Driver attempts to kill Bradley Beach Bicyclist in hit & run

News 12 New Jersey is reporting that the driver of a black four door Mercedes tried to kill a bicyclist on Ocean Park Avenue late in the evening of July 4th.  Tom Bowker was riding his bike when he observed the Mercedes driving at excessive speed and yelled at the driver to slow down.  


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The driver then put his vehicle in reverse and struck Bowker.  After striking Bowker the first time, the driver of the Mercedes then put his vehicle into drive and struck Bowker again head-on, as Bowker was trying to get up and get out of the roadway. 

This time Bowker was thrown onto the hood and windshield of the Mercedes and dragged for more than a block and a half.  All the while Bowker and the female passenger in the Mercedes were yelling at the driver, "Stop!  Your going to kill him!"  Bowker said that while he was hanging onto the car the driver was smiling, seeming to enjoy horror he was inflicting on Bowker.

Bowker was lucky and escaped the assault with relatively minor injuries in the form of cuts and bruises on his feet and legs.

If anyone has any information regarding this incident that are encouraged to contact Bradley Beach Police at 732-775-6900. 

The suspect is described as a:

• White male
• In his late 20s
• Thin build 
• Thin beard with short dark jelled hair

Driver 3X over Legal Limit Gets 7 Years for Killing Cecilia Harrop

The below post originally appeared in the Greater Philadelphia Bicycle News and is reproduced here with permission.  

According to the Courier Post, 40 year-old Daniel Stocklin pled guilty to vehicular homicide and was sentenced to 7 years a jail for killing tricyclist Cecilia Harrop, 39, in Brooklawn on July 7, 2010 (reported here). Stocklin’s blood-alcohol level was .246 at the time of the crash (the legal limit in NJ is .08.) The article notes that Stocklin was pulled over nearly a quarter mile away - technically a hit and run. The Judge has also suspended his license until 2020. Stocklin was also convicted of DUI in 1994.


View Bicyclists Crashes 2007-2010 in a larger map

• Four days after Ms. Harrop's death, 39 Year Old Manuel Albandoz was allegedly drunk, unlicensed, and driving a black Ford Taurus that did not belong to him when he fatally struck Celina Langan in the bike lane at Torresdale and Adams Avenues in East Frankford. This blog post suggest that Vehicular Homicide by DUI charges were dropped and bail was reduced. His attorney's quote was particularly disturbing.
• On September 14, 2010, 44 year old Thomas McCoy was killed by a drunk driver on Route 47 in Deptford, NJ. On February 6th, Mary Dalton pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and must serve out 85% of her sentence in jail. Sentencing is scheduled for March 16th and she could face up to 10 years in jail.
• Paul Jones, the man who struck and killed Randall Bratu on Baltimore Pike in Upper Darby on December 30th 2010, pled guilty and was sentenced for 3 to 6 years in prison plus 3 years probation and $15,000 in restitution. Last month, the Bicycle Coalition sent a letter to the court in asking for sentence stronger than the 3 year minimum for the offender.

UPDATE - Driver Arrested! Bicyclist killed in 2nd Hit & Run on a bicyclist in two days

The Star Ledger reported on Thursday that the drive involved in this hit and run was arrested after police came to his home.  "Tips from the public led authorities to Sean Gieda’s home on Holman Court, in Bridgewater where they found a vehicle that had damage near the front passenger side headlight and a plastic garbage bag taped to the passenger side of the windshield."  We extend our condolences to the family of Ramiro Navarro who was the cyclist killed in this crash.


The Star Ledger reported on Tuesday August 16th of a second hit and run on a bicyclists in a mater of two days.  Even more unfortunate, this crash was fatal, happening on East Main Street in Bridgewater, NJ near the Somerset County Maintenance Garage between 2am and 6am on Tuesday morning.


Approximate location of the fatal hit & run on East Main Street in Bridgewater.  View Larger Map

Like the hit and run crash that happened on NJ Route 27 on Monday, East Main Street in Bridgewater (between Somerville and Bound Brook) is also a four lane road with somewhat narrow lanes, no shoulders and a 45mph speed limit. However having ridden on East Main Street many times to commute to work, I can say that the asphalt is in much better condition than Rt 27. Also, East Main Street doesn't carry the traffic volume of Rt 27 and it is questionable whether the road warrants four lanes versus two lanes with shoulders and maybe a center turn lane (aka a road diet).

