King was killed in a traffic accident yesterday morning on the corner of West Main Street and Fourth Street NW. He was traveling by bicycle when a city utilities truck began to turn right and collided with him. The graduate student was pronounced dead at 9:31 a.m. Photo by Mallory Noe-Payne.
Graduate Arts & Sciences student Matthew Steven King was killed yesterday in a cycling accident on West Main Street and Fourth Street NW at about 9:05 a.m. A Charlottesville utility truck collided with King, who then was transported to the University Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 9:31 a.m. because of injuries sustained from the accident, University spokesperson Carol Wood said.
Both King and the truck were traveling in the same direction in front of the West Main Restaurant — the bike was on the right side of the truck, and when the truck attempted to make a right turn, the two forces collided.
“The City of Charlottesville expresses its deepest sympathy to the victim’s family and is providing support to the City employee who is dealing with this tragedy,” City Director of Communications Ric Barrick said in a press release.
A first-year graduate student in the mathematics department, King was a “bright student with a very positive personality,” said Peter Abramenko, assistant chair of the graduate department. Abramenko, a member on graduate student selection committee, remembers King — who had decided to concentrate in algebra — as one of the committee’s top-ranked candidates. He said committee members initially were doubtful King would accept their offer but were very pleased when he did.
“It is a tragedy and a loss for our department — first of all on a personal level — but we anticipated that he would be one of our top students,” Abramenko said.
Assoc. Dean of Students Aaron Laushway and counselors from Counseling and Psychological Services spoke to members of the department yesterday afternoon after the tragedy.
“They immediately offered their help and first brought the news to our first-year grad students,” Abramenko said. “They are a community and all know each other … They help each other with teaching and exchange advice and tips. These students were all shocked and knew Matt, and it’s a shock for all of us. He will be thoroughly missed.”
The loss of the King will affect the University community as a whole.
“I think we’ve lost an enormously promising member of our community, and this loss touches so many people in the University community, but particularly the students and faculty in the department and Matt’s other friends,” Wood said. “The Dean of Students Office is encouraging anybody who needs to talk to somebody after hearing this heartbreaking news to take advantage of all the assistance the University offers.”
The incident has raised concerns about the safety of cyclists in Charlottesville. Although several of the city’s roads have bike lanes, cyclists still are sharing space with much larger vehicles.
“That stretch is really dangerous,” fourth-year Engineering student Sharif Morad said about Charlottesville bike lanes. “You have to act like a car.”
Craig Griffin, organizer of Bike Charlottesville, emphasized that raising awareness for drivers about individuals on bikes and pedestrians is a key to making the roads safer.
Griffin said the community is organizing a ride-in from Grounds to a vigil for King. The vigil will take place Friday at 5 p.m. in front of the West Main Restaurant.
I was so sorry to hear about the bicyclist.
I ride that street often and cars make right turns in front of me, and almost into me, every time. The drivers could be distracted by talking on their cell phones or they may just generally disregard bikes. They are in the legal wrong but a bike can’t argue with a huge chunk of metal and win that argument. Again, I’m so sorry about what happened to my fellow bicyclist.
I hope the driver of the truck is charged with vehicular homicide.
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This is such a tragic story, yet I have to alert people that there are drivers out there who DON’T share these thoughts. A friend of mine posted on their facebook just a few days ago, how they will never ‘share the road’ with a bicycle until the bike riders are paying road taxes too! (I know, … a sad statement, and one that makes NO sense at all, yet this IS how some people think). Cyclist don’t have a fair advantage, and are not looked upon as commuters as they should be! They need to have eyes in the back of their heads, and lightening fast reflexes.
My condolences to the friends and family of this cyclist, and I hope it really raises awareness to drivers to pay closer attention, and SHARE THE ROAD with ALL commuters, gas powered, or otherwise.
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My heart goes out to Matt’s family as well as to the truck driver. This is so sad.
