Green Party Senate candidate Natasha Pettigrew dies after being hit by SUV

[Newsjock]

Source: TBD-TV

UPDATE 11:16 a.m., Sept. 21: Maryland State Police say Pettigrew died last night from her injuries.

ORIGINAL STORY

Natasha Pettigrew is the Maryland Green Party candidate for the United States Senate race and a victim of an accident. A woman driving an SUV hit Pettigrew as she rode her bicycle on Campus Way, but the driver kept going. She says she thought she had hit a deer.

Pettigrew's mother Kenniss Henry says she is struggling to balance her emotions, but she has one thing she'd like to say to the driver who struck and critically injured her daughter.

"Could you at least stop, hold her, call 911, talk to her, say it's gonna be all right?" asked Henry.


Read more: http://www.tbd.com/articles/2010/09/green-party-candidate-hospitalized-after-accident-12745.html

[derby378]

1. How truly sad...

My heart goes out to Natasha's family and friends.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. Horrible.

My condolences to her family, and to all who loved her.

[joeybee12]

3. That sucks...and as for the driver...even if you thought you hit a deer...

you check and see if the deer is ok...incionsiderate jackass.

RIP.

[ThomasQED]

73. +1

Hard to imagine confusing a deer with a bike, though.

[awoke_in_2003]

77. Not if you are drunk. nt

[Ken Burch]

80. There IS that....

n/t.

[zbdent]

85. Imagine confusing a dead woman's naked body with a dead deer ...

After several people called the police in Cleveland about the "dead body", a couple of police officers investigated. Said it was a deer.

Shortly afterward, the clean-up crew came to remove the deer ... and found that the callers were correct, not the police officers with their "trained eye".

(I rant about this, because I get enough flak when I state that the police aren't always correct or honest about what they report. And now, the courts said that a cop's "trained eye" can override what his or her radar says, even if he or she lies on the traffic ticket).

[ThomasQED]

90. I hadn't heard that story

Appalling. But who knows, maybe there was a dead deer nearby, or some other plausible reason they missed it?

Believe me, I know more than I want to about police lying on reports, but in a case like that, it doesn't seem like they'd have a reason to do it.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

93. naked body? She was riding a bike naked?

ok, I admit I didn't read the article yet, but...

wtf?

[Ken Burch]

96. If the body was naked, that would just mean the clothes had been pulled off

as the body was dragged along.

Please don't get disrespectful of the innocent dead here, folks.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

154. I hope my comment didn't seem disrespectful.... Conflating two different stories

and going for the age old fascination with dead, naked women is disrespectful.

I want to stop the disrespect for women that is so conventional in this world. All I can realistically do here, aside from my efforts in my work and personal life is point out examples of careless speech that grows from entrenched stereotypes. Hopefully, shining a light on habitual expressions will help to make clear the reflexive assumptions hidden within.

(Would the poster have made that jump to a conclusion if the poor vehicularly homicided person had been a man? I'd say the two words, naked and dead, would not even enter one's mind in reference to a male victim.)

I have a friend who actually was dragged under a truck that ran into her many years ago. During her recovery, she lost her hair permanently as a result of the shock, but at no point did she lose her clothes.

[Ken Burch]

165. Thanks for your response.

n/t.

[Tunkamerica]

131. 2 seperate stories , note cleveland and maryland being different places

[BlancheSplanchnik]

155. Yes...I must be missing something

because the news is from Maryland.

I don't see how Cleveland is coming into the story.

[defendandprotect]

106. Can't imagine it at all -- !! Sounds increasingly odd --

Re the "rant" -- keep at it -- police aren't always correct and we have tons of problems

with our police and law enforcement, FBI and intelligence networks -- with Patriot Act

and Homeland Security/$$$ now tacked on to it all -- not to forget the Drug War which

is one of the most intrusive to individual Americans and nations!!

Was just looking for a recent article that was on Common Dreams re FBI citing ... as I

recall it ... anti-war group as "terrorists" -- !!

We didn't invent "throw downs" -- guns and drugs being planted on citizens

We didn't invent "racial profiling" -- and in NJ I think our police may still be under

Federal surveillance for it?

If there is anything we should keep a close eye on, it's police enforcement -- now and

always -- as they continue to fight against citizens "seeing" what they are actually doing!

[Devil_Fish]

128. Who said she was naked?? Sick mind much? NT

[Tunkamerica]

132. poster is relating a seperate story which occurred in cleveland

pay attention

[indy legend]

94. odds are the driver was a republif**k.Doesn't give a damn about

anything or anyone but themself.

[emilyg]

101. +10

[still_one]

103. Absolutely, which tells me the driver is lying /nt

[Kookaburra]

4. She drove home with a bicycle lodged under her SUV

and didn't notice it? Was she drunk or is she just stupid?

Geez!

And so what if she had hit a deer? Wouldn't any decent person have stopped to see if the deer was okay?

Something about Ms. Littleford's story does not pass the smell test.

[karynnj]

8. I agree on the bike, but in areas over run with deer, I think leaving them is common

All I know is that here in suburban NJ, at this time of year, a week does not go by without seeing dead deer at the side of the road. I'm not sure what a person could do if the deer were not ok. There have been many people killed by deer running in front of or into the sides of cars. Those living here for years, know areas where you drive very slowly, scanning the sides of the road for deer, stopping and letting them cross the road, when we see them.

[BrklynLiberal]

40. Leaving them AFTER you stop and make sure it was a deer, and that it beyond help...

And how about the concept of checking your own vehicle for damage or whatever.
This story sounds like bs. She was either drinking or texting.
How does one drive 3 miles with a bicycle under your car and not notice that SOMETHING is wrong?
We will never know what really happened.

[karynnj]

46. Quite agree

I would suspect drinking - texting, you would still know something was wrong. I suspect that if she were drinking, we may find out. Obviously the police would investigate where she was coming from.

[merqz]

76. Actually, the texting would probably be easier

in that there is absolutely a rock solid record of whether a text was sent contemporaneous to the collision time. It depends, based on case law, which circuit the suspect was in, as to whether a warrant is required or merely an admin subpoena to get this info from her cell company. Remember that they wouldn't need to know the text OF the text (so to speak) which would require a warrant pretty much anywhere, but would only need the time stamp which only requires a warrant in some circuits. It requires one in the 9th, for example, last I checked. In others, an admin subpoena would suffice.

