Oh I am so very sorry to hear this. I saw a very close near miss on Wednesday-a man was on his bike with one of those child trailers behind him. He was stopped at the curb awaiting the light. The street he was going to cross is a one way, so at that intersection there are 2 right turn lanes.

When the light changed, he entered the crosswalk, the first car in the closest RT lane stopped, but a woman in the car in the next lane started going and DID NOT STOP! I screamed as I saw her heading toward him-at first I didn't notice the trailer then I saw him swerve and noticed the small child in the trailer (helmeted, thank God) go flying from one side to the other. That woman literally missed hitting the child by less than a foot.

Had that bicyclist not swerved when he did, that child would have been under her car. I was so shook up I could barely drive. I saw the bicyclist yelling at her, and she pulled over-there had been no impact, but I'm sure she was very shook up, too.

Every single day we hear of a bicyclist injured or killed-and it breaks my heart. I am always cognizant of bikers-I've always practiced the rule of treating them as another car-give them the space. I wish others were more careful. Hugs to you, that is very sad news indeed.

Fourkids,
I am so sorry to read this tragic story. I hope your community and her family can heal before too long.

Oh, Fourkids -- I'm so sorry! I read about the woman's death in the paper. So upsetting that, as things appear now, the driver just wanted to save a little time, and this was the result. The photos of the victim show a beautiful family, and so many lives she touched -- esp. young people -- so many people have been emotionally hurt by this crazy thing.

This kind of event can only remind us of the fragility of physical life. Our emotional ties to others are the truly strong parts of our existence. It's a very hard lesson for the youngest who are affected by your friend's death. I'm really sorry.

So sorry to hear this tragic news.

I don't know what it is these days, but it seems every time I go out, I see at least 2 or 3 near misses. Just the other day I was out and it wasn't a near miss but a hit. Fortunately no one was hurt. But it was clearly a result of both parties rushing to get to where they wanted to go and not exercising appropriate caution.

I always remember a story about a mother who was teaching her daughter to drive and got a little fuzzy animal and stuck it to the dashboard. The animal was named ICKY ...Impatience Can Kill You... and unfortunately, it can kill others too.

Take the time to grieve and to appreciate your own loved ones...just because she wasn't close family doesn't mean she wasn't connected to you.

Tragic news. It reminds me of a similar story of a local bicyclist, killed by a woman who was texting and driving. He organized a huge local bicycle race that Lance Heron participated in. He was a local celebrity too.

I'm sending healing thoughts to you and your community. I'm sorry to hear this.

I too live in a very active area with lots of runners and bikers. I give them both lots of room and being a runner myself am always aware of them. If I have to slow down before coming to an area where I can safely pass them, I will and if I have to hold up traffic to do it - so be it.

I feel so bad for the woman's family. She was still so young with so many more miles to go on her bike.

So sorry for your loss. Will pray for the family.

I told hubby the other day when we get our truck camper I am painting across the back "Impatience Kills" we have seen so many close calls and heard of so many tragic stories where impatient people cause death then try and blame it on the road because it doesn't have a passing lane. Makes me wanna smack someone upside the head.

DH and I just got back from our 22 mile round trip on our bikes to the gym. I am sorry to say we had 2 close calls within a mile of our house as we set out. One was an impatient woman who passed us on the left by moving into the oncoming lanes since she didn't want to wait for us to make the left that we had already signaled we were making ! so she just pulled over clear into the opposite roadway and speeded up and pulled ahead and then swerved back in front of us...idiot...we then made our safe and previously signaled left turn.

I am so sorry for the loss of this innocent woman. It is unconscionable that this happened. My thoughts are with you and your family and her family. I hope that this terrible tragedy wakes up your community. c

I tried to Google the accident you reference. Unfortunately there are SO many recent accidents that I don't see the one your acquaintance was involved in . Sad state of affairs. c

Trail, here is a link to one of the stories in our local paper:

http://www.capitalgazette.com/news/for_the_record/annapolis-high-assistant-coach-killed-after-bicycle-van-collide-in/article_1ed13db7-635d-513c-b0cc-1a55379c6633.html

This is the second fatality recently here that involved someone on a bike. The other was a well-loved teacher who collided with a dump truck, but in that accident, it appeared to be the rider and not the driver who was in error.

I have always been careful about passing bikers and have to do so several times a day - we live on a popular route for bikers even though a 2 mile portion of the road is very narrow w/no shoulders and has a couple of blind curves. I have a large SUV, so I'm a little nervous when the lane is narrow - I always wait until there isn't any oncoming traffic so I can make sure to give a wide berth. My husband bikes, and I'm always a little nervous when he goes out, especially since he has to ride that portion just to get off our peninsula.

One day I was driving to school to pick up my kids when a guy on a bike (no helmet!) turned into a neighborhood at the same time as a pickup truck. Somehow, The truck never even saw him but just barely clipped him (and maybe didn't even clip him) but it through the biker off balance and he ended up falling from his bike. I witnessed the entire thing I was just behind them before they both turned, so I stopped. The driver heard the biker yelling so he stopped too and claimed he never saw him. Thankfully the biker was okay, despite no helmet, but he was pretty shaken up, as was I just from witnessing it!

Trail, with all your biking, I keep you in my thoughts and prayers for safe travels. This friend was only a couple of miles from her house when this happened. She probably hadn't been on her bike more than 10-15 minutes.

I am so, so sorry to hear of this loss. So many lives changed forever.

