Fairfield woman hit by bicycle in NYC's Central Park in critical condition

[LiberalElite]

http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Fairfield-woman-hit-by-bicycle-in-NYC-s-Central-5765942.php
-snip-
A Fairfield woman is in critical condition after she was hit by a bicycle in New York City's Central Park Thursday afternoon.

A spokeswoman from New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center confirmed Thursday evening that Jill Tarlov was at the hospital, but could not comment on her condition. Some New York media are reporting that she is brain dead and being kept alive by a ventilator.
-snip-

I'll probably get flamed for this, but flame away - it has been my experience that the majority of cyclists in NYC are reckless.

[Duckhunter935]

1. My experience

in many places is many bicyclists do not follow the law as if traffic laws do not apply to them. Not all by any measure think this way but a lot do. They do not signal, run red lights, do not yield the right of way when required.

[LiberalElite]

3. and my fave-

they don't follow the direction of traffic - they go the opposite way - whatever damn way they feel like. I cant' trust them. When I cross the street I'm constantly looking for bikes, not cars. You can't hear them coming.

[PoliticAverse]

2. NY Post article on the incident...

http://nypost.com/2014/09/18/cyclist-slams-into-pedestrian-in-central-park/

[LiberalElite]

4. They do definitely

have a sense of entitlement, especially the "athletic" ones in bike shorts. Central Park isn't the only part of NYC they treat as their personal training track, not by a long shot. Thanks for the link!

[BeyondGeography]

5. This dipshit needs to be prosecuted

He was in the wrong lane and he basically killed someone. He swerved instead of braked because his precious routine took precedence over someone else's health. If the city doesn't step up, I hope the victim's family puts him through legal and financial hell.

[Jim__]

6. Did his bike even have brakes?

From the story in The Post:

Fenton’s pal Tom Longman said Marshall was hunched over the brakeless, triathlon-style “aerobars” attached to the handlebars of his high-performance, yellow and black ride.

I know people who race bikes and their racing bikes - they ride them at the track - don't have brakes. Its' not clear to me from the story whether it was only his handlebars that did not have brakes or if the bike itself did not have brakes.

[BeyondGeography]

7. Not sure...there's a good discussion here from a cyclist's POV

http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/2014/09/sorry-we-have-important-things-to.html

Seems Marshall was timing himself in the park and posting his results online, including the day of the accident, which he called, "unavoidable," even though he reportedly shouted, "get out of the way" twice before running into the victim. This after swerving from the bike lane into a traffic lane to avoid other pedestrians at 4 pm on a sunny day. One has the impression that he would do anything to keep his sacred times intact.

My own view hasn't changed; I hope for a wrongful death suit if there is no prosecution. If there is no penalty here there is no deterrent. This bullshit needs to be called out.