If she was coming from a bar, etc. they could of course question witnesses IF they knew which bar she came from, but assuming she used a credit card, etc. that would require a warrant as well.

In no jurisdiction I am aware of is a person required to stop and check to see how injured a deer was, however in every jurisdiction I am aware of, if you strike a person you are required to stop and at a minimum notify 911. Her 'story' that she thought she hit a deer does not sound very credible. Was the bicyclist wearing a costume with a bushy little white tail? Did she ASSUME she hit a deer because she did not see WHAT she hit? That would generally not fly, as an excuse.

[rocktivity]

45. I'll never forget driving home late one night from Randolph NJ

My "scanning" revealed at least two dozen deer. To this day I'm grateful they were too busy eating to wander into the road! And of course it just so happens that I've just started working in the Morristown/Parisppany area again...

:P
rocktivity

[karynnj]

48. That's my town!

We have lots of deer - and a declining amount of forested areas. I see them in my back yard all the time.

[AlbertCat]

71. My "scanning" revealed at least two dozen deer.

Did any of them look like a person on a bicycle????

I'm sorry, but I live in the boonies and there are lots of deer. I can always recognize a deer from a raccoon from a possum.... from a person on a bike!!!!

This driver's story is bogus. And even so, she's STILL guilty of manslaughter.

[northernlights]

107. what people can do is stop to see if the deer is down

and call animal control to dispatch them so they don't die a horrible, agonized lingering death. :grr:

[Mnemosyne]

127. Don't bother calling the Game Commission in NW PA. Deer hurt in Mom's yard, broken legs,

called and had to throw a shit fit for a half hour to get the warden to put down the deer. Said it wasn't his job! :grr:

And that driver's tale smells bad.

[Maine-ah]

144. if you hit a deer/moose up here, you have to call the police.

[karynnj]

159. Even if it were not required, it seems common sense to do so anywhere

I don't know if it is the law here and I've been lucky that I've always avoided them. It would seem the right thing to do if they were either dead or injured on the road.

[DURHAM D]

9. Yep - There is no way that dragging a bicycle sounds like dragging a deer.

The driver is a big fat liar, probably drunk, and deserves absolutely no mercy.

[Warpy]

14. She had to be drunk

or under the influence of something else. Having a texting fight over a cell phone might have done it, too.

Even if it's "only" an animal, you stop to make sure the animal is gone. If it isn't, you call the cops to get it put down if it's severely injured.

I can't imagine what it takes to be that selfish a bitch who thinks she hit a living creature and refused to stop.

[elleng]

28. 5:00 a.m.. its dark here.

Awful, and in my 'neighborhood,' may drive thru there tomorrow.

[femrap]

55. Where is she coming from at 5 am? nt

[Kolesar]

60. Tiger Woods residence...eom

[femrap]

109. long drive....FL or CA home?

[customerserviceguy]

79. It does seem to be an odd time to be riding a bike at this time of year

Most drunks would have been kicked out of the bars hours earlier.

[Ken Burch]

95. This explains the timing of the bike ride(it's in the link)

"The 30-year-old law student and Green Party candidate is also training for a triathlon. That training is the reason why at 5 a.m. Sunday she went out on her bike."

I can't believe anyone would insinuate that there was something suspicious about Ms. Pettigrew being on her bike at this hour. Yes, a lot of people here think all Green Party candidates are evil, but this is taking verdophobia way the fuck too far...

Natasha Pettigrew was an innocent victim of, at the very least, an insanely reckless driver, and no aspersions about Mz. Pettigrew could possibly be appropriate.

Nobody here would be saying anything like that if Ms. Pettigrew had been a Democratic candidate.

[customerserviceguy]

116. I did not wish to exonerate the driver one bit

All I thought it might be reasonable to point out, as did the poster I was responding to, that it's damned dark at that time. I also wished to take some possible exception to the idea that the driver was drunk, you usually find them on the road a few hours earlier when it's last call.

What's wrong with training for a triathlon in the daylight?

[Ken Burch]

120. I can't answer that last question.

A driver could have been drinking at home after the bars had closed. That's why some people go to liquor stores-so that they don't HAVE to stop drinking.

And it's still completely inappropriate to imply that the victim bears any responsibility for her own death. I think that got inserted into this thread because some people here simply couldn't pass up the chance to bash a Green Party candidate-even when she's a DEAD one.

[HappyCynic]

129. Training at night...

For your second question, my guess is one word: work. Because she was a candidate, she probably had a busy schedule during the day. That leaves two possible time periods: early in the morning before work and late at night after work. Early in the morning, there's almost no traffic and if you have the reflectors/lights you should be visible to anyone looking your way, especially if there are streetlights. Training early is also closer to actual race day conditions, as the race will start in the morning. After work, you're probably quite tired, your eating schedule will have a huge impact, and most importantly, there are a lot more drivers and pedestrians, increasing the chance of an accident.
I've never trained for a triathlon (or any sort of race) but I have biked late at night and it does feel a lot safer because there's no one else around. I'm generally a very safe cyclist and I've had more close calls after work than before work. So I can understand training early in the morning rather than during the day or evening.

[customerserviceguy]

139. Well, the 'safer' time thing

didn't seem to work in this case, apparently.

[RamboLiberal]

152. Training in the dark increases the risk

I don't know what she had on her bike as far as reflectors or lights. Being a triathlete she'd probably have minimum equipment on the bike.

Anyone if you're out training in the dark, even walking and you are around traffic avail yourself of the great reflective clothing and/or LED lights available. It's a cheap investment compared to being killed or injured.

[defendandprotect]

108. The Green Party candidate was training for a marathon ....

[blackbart99]

162. Really....you can't see how an athlete...

might be training at 5 AM or some one else might be on their way home from somewhere at 5 AM.
I go to work at 2AM and get home by 9:30AM. Try to think outside the box here just a little.
Not defending her...she should have stopped.

[Name removed]

164. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[femrap]

168. What was the name of that

friend of Popeye's.....oh yeah, whimpy.

[Katya Mullethov]

175. At least go back

And see if you can get the hind quarters off it .