My son is a biking enthusiast and makes a 25 mile round trip ride every day. Fortunately it is on trails most of the way. Unfortunately the part that is not on trails is very busy.

I am very aware of and courteous to bikers and runners, but I also have to add that they are not always courteous in return. Too many act as if the rest of us should be giving way to them, and that is not always possible. What irks me is when I can't pass a biker and therefore have to drive at 5 mph until we reach a spot where it is safe to pass. In that case, the biker needs to pull over and let traffic pass.

Let's all truly learn to share the roads.

Very sad. My thoughts go out to the family and friends of this woman.

How sad. Just yesterday I was in front of an impatient driver who was honking at me as I waited for a cyclist to move further into the bike lane before I passed him. I cannot imagine the horror of hitting someone with a motor vehicle.

Awful. Avoidable. Sorry for your community's loss. Hopefully this brings awareness to drivers.

Our city is in the midst of connecting/ building a 100 mile greenway loop for bicyclists (some of which will be bike lanes inshared roadways) as well as a 75+ mile trail connecting mt. biking and cyclocross trails. Trust me these can not come soon enough! Most drivers in this city do not respect cyclists or give us the necessary space. I have had numerous close calls. While we were dating, My husband was involved in a collision where someone sideswiped him and left him for dead! Thankfully he only broke his collarbone and cracked two ribs and had bruises etc. But the jerk driver didn't stop and just kept going. He/she was never caught. I often wonder if they even tried to follow up to see if they killed a person that day!

In my hometown the former miss america of 2000 or some year give or take a two who married the lt. Governor actually killed a cyclist. Her interviews after the fact horrified me. The guilt she lives with daily... I cant imagine. The incident enraged the cycling community as many thought the police report was written with an anti cyclist bias and "celebrity" leniency. Still the cyclist had some blame as she wasn't wearing a helmet...

We need to all be more aware. I love the "icky" reminder!

What a tragedy. So many motorists have a weird us vs. them attitude towards cyclists. DH regularly cycles 30 to 40 miles at a time and witnesses stupid behavior every time.

Oh how sad. My DH used to bike there all the time and he always loved riding on Riva Road.

My condolences to you and her family and other friends. It is just heartbreaking.

So sad. Seemingly senseless deaths like this are very difficult to deal with and I empathize with the loss you and your community face.

When I see cyclists riding on the side of a narrow road I slow down as I am never sure what they are going to do, especially when they are children, and I want to be prepared.

DH once had a child walk into the right front/side of his vehicle. Fortunately it was winter with snow on the road so DH was going very slowly but I guess the child didn't hear the car with a parka on. No damage but that's has stayed with me for decades. One never knows what can happen with others on the road.

I too am very sorry for your tragic loss, my heart goes out to her husband, children and the many people who are now grieving.

Our road is not the safest as it has quite a bit of traffic combined with curves and hills. Cars speed through and there is little room for the walkers, bikers and so on. The township wants to put a safety path along the front of four properties, ours included. At first we were against it even though our lot would be upgraded. Not only do we have concerns about privacy and the like, but due to strict path ordinances it will also encumber a good chunk of our land. Still after hearing from a speaker who uses the paths regularly during a township meeting, my husband and I agreed to allow for the easements. Regardless of our personal issues with it, in the big picture it was just the right thing to do. Sadly, your post just confirms that. I hope that your friends death will be the straw that encourages your community to build safety paths on the roads needing them. It would be a positive way to honor your friend.

I am sorry for your loss, fourkids. I will keep everyone in my thoughts and prayers.

Sudden unexpected deaths are very hard to overcome. My heart goes out to her family, friends and students.

This is so sad. I sit on a committee in the city where I work to improve walkability and bikeability, so it really hits home. On rural roads it is hard for so many reasons, and I don't think having another person with her would have likely made any difference other than two people might have been dead.

Every June we participate in the Ride of Silence, a 10-mile ride to honor those injured or killed while biking.

I appreciate all of your words of comfort. Today I ran a local 10-Mile race that typically, Trish and her 14 y/o daughter would finish first in their age groups. It was emotional at the beginning as they had a moment of silence for Trish - she was very active in the running group that puts together this race. I had heard that Trish and her daughter had not planned to run this year, but I had a feeling her daughter would show up and she did. I got choked up when she passed me by with her dad and brother. They didn't run fast this year, instead staying together (and still way faster than me!), but it was a wonderful tribute to their mom that on the day of her viewing, they were out there running in honor of her.

Poor dh is still upset. He had planned to go for a ride yesterday morning but said he just couldn't get on his bike yet. He's had a couple of close calls recently and this just really freaked him out. He was already hit on his bike once by a car when he was a teenager by a drunk driver, thankfully escaping serious injury, but this shook him up much moreso.

I just read about a bike accident in the local paper online, and came back here to read all of the posts and found out that it was the same accident. I am so sorry for your loss.

We just moved from a house in a rural area with hilly roads with a ton of runners and cyclists. Every morning when taking my DS to school the sun was in my eyes for a couple of seconds and you COULD NOT see if someone was coming over the hill or not. It scared me every morning. I called the city to see if they could put a sign in that specific spot saying "something" to alert the runners/cyclists, and they said the runners and cyclists are aware of the dangers. I just wasn't sure they were aware the drivers could not see them for those couple of seconds and something terrible happen. I see how it could be very easy for accidents to happen in these situations.