South Tahoe cyclist seriously hurt by alleged drunken driver
Adam Rose, 38, of South Lake Tahoe as of Wednesday afternoon was in the intensive care unit at Renown Medical Center in Reno fighting for his life after being struck by a hit-and-run driver the day before.
The suspect, 54-year-old Christine Whalen of South Lake Tahoe, was later apprehended. She was booked into El Dorado County jail on charges of suspicion of felony driving while under the influence, felony hit and run, misdemeanor hit and run, misdemeanor evading police officers, and misdemeanor obstructing, delaying or resisting arrest.
The incident occurred Aug. 21 at 5pm on Highway 89 near 12th Street. Rose was on his bike headed north and Whalen in her Subaru headed the same way. According to police officers, Whalen swerved to the right and struck Rose.
A witness called 911 and followed Whalen’s vehicle.
Whalen reportedly hit several tree stumps near Tahoe Island Drive and Tahoe Vista Avenue. The vehicle finally stopped when it struck the Bi-State Petroleum building on James Avenue.
The suspect tried to run, but Officer Donna Kingman was able to chase her down.
The investigation is continuing and anyone with information is encouraged to call the South Lake Tahoe Police Department, at (530) 542.6100.
— Lake Tahoe News staff report
Good job by witness
I add… THANK YOU to the concerned citizen who followed. You are the best.
Good job Donna Kingman. An awesome veteran officer!
https://www.laketahoenews.net/2012/08/accident-ends-with-1-arrest-1-person-in-hospital/
https://www.laketahoenews.net/2012/07/opinion-cycling-community-lacks-strong-culture-of-safety/
https://www.laketahoenews.net/2012/07/cyclist-seriously-hurt-trying-to-evade-being-hit-by-vehicle/
https://www.laketahoenews.net/2012/07/truckee-man-identified-as-cyclist-who-died/
https://www.laketahoenews.net/2012/06/19-year-old-cyclist-hit-by-pickup-in-south-lake-tahoe/
WOW!
See a pattern?
Tahoe = Not safe for bikes!
Maybe if our city cared to provide more bike paths? (or any form of sidewalk from ski run to Hwy 50 along Pioneer).
Check twice for bike sinage?
Hoping for the best, Preparing not to be a statistic.
Good Luck Adam and all the rest! This shouldn’t be such a common topic!!
Its all about safe bike paths and many of the ‘serious’ bikers still will want to use
the highways so how can anyone win? Tahoe is known for drunk drivers (even locals) as the altitude and vacation time leads to drinking of course. So its you against a metal vehicle and YOU can’t win! So mountain bike or use whatever bike path or dirt path is available, sorry to say.
I am Adam’s mom. Our family would like to thank all who got involved and helped our son, from the man who stopped cars so they wouldn’t hit Adam, to the off-duty firefighter who happened to be driving by and held Adam’s head until first responders arrived, to the witnesses who passed along their phone numbers in case they were needed to give a statement, to the woman who followed the driver and allowed the police officer to apprehend her, to the first responders who helped Adam and the air flight personnel who flew him to Renown, to the surgeons, nurses,and all the wonderful caregivers at Renown. Adam faces a long, long road ahead, but he has remained positive. I have been humbled by his strength, faith and grace during this incredibly difficult time.
It’s a very sad situation for Adam and his family and I hope he recovers soon and completely. Drunks should not be driving. And bartenders really do need to ask those they serve who is driving them home. In Europe, a group is routinely asked to name the driver and that person is not served alcohol. It may be nannying but it saves lives and is worth it.
We love you Uncle A! Sending you healing vibes. There are a ton of issues being discussed here. We’d like to pile one on… the raising of the speed limits on Rt 50 through town is ridiculous! What a great way NOT to encourage the walking / biking community that Tahoe certainly is.
MnT
I too wish to extend my best wishes to Adam and his family for his recovery from this horrendus act. As a fellow cyclist who was recently struck and injured by an auto while riding in a bike lane, I can only echo some of the comments above.
Safety for even the most responsible of cyclists is sketchy in a resort environment that was and is designed primarily for motor vehicle travel. Bicycling infrastructure like paths, lanes and signage have been an afterthought at best and basically ignored at worst. Recent additions of bike lanes are off-set by raised speed limits and cannot prevent the type of accidents caused by drunk or inattentive drivers. New and planned multi-use paths are a wonderful and sorely needed addition to our outdoor sports and fitness oriented lifestyle / economy but don’t address the needs of the bicycle commuters and serious distance riders.
Part of the problem is a lack of enforcement against bad driving and bicycling behavior. We simply don’t have enough police willing issue citations to all the drivers and cyclists I routinely see blatently ignoring basic traffic laws. Until and unless we make a commitment to improve ALL aspects of our transit system and provide user-friendly alternatives to the same old traffic strangle, SLT will, I’m sad to say, remain a dangerous place to ride a bike on public roadways.
We agree there is a lack of enforcement. On Sept. 1 at about 4:30pm, two cyclists were trying to turn left from Tahoe Keys Boulevard onto Highway 50. A South Lake Tahoe police officer in an SUV pulled alongside them to turn as well — instead of behind them. Then, before the light turned, the cyclists decided to cross Keys and ride the wrong way down the highway. The officer first encroached on the riders’ space — the cyclists were in the right lane to turn left, which is legal; and then the officer did not bother to stop the cyclists as they rode illegally.
Kathryn Reed, LTN publisher
I have a feeling that if SLT PD focused on enforcing traffic rules on bicyclists they would be overwhelmed and unable to deal with more pressing and higher priority crimes. That being said, citing cyclists that are at fault in in actual accidents would be a fair compromise.
Be truthful,a 3000 to 6000 pound car,pickup, has the advantage,why people on bikes feel like they are superman beyond me.
Ride, use your head for something besides getting it slammed into the pavement.
I see people all the time with dark clothing riding, you can hardly see them,and even people who walk ,jay walk need to be ticketed for putting themselves in a danger zone.
Cars traveling at even 20-mph are covering ground faster than a moron in tights who thinks the road way belongs to them.
Hang Ups, I actually agree with MOST of your comment. But as to jaywalking in THIS town, in some areas on Hwy 50 through town a person must walk a 1/4 of a mile or more out of their way to use a crosswalk.
The other day 2 cyclists blew threw the stop sign crossing 15th to the bike path. I called to them that they’d forgotten to stop. They yelled that the stop sign was not for them, it was for me.
How do we educate these buffoons that they are VEHICLES and must obey the same laws that cars do? I know if I hadn’t seen them and stopped, if I’d hit them, I’d have been cited. They never get tickets for breaking the law and they feel invinceable. Until they get mortally wounded for being stupid.
I’m the guy who got hit by the drunk driver. I was in the bike lane when the driver swerved across two lanes and almost killed me. This was in no way my fault. I don’t think I own the road nor did I enjoy getting my ‘head bounced off the pavement’. The last few post’s seemed to have lost sight of those points. You don’t know me, please do not assume to.
Try to keep up with original point to this thread which focused on a drunk driver hitting me, not the occasional inconsiderate cyclist or driver.
what has happened to the drunk driver? Mr. Rose did absolutley nothing wrong – but it seems that this post has taken a turn focusing on bike riders who choose not to obey the rules of the road – which is not the case here