[MineralMan]

5. Usually, the reason the driver doesn't stop is because he/she's

been drinking. Happens a lot. the "deer" excuse is quite common here in Minnesota, too. The next day, when the driver's sober, he/she surrenders.

That'd be my guess in this one, too.

[karynnj]

6. How tragic

Such a loss of a promising young woman. How the drive could have not realized that a woman on a bike was not a deer is beyond me. You would think the sound of metal hitting metal would have made that unlikely. It would seem the driver was not ready to accept the truth. The mother's comments are so heartbreaking.

[Leftist Agitator]

7. Leaving the scene of an accident involving injury or death is a felony in most states.

And the "I thought I hit a deer!" defense isn't affirmative to being charged and convicted for failure to render aid or leaving the scene.

The driver has a legal obligation in most jurisdictions to stop and determine what was struck. In the case of livestock, the driver is going to pay damages (or their insurance is).

Fuck, I'm not a lawyer, and I could have the heartless bitch who murdered this woman behind bars within six hours in front of a jury.

And before anyone gets on me about it, yes, murder. For all anyone knows, that poor woman might not have died had the obnoxious prick in the SUV stopped to see what she had hit.

Tragic. I sincerely hope that justice will be served in this case.

[Kolesar]

32. Yes, it is called "reckless operation of a motor vehicle" in Ohio

IIRC

Poor Natasha. Training for a triathlon

[guyton]

10. drove three miles w/the bike lodged under the car!

After the SUV struck her on Landover Road in Largo, Pettigrew's bike was lodged under the SUV. The driver, 41-year-old Christy Littleford, drove without stopping three miles to her Upper Marlboro home. Littleford told police ... didn't discover the bicycle until she got home

Um, I couldn't drive 50 feet with a bike under my car without stopping to check on the noise. Either this woman was drunk as a skunk or is the world's most oblivious driver.

[alp227]

11. Who hit her, a Republican?

What if that woman knew who Pettigrew was or maybe just kept driving along because she hates bicyclists? Damn, bikers have it really hard in this driving society.

[John Kerry VonErich]

19. Highly doubt it

They look at Greens as benefits.

[valerief]

50. Where's Denton County, MA?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_counties_in_Massachusetts

[wpelb]

99. Pettigrew was running for Sen. Mikulski's seat

I would have to think that Republicans would expect a Green Party candidate to siphon votes off from Sen. Mikulski, thus helping the Republican candidate, who would otherwise finish second. However, I don't believe the race is competitive, meaning that with or without Ms. Pettigrew, Sen. Mikulski will be re-elected easily.

[Ian David]

20. How far away from Upper Marlboro are College Park and Huntingtown, MD?

http://fundrace.huffingtonpost.com/neighbors.php?type=name&oldest=1&lname=Littleford&fname=Christ&search=Search

[elleng]

30. College Park 'about' 40-50 miles frm UM/Huntingtwn.

[supernova]

27. Highly doubt it

I used to live in PG county. It's solidly Dem, If the Escalade owner is a Repuke, she may be one of five in the county.

[Rebubula]

65. Jesus Christ....

....seriously....not everything (in fact VERY LITTLE) is a repub\teabag conspiracy.

Hit and runs kills hundreds of people every month - just happens that this one was running for office (I live in that area and have never heard of this person).

Some people simply want to find boogymen hiding behind every tragedy.

[James48]

70. Hit by a Cadillac Escalade

and Opensecrets.org shows the family of the driver gave four one-hundred dollar donations to the Republican party.

[Rebubula]

83. Link. please

NT

[harvey007]

91. This link mentions a Cadillac Escalade

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=25&sid=2058539


"Police say Christy Littleford of Upper Marlboro was driving the Cadillac Escalade when she struck Pettigrew. Police say she kept driving nearly four miles to her home, even though Pettigrew's bicycle was still lodged underneath the vehicle.

Police say Littleford thought she hit a deer or a dog and didn't want to stop in the early morning hours. When she and her husband found the bicycle under the SUV, they called police."

[James48]

105. here

http://www.opensecrets.org/indivs/search.php?name=Littleford%2C+j&state=MD&zip=&employ=&cand=&all=Y&sort=N&capcode=pk35t&submit=Submit

[izquierdista]

12. Even if you hit a deer

You stop and check your car for damage. The insurance company is going to want facts for the crease a deer carcass puts in the sheet metal.

[Tansy_Gold]

17. Exactly.

I do work for insurance companies, usually regarding questionable or contested claims. Any time there is a single-vehicle accident, virtually the first question asked is "How soon after the impact did you stop?" Not even "Did you stop after the impact?" but how soon. Anyone who says they didn't stop after an impact is (probably) in big trouble with their insurance company for not taking appropriate steps to mitigate any damage.

This driver is, imho, guilty of. . . . . something else.


TG, NTY

[Roy Rolling]

62. I mean puhleeze...

What a lame excuse, "I didn't stop because I thought I only killed a deer." I hit a deer once, it was no picnic and any moron knows to stop and see what happened.

[Arctic Dave]

13. This almost sounds like a storyline for a Carl Hiassen book.

Sad and ironic.

[kestrel91316]

15. Wouldn't surprise me if said SUV were VERY LARGE, black, loaded with

options, and that Ms. Petigrew was chatting on her cell phone while driving, in a big fricking hurry because she thinks she is special.

But then, it's MD and not SoCal so I could be wrong.

[Newsjock]

18. It was an Escalade

According to the Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/21/AR2010092103393.html

Police say the woman driving the Cadillac Escalade that hit Pettigrew kept driving nearly four miles to her home, even though the bicycle was still lodged underneath the vehicle.

[flamingdem]

25. grrrrrrrr I hate those dangerous vehicles and the idiots who can't steer them nt

[kestrel91316]

43. HAHAHAHAHA, Escalade drivers are THE WORST offenders here in

SoCal, IMHO. We frequent pedestrians know to be extremely cautious around them. Betcha it was black and full of options.

[elleng]

31. Ms. Pettigrew was the victim, and MD is NOT SoCal!

[kestrel91316]

42. Sorry, I misread. I assume in cases like this that THE DRIVER is

talking on their cell phone. Sort of goes with the SUV entitlement thing. And MD is not immune to the sort of crap we have to deal with here in SoCal.