As a cyclist with many thousands of miles and several decades of experience, and a League Cycling Instructor, the one roadway scenario that really sends a shiver down my spine is riding on four lane arterial roadways with no shoulders and high speed limits.  Despite my training, experience and current good fitness, I feel exceptionally exposed while riding on roads like this and do everything I can to avoid them but sometimes you simply have no choice.  Since most four lames roads like this could be reduced to three (2 travels lanes and a center turn lane) along with shoulders or, better yet, bike lanes without reducing the roadway's ability to handle an equal amount of traffic volume, is it possible that these two victims could have been saved their tragic fates?

Could a Missing Sidewalk have Prevented a Tragedy?

According to NJ.com A man walking from work in Sicklerville, Winslow Township early Friday morning was a victim of a hit and run. Vance Banks, 27, was walking home from work along Sicklerville Road in Winslow Township just after 1 a.m.and was found in the parking area of Clark Associates along the 500 block of Sicklerville Rd. Bank is in critical but stable condition at Cooper Memorial Hospital.

The victim was struck by an outlaw motorist driving a 2003 to 2007 two-door red Honda Accord, which was traveling north on Sicklerville Road. The car should have right front damage and will be missing the rearview mirror from the passenger side, said police. Anyone with information about the hit-and-run should call police at 609-561-3300


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The map above shows the location of crash. Note that the adjoining cul de sac has sidewalks while there are no sidewalks on Sicklerville Road. It makes us wonder if the proffers that require sidewalks (which we wholeheartedly support) should be reworked in these situations. Could a cul de sac developer be directed to build 1000 feet of sidewalk on the adjoining main road instead of the 1000 feet in front of their lots?

We wish the Mr. Banks a speedy recovery and that the perpetrator in this case is found and convicted. We also hope that this is a wake up call for Winslow Township and Gloucester County to develop a comprehensive plan to complete a safe network of sidewalks so that other hard working people walking to and from work do not have wonder whether they are going to make it home alive.

Jersey City Hit-&-Run Driver Caught on Video!

NJ.com has traffic cam video of a hit-&-run driver running a red light and hitting a pedestrian crossing at a crosswalk with the walk signal.

Hit-run driver injures Jersey City man

The crash happens right at 1 min into the video, at the bottom of the screen. The pedestrian is wearing dark clothing. However this crash happened at 1:30 in the afternoon on Saturday, June 13th. If you look closely the man starts to cross about 1/2 second after he gets the "Walk" signal. All of a sudden this black pickup truck slams into the poor fellow. The crash happened at the corner of Marin Blvd and 6th Street in Jersey City. Another newspaper reports that the police estimating the driver's speed at 35 to 40 mph in a 25 zone.

The victim is 51-year-old Ricardo Torres who was listed in critical condition at Jersey City Medical Center according to the AP report.

The Hudson County Prosecutor should throw the book at this guy!

Oh yeah. One more very important thing. This is a good (bad) example of roadway design standards originally developed for freeways causing havoc on city streets with a large number of pedestrians. A quick look at the Google Maps shows a large residential neighborhood just to the west of this intersection with the Newport Center Mall and the waterfront just to the east. The video itself shows the constant pedestrian traffic at this site. So with engineering designs that allow drivers to greatly exceed the speed limit is it no surprise that drivers do?


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The Record asks, "Why was driver let go on bail?"

That's a very good question. Better yet why was the driver allowed to post only a 10% option on bail set at only $20,000? 2,000 bucks is pretty cheap price to pay to sleep in your own bed at night after killing a woman, injuring 5 others all of whom were simply standing on the sidewalk. To top it off, the driver is this incident was driving on a suspended license! All that and she still got of jail for only $2,000.

That said the driver in this case is still facing some pretty steep charges. Whether they stick is a whole other question. At least the media and people are asking the right questions.

For more about this please read "Why was driver let go on bail?" from The Record of Monday, November 10, 2008 and "Fatal hit-and-run began with a fight" from Saturday's Record.