Hit and run

The big story on the local e-mail list here has been the death of a cyclist in a hit and run last weekend. I've been getting most of the information on this one in a relatively second-hand fashion as I was moving house last weekend. Most of the media coverage seems to have honed in on the emotional side of things, without detailing much about the facts, however, it would appear as though the cyclist was hit from behind at 5.30 am on Bermuda Street (a Gold Coast arterial with a huge shoulder), and that the driver basically left him to die in the gutter. My understanding (again, based on largely second hand information) is that the cyclist probably would have survived the collision had the driver stopped for long enough to at least call an ambulance (he apparently died on the way to the hospital after another passer by called an ambulance some indeterminate period of time later). The saddest part about this is that after 11 years in this city, I don't find this to be at all surprising.

There are a couple of things the media haven't told us, perhaps the most notable given the time of day would be whether or not the cyclist in question was using lights in the conditions. While it doesn't excuse the actions of the driver in this situation one bit, it might provide some insight into how this collision occurred. Conversely, nobody seems to be asking why the driver felt the need to be using the shoulder of such a road (assuming that's where the collision took place), given that the traffic would have been relatively light at that time of morning. In fact, given the high number of these incidents that take place on quiet roads/at quiet times when there are few (if any) witnesses available, one should also question the liberal use of the word "accident" in the media reports.

It will be interesting to see what sort of charge the legal system comes up with for the driver in this incident. Leaving aside the cause of the original collision for a moment, the question of why he left someone to literally die in the gutter is one that needs to be asked. Given the circumstances and the illegality of "leaving the scene of an accident", and also considering that running away is not something someone does by "accident", I should think the charge would merit Manslaughter at the very least, and even possibly Murder. The cynic in me, who has watched a number of previous cases of this kind unfold, suggests that perhaps the most likely outcome will be a slap-on-the-wrist fine, and an order to undergo "counseling" usually consisting of being told "you must feel terrible about it, you poor thing." A slap-on-the-wrist for the driver will be a slap-in-the-face for justice.