[left coaster]

51. Yep, was going to say the same thing.

Self-important jackassism isn't confined to one state.

[grace0418]

33. And when Littleford parks, she probably takes up three parking spaces.

That's the only reason I'm surprised she didn't stop. Because usually the uptight richie riches who drive these monstrosities have a fit if anyone breathes on them wrong, even though the original intended purpose for such a vehicle is for driving in places that a regular vehicle would have trouble navigating.

[Kolesar]

34. Can the police get cell phone records?

Cyclists everywhere should lobby to ban all cell phone use when driving.

[grace0418]

36. It's banned in Chicago and doesn't make a damn bit of difference, especially to

the people who drive those huge vehicles with their own gravitational fields. They don't feel they need to stop talking on the phone, or obey any other traffic laws for that matter, and they sure as hell don't think they need to stop if they've hit something or someone. It's all about them and whether *they're* safe in their gas-guzzling metal cocoon, fuck everyone else. I see it constantly when I'm out driving, especially in the afternoons when the moms are out in the family Escalade. I make a point of looking and almost without exception they're on their cell phones while driving, and no blue tooth headset.

[Xithras]

38. It's banned in California, and it cut the cellphone accident rate in half.

It was banned here a couple of years ago and, according to the CHP, the number of accidents where causation was attributed to driver cellphone use declined by nearly 50% in only six months.

The accidents still happen, and people still talk on their cellphones while driving, but it's not as common as it was prior to the ban.

[BrklynLiberal]

44. Same applies here in NYC as well....

I believe they will be able to determine if she was on her cell phone at the time she hit Ms Pettigrew.

[frylock]

16. as someone upthread stated, you at least stop to check damage on your vehicle..

she was drunk. bank it.

[EXneoCON]

21. So sad...

"Hmmm, sure is dark out...and I still have my party shoes on. Think I'll just drag this deer home with me."



Yea....right.

[Yeahyeah]

22. She must've had a chance.

[Bitwit1234]

23. The bicycle was stuck under the car and she didn't know it.

She knew it. She just thought she would get away with it. Campus way is near a shopping center in back of a branch Office of the MVA and the area is moderately traveled. AND THERE ARE LIGHTS....I think she should be arrested for hit and run. She had to be speeding if she was on Campus Way.

[mitchum]

24. The driver is a lush who was driving drunk

[littlewolf]

29. very sad .... I have been hit by a deer and there is no way

you can confuse the sound of a bike being dragged and a deer .... a deer is not likely to become hooked up to the undercarriage of the car ...
something is NOT passing the smell test here ....

[RamboLiberal]

151. How the hell do you know?

[mitchum]

158. My old friend Occam told me so

[supernova]

26. Horrible!

That poor young woman! That poor mother.

:-(

[Blue Owl]

35. I swear, hitting a bicyclist with a car

is a legal form of murder in this country.

Automobile drivers are ever significantly punished for it, which just makes the problem worse.

:mad:

[Divine Discontent]

49. you know.... you're right. unless it's someone with a bike juttng across the road unsafely, then all

people who hit and kill a cyclist riding peacefully on the side of the road along with you, should be subjected to jail time - and that's rarely the case I believe. Right? I know they get charged and manslaughter charges occur, I don't know how frequently, but I agree, it's almost legal to get away with murder of cyclists.

:(

[Kolesar]

58. there is a blog about legal matters at Bicycling.com

www.bicycling.com

[defendandprotect]

110. Just as likely the driver was speeding -- and swerved out of the lane into the shoulder --

[barbtries]

81. pedestrians too.

it's how my daughter was killed. the woman who did it was charged with murder but allowed to plead to two lesser felonies and got four years, the least possible for the crimes. she was out of prison in 2 years 3 months.

this woman must be charged.

[JohnWxy]

37. How many deers wear reflectors? When driving a car, aren't you supposed to see where you are going?

or be going only where you can see?.. or be paying attention to WTF you are doing?


http://www.flickr.com/photos/sillygwailo/28877019/

[RamboLiberal]

75. Some bicyclists don't have reflectors or lights on their bike

As a driver paying attention to the road I've come up on a few of these idiots on dark roadways seeing them only as last second. Walkers/runners in dark clothing as well.

Who knows at this point if driver was drunk, on cell phone, texting, etc. Or if Ms. Pettigrew had lights/reflectors on her bike.

Still no excuse for the idiot in the SUV not to stop and especially dragging the bike multiple miles. But I'm not going to jump to conclusions yet that driver was totally at fault for hitting the bicyclist.

Anyone who is going to be bicycling or walking/running on/near roadways in dark hours need to avail themselves of bright flashing LED lights and reflective clothing.

I'm glad to see more bicyclists in my area at night with flashing LED red on rear, white on front lights if they are on roadways during dark/low visibility hours.

[Kennah]

170. Truly Sad, On Many Levels

As a bike commuter, I go outta my way to illuminate myself and be seen--and I presume no one sees me.

Occasionally I see bicyclists with no lights, but reflectors are pretty much standard fare on any bike. I suppose there are those who remove all the reflectors from their bikes--<sarcasm>probably brown skinned terrorists intent on blowing up buildings</sarcasm>.

Hitting a bicyclist and dragging the bike and/or rider for miles without realizing what happened, and I can't fathom any explanation beyond alcohol or a really great cell phone call. However, I'm waiting to hear what the police investigation reveals.

[BrklynLiberal]

39. Disgusting..Even if she thought she hit a deer...STOP AND CHECK!!!

[rocktivity]

41. After the SUV struck her...Pettigrew's bike...lodged under the SUV.

The driver, 41-year-old Christy Littleford...drove without stopping three miles...Littleford told police she'd thought she hit an animal and didn't discover the bicycle until she got home...

A bear on a bike I could believe. But a DEER?

http://bp1.blogger.com/_du_TQnDh9V4/RxrQE9OOxFI/AAAAAAAAADo/s3upAwfRGYY/s400/bear+in+circus.jpg

P.S. When a bike falls under an SUV and the driver doesn't know it, does it make a noise?

:eyes:
rocktivity

[valerief]

47. Very sad. Of course, the first thing I thought of was how was she doing in polls?

Who was she endangering in the race?

