4VmA&cbp=12,201.5,,0,8.71)

The other stories I have read mentioned the BNR access road and Southwest Blvd. Sounds like the driver came whipping around the bend either without paying attention, or without stopping.

A lot of disinformation so far today, originally this was reported as a woman in her 70's and being on the off-ramp.  Sounds like it was on the south side of 17th St. which would definitely be the access road.  Still not clear to me why she would have been on that road, if she were heading out west, most cyclists take the 21st St. overpass, though I've seen some cut through the refinery streets and come out around Fliintco.

Not an expert, but looking at the photos it looks like she may have been west bound on 17th when the vehicle came down the off ramp. The front wheel of the bike is near the southwest corner of the intersection and the rest of the bike is south of there. The vehicle was then seen on SW Blvd. If they ran the stop sign coming down the ramp, which I have seen people do if they see that a train is crossing there. (Do they still have the blue rotating light on top of a utility pole to signify that there is a train crossing?) Heading south you only have two options, turn into the rail yard, or back out onto SW Blvd by Billy Rays.

It is tragic that people don't pay attention and thing like this happen.

She was 74.

This is the view from 17th looking south east, seems to be that she was on the frontage road on the south side of 17th, where you would go if you continued straight after getting off of 75.

(http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/custosnox/googlesnapshot.jpg)

It was kinda strange when I looked at an article from my "breaking news" email from channel 2, and the banner across the top said "Woman Sentenced for Hit & Run" and directly under that it said "Woman Killed in Hit & Run"

I've gotten confirmation from a cycling buddy that she was a regular on the Weds. night training rides and long time member of the Tulsa Bicycling Club so she was very experienced with a bike. 

They caught the guy. Good news.

http://www.newson6.com/global/story.asp?s=11025155

+1 for the Good Guys.

Roberto Alvelais-Torres,28, was arrested.  He is being held on charges of felony leaving the scene of a fatal accident. His SUV was found at 31st and Southwest Boulevard. He is an undocumented alien.

The comment section of the Tulsa World is going to go bonkers.

We need to urge the community to remain calm.

If OHP is working this wreck, then it must have happened on the off-ramp of Hwy 75.  Any other place in that area would be the responsibility of TPD.  The road that runs north/south between the expressway and the railroad, 17th to 31st, is considered Santa Fe, but you'll never find it labeled on a map.

Wilbur, I can't imagine her being on the off-ramp, no one with serious cycling experience would do that, the pics show the bike in the access road to the south and the photo of the bike appears that it was hit on the right side (note: I said "appears" I obviously was not there).  All I can think is she might have come under the overpass and was going to go south on the access road to avoid traffic on SWB as long as possible, and got hit as she was turning left to go on the access road or possibly cut through the refinery access roads (which sucks on a road bike because of all the tracks).

I guess we will know more in the coming days.  I don't know how you guys do this stuff every day, my hat is off to you.

I drive that access road along the railroad tracks regularly to bypass SW Blvd. Right now, they are working on the road (~31st, not sure exactly) that goes under 75 from the access road to SW Blvd. I have seen the workers there and many look to be of Hispanic descent. They said his vehicle was found at 31st & SW Blvd. Whaddya wanna bet he was one of those workers, exited at 17th and cruised straight across the intersection on his way to the work site.

So, IF that's the case (pure speculation), WHY is an undocumented alien working on a city street? Who was employing him?

It would depend on the work that's being done. Some times work is done on a contract basis and it is up to the contractor to verify if a person is legal to work. This has been an issue in Arizona for a long time. E-Verify is supposed to help solve this but it is still voluntary.

Now I thought that the new legislation that was passed made the person that hired the contractor would share responsiblity as well.  Or am I wishfull remembering here?

Ch6 News interviewed me about this crash earlier today.  Dan Bewley asked if there were any other cites we could emulate.  I mentioned that some European cities dropped their speed limit to 30kph - or about 18 mph - because it increased reaction time and gave motorists a better chance to avoid a cyclist or pedestrian, and if a crash occurred, there was less energy in the impact. 

That already produced one snippy reply.  There will undoubtedly be more.  Honestly, some of the comments are truly disgusting.  I skimmed them rather that read in detail.

I'm not sure but I think that is correct.

I can't imagine her on the off-ramp either.  That makes no sense for any bike rider, regardless of how much experience you have.  I'm simply going by who took jurisdiction.  Believe me, OHP would not have taken this wreck if it belonged to TPD. Yes, her bike ended up someplace other than the off-ramp when it came to rest after the initial impact.