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I’ve been hit in a similar accident a couple years ago closer to the University on the same street. I was lucky enough to manage to turn with the vehicle, slamming my body against the side of the van while steering my wheels into the 10″ or so that the driver left between his vehicle and the curb. I had no opportunity to see his turn signal, since the driver overtook me from behind and turned while his broadside was all I could see.
He said I came out of nowhere. I explained that I more accurately was in the bike lane until he shoved me onto the side street. Again, I was very lucky. I was stunned for a while, and later a bit sore, and dealing with the driver was somewhat unpleasant. The policeman who witnessed the whole thing was quietly supportive, but certainly not an advocate for me as victim, and in my stunned state, I didn’t press charges, though I probably should have.
What’s to be done? The people who decide where the bikes can ride are not people who ride bikes. In Germany, sidewalks have stripes on them so that there is a bike lane farther away from traffic. Here, it is illegal to ride bikes on the sidewalk. Instead, we get a bike lane within the door swing area of parked cars (I’ve been hit by a door swing, too), and most days, the bike lane is blocked by cars parked too far away from the curb, and these people are never ticketed.
And that’s just for the streets that actually have bike lanes. Most don’t, and those that do only have them for certain blocks.
I live in a culture probably a couple decades from mass famine as the climate change shifts the world map of land areas capable of growing food, mostly because of the cars we drive everywhere. I make the personal choice to minimize my driving in response to this foreseeable effect this car-centric culture is leading to, and I take my life in my hands just trying to get to work and back each day because the infrastructure here is so poorly adapted to commuting by any means other than a car, even as we struggle to find parking spaces for all these vehicles.
My heart goes out to those who knew Matthew. I also feel sorrow for the driver of the utility vehicle. It is not fair to mark him as a killer. This environment is badly designed for people to share bicycles and cars. Charlottesville wants to feel good as eco-friendly, supporting bicycle and pedestrian travel, but they do a miserable job of providing infrastructure to make such travel safe. Other places do better with bicycle trails separate from roads designed for automobile traffic. Even Blacksburg has these trails that actually lead to between residential areas and commercial areas so you can bike to work or shopping without having to drive between traffic and parked cars.
They do it in Europe much better. It’s not impossible. There’s just a lack of will to improve things here.
And so, we lose brilliant people like Matthew. Likely, he won’t be the last we lose.
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This is a very sad event for our whole community. My sympathies to the family and friends.
I ride through this intersection almost everyday, along with many others, and I can attest to its danger. There are no bike lanes along the stretch of West Main where this death occurred. The “bike lanes” that do exist on other parts of West Main do not meet minimum AASHTO and FHWA standards of 5′ for lanes with on-street parking. The standards also call for a solid white stripe between the bike lane and parking, which is also absent. These areas should not be labeled bike lanes.
The 2003 Charlottesville Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan recommends a number of ways to make this important connection between downtown and the university.
“Solid bike lanes should be considered for the entire reach of both West Main Street and University Avenue, from the Downtown Mall to Emmet Street.”
Another idea from the plan is an off-street path running parallel to the train tracks. When there are absolutely no other alternatives, some towns paint sharrows with pictures of a cyclist on the surface of the roadway to alert motorists of their presence.
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My heart goes out to this Matt’s family, friends and colleagues. This is a tragic loss of life and an early end to what seems likely to have been a bright future.
I would like to make a comment, though, that I hope will not be taken out of the context in which I mean it. Keep in mind that I am certainly not suggesting that in any way was Matt at fault in this accident, particularly since he was riding in town (where everyone knows there are many cyclists) and following the rules of the road.
I must say, though, that there are other situations in which I think cyclists make foolish and dangerous assumptions that put themselves and others in jeopardy. As someone who does not ride a bike, I am often appalled for example at those who chose to ride down narrow, two-lane country roads with vehicle speed limits of 45-55 MPH. It terrifies me when I come about a blind turn at speeds such as this only to find a cyclist literally in the middle of my lane and a vehicle coming towards me in the other lane. I am all for people particpating in fun, healthy activities but really? You couldn’t ride in a park or some other area in which it is expected that drivers will be sharing the road with cyclists? In cases such as these you can wear all of the florescent colors and safety gear that you like but you are risking not only your own well-being but also that of the drivers (and sometimes their families) who come upon you unexpectedly.