[liberation]

52. WTF do you mean by "endangering?"

[valerief]

56. Who was threatend by her running? Duh. nt

[liberation]

61. Well, she is dead now so it doesn't matter...

There went one possible excuse in case the Dem in that race loses, I guess.

[valerief]

63. I didn't assume it was the Dem. You did. nt

[liberation]

122. Riiiiight.Whatever.

[valerief]

149. For all I know, third party candidates can make electronic vote switching difficult to control. nt

[valerief]

54. self delete, dupe

[femrap]

53. How very, very sad.

Such a promising young woman to die so tragically.

[keepCAblue]

57. My spouse witnessed a deer being struck by a car...

A few months back. Spouse was driving up a mountain road here in California, following a guy in an expensive foreign sports car. The guy slammed into a young female deer. He stopped the car long enough to see the that it was *just* a deer, as it lay flailing on the roadside, then he took off. My spouse pulled over to check on the young deer but she managed to get to her feet and stagger into the brush before my spouse reached her. So my spouse followed -- fought her way through thick brambles, climbed down a steep embankment squeezed through some barb wire--until she found the deer, who had collapsed in a clearing and lay gasping and groaning in pain from a broken leg and who knows what other internal injuries. My spouse called the non-emergency number of the local police ... who referred her to Fish and Game ... who referred her to the local animal control agency ... who told her they didn't respond to injured wildlife and there was nothing they could do. No one, it seems, cared about the pain and suffering of this animal, except my spouse, who sat with the terrified creature for nearly two hours, crying. She sat with her until she gasped her last breath and finally, mercifully, died. My spouse said a prayer for her and came home, still crying.

My heart goes out to the victim and her mother. No living thing should die such a lonely, agonized death, be they a human or be they *just* a deer.

[Bryn]

64. Give your spouse a big hug from me....

for caring for that deer and for staying with her to the end. She has a heart of gold, so full of compassion.

[truedelphi]

66. What a sad story. And enheartening that your Sweetie is

someone attempting to offer some light and love to the world around her.

[grace0418]

67. Your spouse is kind and loving, unlike so many humans unfortunately.

I'm sorry she had to see that, but I'm glad she was there to comfort that poor creature.

[Cleita]

86. Something to be said for guns.

I too saw a deer hit by a car when I lived in Idaho who kept driving. I stopped to try to help it and a local in truck pulled up behind me and took a rifle out of his truck. He told me not to look and he killed it with one shot. He told me that it was best to put it out of its suffering because no agency would come and help. He said that predators and carrion would take care of the carcass after we left. It really makes you think about the circle of life.

[Politicalboi]

87. That was so nice of her to do

A few weeks back one night I was sitting here in my room and I heard what sounded like a car hit something. I saw their headlights on the street because they stopped. From what I heard, it sounded like a guy and a young girl. I was shocked to hear the girl say "it's got blood coming out of it's nose, lets take a picture". I was disgusted to say the least. We called animal control the next day to pick the dead deer up. I think this woman in the story was drunk, and maybe using her phone too. No one could possibly not hear the noise of the metal scrapping the ground.

[northernlights]

111. I'm so sorry for what your husband and that doe suffered

and bless his heart truly for staying with her.

I had a deer hit in front of my house. She dragged herself across my front yard and disappeared. The man who hit her called animal control, who got here immediately (lives right up the road from me). The poor guy was white and shaking. The officer and I wandered around looking for her...she had died in my raspberry bushes.

She was young...for a couple years I would hear her clicking in the dark across the street in the early morning and evenings after dark. The first time I actually saw her was also the last. I still miss her clicking.

[keepCAblue]

171. My wife. Not my husband. n/t

[defendandprotect]

112. A wow story .... amazing ...

[TheMadMonk]

136. To borrow from Heinlein. If you want to be a real "grown up" learn triage...

...and learn how to kill injured animals cleanly and quickly. A human being might understand why you're sitting there holding their hand in their dying moments. Even a pet might take some sort of comfort from a familiar presence, but a wild animal has no such understanding.

Once upon a time I'd have suggested a tire iron without hesitation, now for some reason the law in too many places has it that it is less cruel to leave an injured animal to suffer for considerable period of time, while a certified slaughter device (bolt gun) is fetched, than to carry out a quick but "brutal" killing immediately.

Here in Autsralia the law has reached the point where while hunting with a gun is still fine, using a gun for either euthenaesia or slaughter is illegal and carries a very hefty penalty.


We have become a very strange people in the "civilised lands". While we may bitch and moan about it, we do take the casual slaughter of and extreme brutality towards our own kind entirely in our stride. FFS we entertain ourselves with it. And we use every lurk we can find to profit from it. Whether it's Hollywood selling simulated slaughter, a defence contractor the real thing, or an insurance company drone telling you that your kid must die for the good of the bottom line. I'm sure you're comforted by the knowledge that your retirement fund (if you invest in a diversified portfolio) is a little stronger for the decission.

Yet something as quick and painless as breaking the necks of an unwanted litter of kittens, or tipping a tom upside down into a gumboot for a quick flick of the razor (meebee not so painless) is cruelty beyond measure.

Flip: Our treatment of food and otherwise commercially valuable species IS TRULY BARBARIC in far too many instances.

Flip: Flipper is fliptastic and anyone who deliberately kills him or his cousins is the lowest of the low.

Flip: A near complete and utter disregard for the greater envirionment.


Personal "brutality" is a human quality that we have decided holds no place in a "civilised" world, and yet we have embraced abstract brutality, raised it to an artform and deified it.

For me there is nothing brutal or cruel about knowing what the correct thing to do, and doing it in the face of what is the "civilised" thing to do.

I understand why your spouse did as she did, and if she did not have the means do hand she couldn't do much else, but realistically which is more compasionate? Instant surecease, or two hours of empathetic inaction.

[keepCAblue]

172. "... breaking the necks of an unwanted litter of kittens... "

Yeah, because finding homes for them would just be too much trouble.

Beyond this, I just have no words to express the depth of my disgust your post has evoked.

[Freddie Stubbs]

142. This one of the reasons I keep a gun in my car

I had to use it once on a deer when I lived in Pennsylvania.

