That's awful.

I think I remember that highway and while reading your description above I was wondering the same thing as you.

Then I read the article...

"The driver of the 2006 Chevrolet pickup... was distracted and talking on his cell phone and did not see Newton, authorities said Tuesday night."

I was in total shock last night when my 15 year old daughter got home to tell me that she had come upon Mr. Newton after the accident.
She was with a mother and three other girls on their way to Midland for a soccer tournament when they saw the bicyclist on the side of the service road.
The driver was there by his truck and one other man who was kneeling down by Mr. Newton. My daughter and the mother got out of the car and also kneeled next to Mr. Newton. My daughter asked him his name and thought he did try to lift his head to respond. She knew he was very hurt. My daughter and the mother held their hands on his back praying for him to be o.k. until the ambulance arrived. Needless to say we listened to the news at ten pm to learn that he died from his injuries. It will be a long while before my daughter will be able to get over this. Luckily, she has strong faith and knows that Mr. Newton is in a better place. We are all praying for his family.

Jim, this incident is even sadder than it would otherwise be because it was so avoidable.

Patty, I can't imagine what your daughter is going through. I know your prayers are appreciated. We need to pray for the driver as well, as living with something like this must be a horrible feeling.

We should push for dedicated bike lanes to be painted on the 191 access roads. With the lack of traffic and ample space, it should be feasible. Regardless if the driver was paying attention or not, at least he or she would not be traveling in the same lane as the biker. The 191 access roads are perfect for cycling and something needs to be done to prevent these tragedies.

He is a member of our church and I think the service will be tomorrow in the AM.

Ryne, I'm skeptical that painted lines would prevent a tragedy like this. If someone's fiddling with a cell phone or GPS or cup of coffee, they can easily drift across a full lane of traffic before they realize it.

Separating a bike lane with those rumble grooves might be a more effective solution, but they may be a potential hazard to the cyclist.

I've never been a fan of bike lanes, unless they're completely physically separated from the street or highway. Bike lanes that are simply adjacent to the roadway reinforce the misguided notion that cyclists don't belong on the street, and don't have the same rights as other vehicles.

OTOH, I'm not willing to die in order to exercise those rights.

Phyllis, I just learned that tonight (about the church membership). I didn't know the man.

Our membership has suffered some tremendous tragedies lately.

The services for John Newton will be at 11:oo am at the Church mentioned above. I was a colleague of Mr. Newton from Colorado and would like to send my thoughts and prayers to John's family in their time of need. He will be sadly missed.

That church is First Baptist of Midland. Thanks for sharing, Jason.

I used to ride that stretch quite often as well and do not recall even being bounce passed even one time. After finding this account I am surprised to not see any thoughts on this inattentive driver killing someone yet not being cited for reckless driving or more so manslaughter. Cyclists have a lawful right to the road as much as automobile, truck, and motorcycle operators. Yet when a cyclist is injured or killed it always seems it is chalked up to their own tough luck. This is a darn shame. My prayers go out to this man's family and friends for strength and comfort and the rest of us for some understanding as to how this can happen.

Scott, I haven't heard anyone place the slightest bit of blame on the cyclist. I think we all want to see justice served, and just because nothing was reported in the newspaper article about charges, that doesn't mean that they're not pending. In any event, I defer to the victim's family in this aspect of the situation.

One of the debates in urban areas about cycling is whether or not it's safer to ride with traffic or against the traffic flow, where the cyclist has a chance to see what's coming towards them and take evasive action. With traffic on the 191 side roads often exceeding the posted 55 mph speed limit, I don't know if cycling westbound on the shoulder of the eastbound lanes or vice-versa would make a difference in reaction time, especially if you're dealing with a driver too preoccupied on there cell phone to notice what's in front of them.

John, I haven't read or heard of any authoritative cycling authority who advocates riding against traffic. There's no proof that would solve the problem, and it just confuses the issue of whether cyclists have the same rights and responsibilities as other vehicles.

But, just cars are supposed to be equipped with rear-view mirrors, I've always contended that cyclists who ride without one are giving up one of the biggest safety measures there is. I'll ride without a helmet before I'll ride without my glasses-mounted mirror.

(And don't get me started on cyclists who ride with iPods.)

The norm in cyclist involved accidents is to blame the cyclist. For your perusal:
http://www.velonews.com/article/74470/legally-speaking-with-bob-mionske---blaming-the-victim

I'm sorry; I misunderstood you. I thought you were speaking about the local incident, not cycling accidents in general.

The question of cycling with/against traffic was mainly a debate involving urban streets, where the cyclists often were traveling faster than the cars in big city downtown/midtown areas, and with traffic lights at almost all intersections. But this was back when the first bike lanes were being set up in the 1970s. Once you get traffic flowing at a higher consistent speed, I would think whatever advantages a cyclist would have by seeing the problem coming at them would be lost by the speed of what's coming at them.