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My prayers go out to Matthew and his family. However, I have to point out that the bikers are more often the ones that are not displaying unsafe behaviors (I do not want to assume anything in regards to what happened in this case). I don’t know how many times I’ve had to brake suddenly because I’m driving slowly or making a right turn because a biker decided to pass me from the right. I’m fine with sharing the road with them (ideally we would have more bike lanes), but if they want to go on the road, then follow all the traffic rules! It is especially annoying when I’m speeding up from a red light and a biker decides to pop out of nowhere from the right and cut me off.
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Andrew, I have to disagree. As a motorist and a cyclist, here’s what I see every day. Motorists disregard the speed limit, often by over ten miles an hour. Motorists turn almost invariably without using turn signals. Motorists drive with a cell phone pressed to their ear.
All of these actions present a real and present danger to cyclists, pedestrians and other motorists alike. Yet I see them constantly.
Any driver making a right turn should be using their mirror to establish there are no cyclists or pedestrians to their side. The mirrors are not their for decoration, and the right hand mirror is not only for changing lane on the interstate or 29N.
The lack of turn signals are one of the biggest dangers posed to cyclists. If a cyclist is in a bike lane it has every right to continue straight through an intersection while traffic to the cyclist’s left may still be stopped or moving slower after a light change. If folk are not indicating that they are about to turn the cyclist has no way of knowing their intent.
Andrew, if you really believe that cyclists are “more often the ones that are not displaying unsafe behaviors” I’d love to know where you drive.
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Just wanted to respond to Jen’s comments about cyclists on narrow country roads.
I ride regularly on roads like these and make sure that I hug the side of the road tightly when going around a blind bend – the cyclist does have responsibility to ride safely I agree but so too does a car driver.
I have lived and cycled in both the UK and France and feel that drivers in those countries where the speed limits on country lanes are higher and the roads are narrower than here are generally much more aware of slower vehicles like bikes and horses.
I am not going to comment on this accident, but here in the USA driver awareness in general is noticeably poor and road safety is pretty awful despite the slower speed limits.
If you are driving on a 45-55mph country road and navigating a blind bend, you should be prepared to be able to slow down in good time and to stop completely if necessary. It could be a fallen tree, a deer or a child in the road around the corner rather than a slow moving cyclist (who has as much right to be there as you).
If you can’t avoid hitting a cyclist without swerving into the opposite lane then I would suggest that you are either not in sufficient control of your vehicle or going too fast for the conditions.
Learn to drive properly! Stop talking on your phones and drinking your coffee at the wheel and pay attention to what you are doing or you will end up killing someone – and yes it will be your fault.
And I’m not anti-car – I love fast cars and driving. I would just like to see people learn to drive properly, for the driving test to be a little more challenging than a quick ride around the block and for things like speaking on a mobile phone while driving to become illegal!
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Could someone more accurately describe what happened. Were they on a two lane part of West Main juxtaposed in the same lane? Was the driver charged? Was the cyclist at fault or the driver? It sounds like the driver was proceeding with the cyclist on the passenger side in the same lane. The driver turned right and did not-could not see the cyclist who was in the wrong place at his side. Such a tragedy!
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If you are driving on any road and going round a curve, your speed should be such that the length of road you can see is less than your stopping distance. Drive any faster and you are a danger to both yourself and others.
A cyclist may give you a fright. Imagine if it was not a cyclist but a broken down car with a family inside. At least there’s a chance you can squeeze past the cyclist.
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RIP Mr. King.