[Maine-ah]

145. the police should have come out and shot the deer.

another thing they do in Maine. If it's got obvious life threatening injuries, they will put the animal down. Then you have the choice of taking it home with you....or finding someone else who will.

[Kolesar]

59. Devices Enforce Silence of Cellphones, Illegally

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/technology/04jammer.html

[klook]

68. Sounds like she was a great person with a caring family -- from her website...

I was born in Washington DC at The George Washington University Hospital. After birth, I grew up in suburban Maryland, first in Riverdale, then in Cheverly. From the very beginning, it has always been my mother, Kenniss (rhymes with Dennis) and I. My grandmother, Corrine, helped take care of me when I was a child and my mom worked up to three jobs at once. Watching and experiencing my mom’s struggles instilled an early sense of responsibility and hard work within me. She and I have always been there for one another. Someone once told me, “You and your mom prove ‘family’ is not a bad word”. Any way you define it, a solid family structure has been paramount to my development. We all need someone who always believes in us to be successful in life. My mother and I have always done that for one another. Additionally, there is Bill. Bill is our family 11-year-old, 3-legged Chocolate Labrador Retriever. Bill has been with us for the past 8 years and he brings such good times every day. He has the biggest personality and inspires hope and joy wherever he goes.

Very sad to hear about this woman's death. I don't know Maryland law, but this driver is apparently guilty of not only hit-and-run, but possibly vehicular homicide.

[Quantess]

69. Only 30 years old. How sad.

[civilisation]

72. Cars are evil, they kill often,. . Get them off my roads!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_Mass
http://worldbike.org/
http://1lesscarnews.blogspot.com/

[Ticonderoga]

74. The drivers version of the truth is rediculous.

I mean who drives a vehicle for 3 miles with a bicycle crumpled up and dragging without stopping to investigate? Bring in the Grand Jury.

[Skittles]

119. it sounds ridiculous to me too

simply put, it is not believable - it's not how a person of sound mind behaves

[msanthrope]

146. A drunk one....n/t

[sofa king]

161. My mom does this.

Once she was startled or scared, or encountered a mechanical problem of any sort, she would firewall it home and not stop for anything. She once brought home a Datsun 510 that was on fire, and severely damaged an XKE and a TR3 by trying to drive them home when they were malfunctioning. It used to drive my old man nuts.

Her rationale seems to be that cars are fungible, but she isn't, so if she has to kill a thousand cars to feel safe, so be it. An obviously terrible driver hiding behind a three-ton Cadillac might have similar motivations.

Jesus, I hope my mom doesn't get a Cadillac.

[barbtries]

78. a deer on a bicycle?

there better be charges.

[Ahpook]

82. Obviously drunk

If not on booze, arrogance

Lock up the swine!

[swilton]

84. Great loss for Maryland

Great loss for progressives.

[Pavulon]

88. I HATE this language. She was hit by a PERSON.

the person killed her. Not the SUV. And if she is drunk should be treated as if she randomly hung a gun out the window and shot her. I shit you not.

[Politicalboi]

89. Gee I just watched the video of the story

And the victim is black, and there have been no charges yet. WTF? If you watch the video, you see the bike still under her vehicle. I would bet my life, that the driver was drunk. I don't understand why it's taking so long to press charges. She should at least be charged with hit and run for starters. And also at the link in the comments her cousin wrote something. If it really is her cousin.

[Jefferson23]

92. What a nightmare, RIP . n/t

[BlancheSplanchnik]

97. so sad..... why do the good seem to go too early, too tragically

while the evil hang on and on and on....

?

Yes, glenn Beckkk, Limpbutt, Scammity, Rupert Murdoch, Newt, Mitch McConnel, Christy ODonnel, Palin, etc etc etc.........


I guess it was probably unseemly of me to say, but I couldn't help myself.


so unfair. so wrong.

[Moosepoop]

98. Couple of things...

The woman driving the SUV called the police when she got home (another article stated that the police were with the victim at the scene when the call was made by the driver), so I would think that police immediately went to her residence and administered a breathalyzer test. I would certainly hope so! Assuming that they did, and given the fact the driver has not been arrested (for DUI), it would indicate that she wasn't drunk. That's IF she was given a breath or blood test right away to prove one way or the other... My ex was killed on his bicycle two years ago, and the police tested the driver and passenger of another vehicle that was sideswiped by the same car, they had the blood of my then-deceased ex tested at the hospital, but they DID NOT test the driver of the car that hit him!!! That's all I can say on that subject for the time being.

Also, I wonder if the victim in this case was thrown clear of her bike and the car upon impact, or if she may have been dragged a ways or landed at any time on the car. In the case of my ex, he was thrown up into the air, then came down on the hood of the car causing his head to shatter the windshield right in front of the driver. Yet the driver traveled another 40 feet or so, with the metal cart my ex was pulling behind him lodged in the undercarriage, and the bicycle itself being pushed ahead of the car by the pull bar. Yet she stated to people who stopped right afterward that she "didn't realize she had hit anybody." Yeah, right.

In Ms. Pettigrew's case, I would like to know

a) If an alcohol/drug test was performed on the driver (if not, WHY NOT?), and the result.
b) What, if any, rate of speed can be (or has been) determined at the time of impact (was she speeding?)
c) How long did she say it took her to complete the drive home (3 to 4 miles) and at what speed (with a bicycle lodged in the undercarriage)?
c) Were there any tire marks at the scene to indicate sudden braking after the impact?
d) What, if any, other damage or evidence may be present on her vehicle (that may disallow the "deer" story)?
e) Exactly how long after returning home did she place the call to the police? They know what time her call came in, and someone must have reported finding the victim lying along the road at some point (since the police were at the scene before the driver called them from home), so they know the accident happened prior to that reporting. But do they know for sure how long the victim had lain there before being found, and are they therefore sure of the length of time between the event and the driver calling it in?

The driver's story obviously stinks to high heaven -- I hope the police have been and continue to be thorough in their investigation of this case.

[Cowpunk]

118. Thanks, your comments are wise and illuminating

I was wondering when the driver had called the cops.

[TorchTheWitch]

166. a few answers...

