April 18 2012
San Francisco Cyclist’s Controversial Online Post
Tagged Under : Bicycle accident, California, Car insurance, helmet, pedestrian, personal injury attorney, San Frasnciso cyclist, wrongful death
At a busy San Francisco Intersection of Market and Castro streets before 8 a.m. March 29, 2012, a 71-year old pedestrian, Sutchi Hui, of San Bruno was hit by a cyclist. Both the cyclist and Hui were hospitalized after the accident. The cyclist was released with minor injuries. However, Hui remained hospitalized and passed away on Monday, four days after the accident.
The evening of the accident, a comment was posted on the Mission Cycling Club Forum. Chris Bucchere identified himself as the cyclist responsible for the crash. The message was detailed describing his early morning ride from San Francisco to the Main headlands and back. Part of the message reads:
“The light turned yellow as I was approaching the intersection, but I was already way too committed to stop. The light turned red as I was cruising through the middle of the intersection and then, almost instantly, the southern crosswalk on Market and Castro filled up with people coming from both directions…I couldn’t see a line through the crowd and I couldn’t stop, so I laid it down and just plowed through the crowded crosswalk in the least-populated place I could find.”
“I remember seeing a RIVER of blood on the asphalt, but it wasn’t mine. I really hope he ends up OK.”
Readers of the blog forum commented on the alleged actions of Bucchere. People have different reactions on the reckless riding of Bucchere. The post was ended like this, “In closing, I want to dedicate this story to my late helmet. She died in heroic fashion today as my head slammed into the tarmac… The moral of this little story is: WYFH.” Commenters expressed their reactions in this troubling statement.
The case is still under investigation and I do hope that the responsible person of the bicycle accident must be held accountable. Bicycling can be fun and is a popular way to get around San Francisco, however, every rider must take into consideration his safety and most especially the safety of pedestrian. In most incidents, bicyclists are not at fault, but from what I see this case may be different. In Kentucky, Hai’s estate would be able to file a wrongful death action against Bucchere and collect damages from Bucchere’s car insurance policy under motorist circumstances. The estate would also be able to make a claim under Hui’s car insurance policy. I would strongly suggest that the families contact the best California personal injury attorney they can find.