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The Department of Mathematical Sciences at Clemson University is deeply saddened by the loss of Matt King. Matt graduated from Clemson last May, and was, in the words of one of our faculty members, “one of the best I’ve ever taught.” Matt was bright, exuberant, and full of potential. He is missed by all of us. We are grateful to the University of Virginia for organizing the ride-in and vigil for Matt.
Mark E. Cawood
Co-Coordinator of Undergraduate Studies
Department of Mathematical Sciences
Clemson University
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As the aunt of this illuminated young man, he will be deeply missed by our entire family and all those with whom he came in contact. I frequently drive next to bicyclists and even in a small car, know that a collision with a bicycle would be utterly devastating to the rider. I know it is my responsibility to keep track of the bicyclist riding alongside of me and yield the right of way when the rider is going straight and I am turning, especially on to the right. This was preventable and we would still be enjoying his love, laughter and presence.
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The law states that cyclists can pass on the right “if it is safe to do so”. As far as I know, it is always illegal (and thus unsafe) to pass a vehicle in an intersection whether you are in a car or on a bike. There have been several times that I’ve been trying to make a right turn and a cyclist has flown past me on the right disregarding my turn signal and the fact that they’re breaking the law.
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With all due respect, Tom, I literally NEVER talk on a cell phone while driving (I admit that I am one of those “nerds” who pull over if it is absolutely necessary to talk or I simply call back when I reach my destination.) With that said, it is still ridiculous to me that people bike on narrow two lane country roads. I’m sorry. Regardless of how safe cyclists try to be there simply is not room on such roads for two cars and a bike that is traveling at a much slower speed all at one place.
Perhaps you are correct in that drivers are less conscious of cyclists in this country. Perhaps the roads in Europe are better suited and designed for cyclists even in country settings. But frankly here there are not. So until cyclists and their sympathizers agitate for and achieve such changes to road structures in the US that would make cycling safer on these roads I still do not appreciate being made less safe in my own car (and my children) because someone wants to selfishly act as if they own a road that is too narrow to accomodate them AND the vehicles for which is was designed. I have had way too many incidents in which I have experienced a terrifying sense that (1) I was going to hit someone when I came around a bend because of their lack of common sense, (2) someone was going to hit me as they tried to get away from a cyclist and swerved into my lane or (3) that someone coming up behind me was going to rear end me because I was braking or driving significantly slower than the speed limit to accomodate a cyclist.
Take it how you want it but I think it is completely unfair to expect someone to willingly consent to being in a potentially dangerous situation so that you may enjoy riding your bike.
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Matt will be very missed by the swing dance community. My prayers are with his family.
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My condonlences to the family and friends of Mr. King.
As for the comments by the poster Jen:
The law is mostly on the cyclists side as you are supposed to share the roads. Except for certain major road and Interstates, a cyclist has just as much right to the road as you do. I live in North Carolina (Durham) and there are a lot of back roads and subdivision roads like you talk about and I am quite used to cyclists on these roads when driving my car and I slow down to accomodate them.
Your argument is essentially this. I have a big car that goes fast and I don’t like your slow small bike being in my way. It is inconvenient to me and I don’t want to deal with it.
You also assume that everyone uses their bike for exercise (which is ok by the way in terms of the law). However, many people use their bikes for transportation to get from place to place, not just as an exercise option. They have just as much right to be on the road as you do.
I agree that cyclists should obey traffic laws just as cars but they also deserve equal respect. There are also many environmental benefits of cycling versus using a car. Not denegrating using a car, just pushing the clean qualities of cycling.
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Jen, you wrote “Perhaps the roads in Europe are better suited and designed for cyclists even in country settings.”
I grew up in Europe. The country roads there are windier, and significantly narrower than most roads you will see cyclists on here. Most rural roads will also have a speed limit of 60mph. It is of course called a speed limit for a reason. The vast majority of those roads I describe are not suitable for such speeds and the drivers who use them realize this. my experience as a young teenager was that drivers there learned to expect the unexpected and I was rarely troubled when cycling on such roads alongside fast moving traffic.