Estimated time of the accident was 5:30 a.m. but she did not call the police until 6:30 a.m. It's absurd to imagine it took her an hour to drive the 3 to 4 miles home even at the low speed she would have had to have driven given the damage to the car. As I understand it, the estimated time of the accident was given by the driver who hit Ms. Pettigrew and may have been given as somewhere between 5:00 a.m. and 5:30 a.m.

Damage to the car is extensive as shown in photos in news videos. The bike is lodged under the car with most of it dragging the ground and at least one of the front tires was completely flat.

Given the time the police arrived at her house and the estimated time of the accident, a breathalizer would not have given an accurate reading of the amount of alcohol that may have been in her at the time of the accident, and she also may have claimed that she took a drink or more than one when she arrived home. No alcohol reading would therefore stand up in court.

Personally, I think she knew damn well she hit a person and paniced and drove home hoping to get away with it, but with the bike lodged under the car, she probably discussed it with her husband and it was decided that there was no way she wouldn't eventually be identified and the best course of action to stay out of trouble would be to call the police with the ridiculous excuse that she didn't realize she had hit a person.

[Moosepoop]

173. Thanks for the info, TorchTheWitch!

I agree with your assessments of the situation. BTW, nice to meet up with you again! :hi:

[TorchTheWitch]

174. wow! I was just thinking about you the other day!

Fancy that. I must have conjured you up!

So nice to see you're still here!

[orbitalman]

100. Really? !! I do not believe the driver....

No matter WHAT you hit, you stop.

[wisteria]

102. Very tragic. n/t

[elleng]

104. Would like INFO ON SERVICES IN HER HONOR, please.

[Veracious]

113. DRIVER SHOULD BE JAILED

WTF I thought it was a deer, when I "accidently" run over Glenn Beck!

[Kolesar]

114. Here is Bicycling Magazine's Road Rights Blog

http://bicycling.com/blogs/roadrights/

It does not carry this story, specifically, but it is a good read. peace

[TheOther95Percent]

115. So tragic

I have to agree that the driver should have stopped to investigate. A bike would have made a tremondous noise. Something is hinky in the driver's story.

[donheld]

117. Very sad

[SheilaT]

121. While I don't want to seem to be defending

the driver, just tonight, about four blocks from home (I just arrived here 8 minutes ago, well after dark and immediately sat down at my computer and logged on to DU), I passed yet another person on a bicycle. Dark clothes. A very dim light on the rear, an equally dim one on the front. There needs to be a better way for people on bicycles to make themselves more visible. The particular intersection where I passed this person was not terribly well lit, and so the person on the bike was very hard to see.

The past couple of weeks I also keep on overtaking people on bicycles (I will point out that they are all well within the very good bicycle lanes we have here in Santa Fe) on a much busier, far better lit street. And it's still a little tricky to the the cyclists.

About three years ago my younger son hit a deer with his car (a Honda Accord) and although the deer was young, clearly just past fawn-hood, there was considerable damage done to his car, enough that it wasn't drivable. A human on a bike isn't going to do as much damage, and I think the real issue here is the goddam stupid SUV. I wouldn't be at all surprised if driving an Escalade with a bike caught underneath is just like driving the Escalade without said bike caught underneath.

[liberation]

123. Well, thank goodness you didn't want to be seeing like that,

What's with the need of many Americans to excuse the asshole and blame the victim, always. Almost out of reflex?

[swilton]

125. I agree with both the previous writer and you

Bikers are hard to see and there is also a tendancy to blame the biker/pedestrian rather than to just say we all drive too damn fast.

Having come from the DC metro area - my home for the past 13 years was in Silver Spring, Maryland, I know of the area where the biker was hit....Within the past 13 years in that area, I had several accidents nearly totalling my Prius, none of which were my fault...numerous other near misses. My older son has only been driving five years and he's now working on accident #2 - not his fault. Driving through a parking lot in that area is hazardous. People zip through the small areas in their SUVs - go way faster than the crowded conditions allow - On the major side streets - it's every man/women for himself. And after all, owning an automobile promotes individualism and in these crowded conditions of major metropolitan areas, individualism has basically turned into a might makes right - every man or woman for himself kind of mentality. And driving on the beltways in that area is much, much worse.

I definitely think that the driver of the car was in error and from her first conversations with the police and/or public had been told to say what she has been saying. I do hope they throw the book at her.

Over the summer I moved to New England. While I was in Vermont for the past two months, I used to hike on one of the mountain roads...Again, I had a driver stop me and yell at me for walking on the wrong side of the road going around a turn --he was going too fast on this narrow (at most two cars wide with minimal shoulders, speed limit signs posted @ 20 mph) road - but in his eyes it wasn't his speed, it was the pedestrian who would be at fault.

Now after the two months in the Vermont mountains, I'm now in a town in New Hampshire. They encourage walking/bike riding and even have biking lanes on most of the major roads. Initially, I road my bike in the lanes on these roads. But after many near misses by cars passing me, I feel more compfortable riding on the sidewalks - even though, the exhilleration of the road driving is more fun. I try to ride my bike for most of my grocery, produce and other errands. Today, even, a waitress complemented my riding my bike vice driving a car - better for health and better for the environment and better for the community. Yet in the American culture, this kind of walking/lifestyle is not encouraged and is extremely hard to find.

[SheilaT]

133. No. It's not a reflexive blaming of the victim.

I'm merely relating some recent experiences of my own, in connection with people on bikes in the dark. If you ride a bike in the dark and you wear dark clothes you are essentially invisible. .It's really, really hard to avoid an invisible obstruction.

I do not know how the woman killed in the OP was dressed. Maybe she was wearing light clothes with reflective strips, her bike had good, strong lights on.

But there's an incredible assumption on the part of many of the posters that the woman driving the SUV (and believe me, I am absolutely no fan of SUVs) was drunk or texting or both. With no evidence of either, I might add. At least not from the original post and link.

[liberation]

135. "I do not know how the woman killed in the OP was dressed..."

So why did you have to bring the whole clothing argument to this fray?

"But there's an incredible assumption on the part of many of the posters that the woman driving the SUV (and believe me, I am absolutely no fan of SUVs) was drunk or texting or both. With no evidence of either, I might add."

