A county prosecutor declined to file charges against a woman who accidentally drove her van into two German cyclists on Route 66 near Galena, Kansas, killing them.
On May 8, Heinz Gerd Buchel, 71, and Harry Jung, 74, of Germany were riding their bicycles west in the right lane of Kansas Highway 66 about two miles west of Galena. They were embarking on a two-month, 2,400-mile excursion on Route 66.
Alyssa Parker, 23, of Shawnee, Kansas, also westbound on Kansas 66 in her van, crashed into the cyclists from behind about 11 a.m. that day, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol. She was not injured. Buchel and Jung were pronounced dead at the scene.
On Monday, Cherokee County prosecutor Jacob Conard stated in a letter to state troopers “there is insufficient evidence to support criminal charges” against Parker. He wrote:
Having reviewed the reports prepared in the course of this investigation, I conclude there is insufficient evidence to support criminal charges. The Kansas Highway Patrol conducted a thorough investigation of this incident, interviewing five eye witnesses to the collision, conducting a forensic analysis of the scene, and retrieving the automobile crash recorder module from the vehicle.The investigation provides no reason to believe Ms. Parker was under the influence of drugs or alcohol or was otherwise operating the vehicle in a reckless or dangerous manner.
It should be noted, as County Attorney my review of this case and opinion expressed in this correspondence is strictly limited to criminal proceedings. I offer no opinion as to whether Ms. Parker’s conduct would constitute negligence for the purposes of a civil proceeding, in which the burden of proof is substantially reduced. As such, I request the Kansas Highway Patrol retain all reports and records of this incident in the event the families of the decedents choose to pursue civil remedies.
KOAM-TV provided the full text of the letter with its report. Parker’s name appeared to be redacted on the letter, but copying the text by computer reveals her name. No other news outlet — including the Wichita Eagle and the Joplin Globe — concealed the driver’s identity.
Police said the cyclists were following the law when they were hit, authorities have said.
Several residents who drove by the accident or were familiar with that stretch of road noted the crash occurred near the crest of a hill — bringing up the possibility the driver didn’t see the cyclists until the last moment.
Days after the accident, Galena residents erected on Route 66 a white-painted “ghost bike” in memory of the dead cyclists. Relatives of the victims visited the accident scene and the ghost bike weeks later.
(Image of “Ghost Bike” in Galena, Kansas, by Renee Charles via Facebook)
“Police said the cyclists were following the law when they were hit, authorities have said.” So why did the car hit the cyclists – and at what speed? One criterion of driving is drive so that you can stop within the distance you can see to be clear of any obstruction. If you are approaching a crest and you cannot see beyond the crest, then drive so that you can stop at the crest. How was it the driver did not see the cyclists to stop in time, or steer to avoid them? On the basis of the information here, anyone who is sober, not under the influence of illegal drugs and driving within the speed limit – and whose vehicle hits a person or other vehicle, even ones that are “following the law when hit” – appears to be not guilty of any offence, even if that driver was driving too fast to stop on sighting those others “following the law”. Exactly what laws was the van driver following not to see the cyclists? What laws allow a driver to kill law-abiding road users and not be guilty of causing death by careless or dangerous driving? If it had been two members of the Kansas state legislature – or Mr and Mrs Trump – I suspect the police would have come to a different conclusion.
USA road deaths per 100,000 inhabitants: 10.6; Germany: 4.3. USA road deaths per 100,000 vehicles: 12.9; Germany: 6.8 – all in 2013. Was there not concern recently about the number of visitors there are to Route 66.? If this is how foreign road traffic victims are treated, is there a connection?