You are clearly aware that you share the road with cyclists. I am at a loss then to understand why you would be surprised to meet one going round a corner, unless you were going too fast.
Per the VA code, in a car at 30mph your stopping distance is 109 feet. That means you must be able to see at least 109 feet in front of you to be able to stop and avoid an accident. At 55mph, your stopping distance is 265 feet. That’s 3/4 the length of a football field. Due to reaction time, you will have traveled over 120 feet before you even engage your brakes. If you’re traveling at 55 and can’t see almost 300 feet in front of you, you’re driving dangerously.
Please slow down. You could save a life.
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Jen,
Firstly: I am genuinely glad and grateful to hear that you don’t use your phone whilst driving. Thank you!
I’m sorry, however, that you find meeting a cyclist on a country road such a terrifying and dangerous experience.
There is no reason that it should ever be so.
If you don’t agree then I would seriously suggest, for the good of all and sundry, that you treat yourself to a few refresher lessons in driving basics.
Maybe then you can calm your troubled nerves which, to be fair, were probably jangling far less than those of the hapless cyclists unwitting enough to trespass onto the road without realising that it had been custom designed just for you.
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First, I’d like to express my condolences to Matt’s family and to the truck driver. I hope that each receives the support needed from friends, family, and professionals to recover from the accident.
Second, I am a cyclist and a motorist. I am not playing any blame game in this situation. What I do beg of my fellow road users is that they be aware of each other with due patience. I also ask that you *always* follow road laws, unless of course they are an immediate endangerment to yourself or others. In this instance, I understand Matt was riding on the sidewalk and across the crosswalk. From my experience this a generally unsafe practice, as motorists aren’t expecting a ~20 mph vehicle entering an intersection or driveway from a sidewalk. I have a feeling this played a large part of the accident. I believe that cyclists fare best when they are riding as predictable road users and following all of the vehicular moving laws.
Once again, my heart goes out to the family and driver. There’s a vigil on Friday @ 5 for Matt in front of the West Main Restaurant. Hope many of you can make it. Let’s all be safe out there.
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I knew Matt when he was a fellow high school student with my daughter at The South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics, my condolences to his family and friends, he was a wonderful person and will be missed.
Amy Marenick
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This is so sad and so unnecessary. I have driven my car on many occasions and noticed that bicycles and pedestrians do not have safe traveling options. There are areas where lanes abruptly end, etc. UVa’s and Charlottesville’s lack of proper bicycle lanes is no secret. This is an issue that should be addressed by better infrastructure and training.
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This is so sad and so unnecessary. I have driven my car on many occasions and noticed that bicycles and pedestrians do not have safe traveling options. There are areas where lanes abruptly end, etc. UVa’s and Charlottesville’s lack of proper bicycle lanes is no secret. This is an issue that should be addressed by better infrastructure and training.
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My sympathies go out to the first year grad student killed in the bicycle accident, particularly to Matt’s parents. My daughter is also a first year grad student in a difrferent department in Arts and Sciences and she bicycles to campus along Main Street (I think, but I am not familiar with the geography of Charlottesville).
I also commute by bicycle, but I do so in a region that has a better educated population of drivers, bibycle trails, and a strict enforcement program of both auto drivers and bicyclists. The two large cities in the Pacific Northwest have, for years, undertaken strict enforcement programs to stop and ticket drivers who do not give the right of way to bicyclists. There are aslo cameras in dangerous intersections (particularly near the U of Washington campus in Seattle) who mail tickets to drivers for any dangerous violation of right-of-ways for bicyclists.
Charlottesville must immediately do the same and immediately implement an enforcement program, visibly stationing police at such dangerous intersections and stopping and ticketing any driver not giving way to a bicyclist (or distracted on a mobile phone if that is the law in Virginia). It is unfortunate that it takes the death of a first year grad student to wake up the University and Charlottesville to what is obviously an unacceptably unsafe situation (my daughter did mention a close call in the late fall, likely at or near the same place as this accident).