I don't think you comprehend the magnitude of the projection in that sentence. So you don't know the actual circumstances... and yet there off you went trying to excuse the actions of a person who just committed manslaughter and then trying to, as I said, blame the victim... because that is exactly what you were achieving with the whole innuendo regarding visibility and what not. Even though, as you recognized... you have absolutely no clue about wether or not the biker was properly "visible" on the road. So apparently, only you can make up conjectures pulled out of thin air.

And yes, apparently driving for miles with a bike stuck under her carriage is a clear sign of an alert and aware driver. Whatever.

Sorry, I am cyclist. I commute to work almost every day by pedal. And most cyclist who do just like me are also fairly well prepared when it comes to make ourselves visible, because our life depends on it given the amazing quantities of drooling morons behind a wheel in this country. I just don't have patience for bullshit doublethink arguments blaming the victim yet again.

[joshcryer]

148. I see no "excusing" of the SUV driver there, it's clear you are projecting.

Drop the kneejerk reaction, it was a heartfelt response.

[SheilaT]

156. Why is it okay to ASSUME

the driver of the SUV was drunk and/or texting? But it's okay for bikers to drive around in dark clothes at night?
I am NOT excusing what the driver did. I am NOT blaming the victim. But, but, but, people on bikes in dark clothes at night do not seem to comprehend how invisible they are. There really, really is an element of responsibility here. When I am driving home at night right now, I usually see two or three people on bicycles. I'm yet to see one who makes sure to be highly visible at night. I repeat, dark clothes, no reflective strips, bikes with very weak or no lights at all.

Yes, I have no clue about how visible the dead woman was. And no one else who posted such nasty things about the driver has no clue about whether that person was drunk, texting, or both, or worse.

If I had my way no one at all would be allowed to drive any car bigger than, say, a Honda Accord. But that's just me.

If I had my way cell phones, even the hands-off ones simply would not work inside a moving car.

[SheilaT]

157. self deleted.

double posted in error.

[joeglow3]

163. S/he was offering an alternative idea not addressed

No need to be defensive and attack the poster.

[barbtries]

160. i say a dead body

is some pretty strong evidence.

[TorchTheWitch]

167. take a look at the photos of the damage

Damage was extensive with the bike lodged under the car mostly dragging the ground. At least one of the front tires was completely flat. There's no way on earth that car should have been driven, and no way on earth the driver wouldn't have known there was something metalic dragging the ground under the car and that the tire was flat.

I can totally understand that hitting the cyclist was purely an accident especially since it was reported that Ms. Pettigrew was not wearing reflective clothing, however, it isn't the accident itself that is at issue here it's what the driver did after the impact.

[SocialistLez]

124. How horrible!!

My thoughts go out to her family.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

126. "No comment". I'm so furious about this. What has happened to our humanity?

[hayu_lol]

134. Yet another long and mixed thread about a biking fatality...

that has gotten all sorts of theories entered into the discussion. Worst part is that we, none of us, have sufficient info from the links to make the sort of determinations that have been made.

For example: No article and no comment has been presented as to what the rider was wearing and what sort of lights/reflectors the bike was equipped with. Without that info, it is impossible to make a judgement about the rider and her equipment. We only know that at 5am, it is probably dark, maybe not as black as pitch but dark. We can assume that traffic at that time of the morning on a Sunday would probably be very light.

This rider had to have been an experienced cyclist. She had to be aware that someone was coming up behind her. Could she have moved further to the right? We don't know. The driver of the car hit something. Perhaps she did not see the rider. We don't know where she was looking or what lights may have been shining in her face(urban area?)from streetlamps or storefronts or oncoming traffic.

It is very possible that sheet metal could have dropped down and was dragging on the roadway. The driver, if deer were a common problem in this area, might have assumed correctly that she had hit a deer...at least assumed to the point that she did not want to leave the security of her vehicle in the dark being that she was so close to home. We don't seem to have any details as to why the driver was there at that time of the morning...was she drinking? Bars are usually not open at 5am. A homeparty nearby? Possible. Worked nightshift? Possible. In any case, heading home.

She got home. Told her husband about the collision. Almost any guy would immediately go out to see what damage was done to the car. They did call the police when the bike was observed...thats a point in their favor insofar as we can tell from the links.

If the rider had reflective material on her clothing, if she had lights, however dim, on her bike, she SHOULD have been seen. Sometimes those led lights are so dim that they are not visible.

A question for you experienced cyclists: Whatever happened to the tire-generator sets that we used to have available? Both tailights and headlamps were quite bright so long as the bike was moving. Had one of those on my Schwinn back in the late 40s and it worked very well. Much brighter than these led setups.

A sad case in any event.

[RamboLiberal]

150. One video I saw of a police spokesperson from GD topic

said the cyclist wasn't wearing reflective clothing. As to lights on the bike, don't know. I'm not a cyclist but it was indicated that Ms. Pettigrew was training for a triatholon. I would bet they keep their bikes minimalist.

As a driver it amazes me the number of cyclists, runners, walkers I come across in the dark hours wearing no reflective clothing, many wearing dark clothing and no lights to help drivers see them.

I am seeing more cyclists in my area getting very bright flashing white & red lights on their bikes or their persons.

[DesertDiamond]

130. Oh my god..

[earcandle]

137. OMG. Mom, I am so sorry this sorry ass woman did not take the time to be with your daughter.

And I am sorry for the loss of your daughter, and a sister in
my home state.  A woman who was doing something for all of us.
 Horrifying.  Some people are so crude. 

[Loudmxr]

138. This is only a ruckus because someone in the accident is a Senate candidate!!

No wait. That is only in Alaska.

Seriously. I am very sad for this loss. Even sadder that it may be the result of criminal negligence. We will see.

Too many good people die young. Too many risk their lives to change things for the good. In a way I like that. I admire that.

I need to flesh out my resume before I die young. But I am getting older quicker so I better do better than I think I am doing.

[Ysabela]

140. I live in WI, and I've *never* seen a deer riding a bicycle before.

What a bullshit excuse.

[progressoid]

141. ...

via PJPhreak http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8502119#top

[Butch350]

143. How in the Hades does one mistake a human for a deer?

[msanthrope]

147. You don't...n/t

[CLANG]

153. RBWB

[Ter]

169. Ultimate irony

The Green Party's nemesis is the SUV.