I say we all need more info.  Report to follow.

It seems clear he ran the stop sign.  I would guess since the stop sign is at the end of the ramp, that OHP claimed jurisdiction.(?)

Wilbur I did see TPD's in some of the video and photos of the crash. 

We biked out from the Riverwest Festival parking lot out Avery drive and Hwy 51 last night and biked past the June crash scene on the way back in.  All the white crime scene paint is still on the roadway.  Very chilling.  And was so avoidable. 

 Fox 23 was in the parking lot interviewing cyclists when I got there last night. 

Tulsa World article this morning says the motorist was employed at Sinclair Refinery. Good goin' Sinclair.  >:(

Might have been a construction worker which would explain why it ostensibly took a long time to find the guy after they spotted his car.  They just said he was working there, not that he was an employee of Sinclair.

So many people seem to be calling for bike lanes, but I doubt bike lanes would've made any difference in this case or the double fatality a couple months ago.

The illegal failing to stop would've plowed into the cyclist in the bike lane instead of the traffic lane. The alleged drunk from a couple months back would've swerved into the bike lane and nailed the cyclists rather than the shoulder.

I'm all for bike lanes but I'm not sure how much safer they'd make urban cycling. Maybe it's more of the perception of safety.

Fact check.  Wait for the facts to come out.  He was not a Sinclair employee.  Not everyone working over there is an employee of the company; not every group that works over there is completely forthright about certain facts.  But way to take a cheap shot.  We need more people spouting off without the facts on the internet.

As for the bike lane, I'm not making an excuse, but it seems like there have been a lot of issues like this on Southwest Blvd in recent years.  And from personal experience, I've seen an unusual number of wrecks over there.  How about not riding your bike over there?

I'm not attempting to excuse the crime here at all.  I hope whoever did this gets what is coming to them.  Perhaps we should have streets where it is OK to ride bikes and others where it is not permitted.  Southwest Blvd seems to be a prime candidate for the latter category.

A major reason I could see for bike lanes is the reminder.  What I mean is when I'm in a city with the bike lanes and they are well marked and obvious, it reminds me to be cautious and more cognoscente of things around me like the riders.

It's like the "slow children at play" signs.  They remind me to slow down in the neighborhoods.  The lanes remind me it's not just automobiles on the streets.

Southwest Boulevard is never that busy when I'm on it. I see no reason why bikes shouldn't be allowed on it. Would it really be that big of an inconvenience if it was turned into a two-lane street with a center turn lane and bike lanes on both sides? Doing that to several of our barely-wide-enough-for-four-lane streets would go a long way toward making Tulsa more friendly to bikes and pedestrians.

Southwest Blvd parallels I-244, so there's no reason it should be a speedway. It should be a slow neighborhood street with a speed limit of 30mph. If people don't want to drive that slow, get on the interstate.

I don't care if you make bike lanes or not.  Cycling is always going to have some inherent danger so long as bikes share the road with 4000+ pound vehicles.  I understand the risk every time I hop on my road bike or motorcycle, or decide to go for a walk.  Hell, there's always the possibility I could drown while rowing.  Point is, accept there is risk with cycling and move on.  Bike lanes wouldn't really improve rider safety so much as motor vehicle safety because it keeps cars from having to swerve into oncoming traffic on a two-laner or into the next lane on a four-lane road.

I saw a little hostility toward bikes last night, one woman honked and shook her fist at my training partner and I as she drove past.  She had plenty of room, she was just being an donkey.

Another fact check:  this rider was not on SW Blvd.  If she had been on SW Blvd, she very likely would be alive today. 

From the evidence, Mr. Alvelais-Torres collided with Mrs. Duffield in the intersection of 1401 W. 17th St., 36.137571,-96.008148   

Mrs. Duffield entered the intersection, westbound., W. 17th, a small CoT collector.  Just minutes before the collision, Mrs. Duffield phoned her husband, to notify him of the start of her ride.

The SUV stuck the front wheel of the bicycle.  Both the rider and bike were thrown approximately 20 feet south, from point of impact, terminating 2 feet from a sign post on the west side of the roadway.

A ghost bike has been installed at the crash site. 

Sources:

http://www.myspace.com/tulsabikepalooza

http://www.ghostbike.org

http://www.rideofsilence.org

1974 Cross/Fisher Study of Bike/Motor Vehicle Crashes:  http://www.johnforester.com/Articles/Safety/Cross01.htm