The University and Charlottesville must insure safe conditions to go to and from campus (I guess you call it “Grounds”). Take a lesson from Seattle and implement strict enforcement, along with police on bicycles. It works. But it takes time to educate local drivers. Nothing scares a parent more than this unfortunate accident.
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In city traffic, I strongly believe there should not be bike lanes and cyclists should use the main road. It is too easy for car drivers to ignore what is happening in the small bike lane next to them, whereas they tend to see bikes in front of them. If it is legal to do so, I would recommend ignoring the lane and riding in traffic.
I realize that this method has its own risks, but absent dedicated paths there is no way to eliminate the risk.
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First, my condolences, and my sympathy to both Matt’s friends and family, and the truck-driver and his friends and family. We’ve likely all had to deal with death in some way before, but I can’t even imagine what it would be like to inadvertently end another life.
Bicycle safety really involves both drivers and cyclists being very aware, and very cautious. When I rode a motorcycle, and a large one, I would still ride as though I was invisible. I remember specifically one time looking a woman in the eyes before she pulled out in front of me. The responsibility, without regard to laws, is in both the hands of the cyclists and the motorists.
And in response to the conversation spawned by Jen’s post, she’s not saying that it’s inconvenient for her when cyclists ride on narrow country roads, she’s saying that due to a number of circumstances, it’s unsafe for both motorists and cyclists. I have been a motorist, motorcyclist, and bicyclist. In many cases (depending on a number of factors) it’s simply unsafe for cyclists and motorists when a cyclist is on the road. In blind corners on winding 1-2 lane roads, following the legal speed limit will put you in a dangerous situation when approaching even the fastest cyclist. I’ve come up on a trike traveling about 5mph, and despite the beautiful (and very smart) reflective flags and markers, I almost crushed this person, and I was traveling 10mph below speed limit. With the infrastructure the way it is, in many places it’s just unsafe to ride a bicycle. Not wrong, not illegal, not inconvenient – unsafe. Fight for better bicycle provisions without martyrdom.
Peace
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My sympathies to Mark’s friends and family; what a terrible loss.
As someone who grew up riding a bicycle in The Netherlands – where bikes are a major mode of transportation – I agree with many of the observations made earlier – people in the US don’t think that bicycles should share the road with cars “until they pay taxes”. The fact that roads are mostly maintained from Federal funds, and that I pay Federal taxes, apparently doesn’t count.
The”rules of the road”, “drivers manual” or other protocol governing drivers in the US typically does not mention explicitly the situation where a bicycle is going straight and a car is trying to turn right – a MAJOR OMISSION in highway regulations. In the Netherlands, any road user (car, bike, pedestrian) traveling in a straight line along a road has priority over a vehicle turning (whether they are turning left or right). It is the OBLIGATION of a car turning right to MAKE SURE there is no bike going straight, and if there is, TO YIELD. I looked for a similar rule in the New York driver’s manual, and even in the “sharing the road” publication – but found none. Which proves that the problem is not just with the drivers, it is with the legislators too.
The reality is that people in cars think they own the road, and that bikes don’t belong. But in a country with a huge obesity epidemic and the largest carbon footprint of any nation, we could all do with a few more people leaving their cars at home.
I would love to see Dutch style bike lanes – wide, separate from both pedestrians and cars, and at their own level (raised relative to the pavement like a sidewalk, the car swerving into the bike lane risks bent wheels, flat tires, …). A shortcut would be to add concrete dividers as is sometimes done with roadworks – you don’t need a continuous strip, just enough of them to keep the traffic separate. And cyclists need big mirrors (“eyes in the back of your head”) until cars learn to play nicely.
Every cyclist’s death is a tragedy – let’s hope that people reading this will be a little more careful, and that as a result lives will be saved in the future.
“my other car is a bike”.
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