As we reported in September, a motorist struck and killed 27 year-old James Quinn and injured his wife, Ashley, as they rode eastbound on Highway 333, a dedicated bike route east of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Highway 333, also known as old Route 66, is a two-lane road that parallels Interstate 40 and is very popular among area cyclists.

Since that time, the details of the incident have become clearer. The driver was 19 year-old Angela Browning; she was returning form McDonald’s where she works as a manager. The police report indicates that Browning passed one group of five cyclists at about 60mph, moving to her left and across the yellow line to give them a wide-berth. When Browning saw an oncoming car in the westbound lane, she overcompensated and swerved back to the right and onto the shoulder, where she struck two other cyclists from behind. Browning didn’t see either of these cyclists until James Quinn flew onto her hood, windshield, and then roof.

Authorities pronounced James Quinn dead on the scene. Ashley Quinn also was thrown from her bike and suffered a dislocated shoulder.

Visibility on that stretch of road is unobstructed and neither vehicle was speeding.

The District Attorney has elected not to press felony charges in the case. Charges will be limited to careless driving and failure to maintain lane. Careless driving carries a maximum penalty of $300, failure to maintain lane costs $10. Although a 90-day jail sentence can also result from a careless driving charge, Albuquerque lawyers think this eventuality unlikely.

Although the legal system across the United States notoriously under-prosecutes motorists who injure or kill cyclists, New Mexico excels at stacking the legal deck against bikers. There have been several incidents of motorists killing prominent, responsible, law-abiding area cyclists in the five years I’ve lived in the state. This is actually the first instance I know of in that timespan where the D.A. has filed any charges.

Browning’s driving seems patently reckless – a much more serious charge. The circumstances, i.e. passing cyclists, warranted Browning to slow down and pass only when she was certain it was safe to do so. Clearly she proceeded at a speed she couldn’t control and swerved off of the road, killing a cyclist she didn’t even see.

The solution to the often unsafe road conditions is multi-pronged. Driver education may be the most important step. Many motorists are possessive of “their roads,” and don’t realize that cyclists have the same legal right to access. But enforcement of the laws, and prosecution when they’re broken, is another crucial facet

Comments (7)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Greg said:

I think that if bicycles had to be insured in the same way as cars, there would be lawyers all over this. Without the monetary liability of a third party interest for cyclists, things will never change, that's the price we pay for a capitalist system. It's very sad that cyclists are treated as having second class rights. If this same incident involved two cars, there would undoubtedly be stricter charges — most likely manslaughter.

January 27, 2008

Joe said:

So what does the author seek as a remedy? Does he want blood? An eye for an eye? Give her "the electric chair"? Shoot the bitch and stomp on her body for revenge to show the world just how tough on "crime" he is? Between 400,000 and 500,000 people die in motor vehicle ACCIDENTS every decade in the US. Should an equal number of people be imprisoned for their "crimes". Criminalization of more people is the last thing we need. We already have the largest prison population in the free world and it's not because of "poor prosecution". This woman is not Hitler or Al Capone. There was no INTENT to kill or harm anyone. This is why they are called ACCIDENTS. She is obviously an average poor young working teen with limited driving experience,(how unusual). This is a very sad ACCIDENT with no winners.

January 27, 2008

John said:

Whoa, Joe, SHOUT some more? Some thoughts: 1) The author called for better education and enforcement. That answers your first question. 2) When someone gets behind the wheel of a car, then in terms of public interest and safety of other vehicles (including bicyclists) that driver has no age, race, gender, economic status, or good/bad intentions -- these things become immaterial. Mr. Quinn is dead, and none of these factors mitigate that, so let's set them aside for the moment. 3) Prison population. This issue is a can o' worms! Question: Is it right to imprison someone for possession of weed for their own recreational use, but not Ms. Browning, whose actions have taken a life? Maybe neither should do time, or both? Would 9 months in lockup for Ms. Browning help bring public attention to the issue and help increase awareness? What if she were being careless with a firearm and killed Mr. Quinn -- he's just as dead, is she more/less deserving of some measure of punishment? How does perception factor into this, versus outcome? 4) In fact, Ms. Browning and her insurance carrier are probably subject to a wrongful death lawsuit should Ms. Quinn choose to file one. 5) Ms. Browning will probably carry the trauma of this for her lifetime, I acknowledge. 6) Also, I acknowledge that it "is a very sad accident with no winners." But for me, "Oops" doesn't cut it, and the token fines levied in this case stack up to little more than that. Can anyone provide enforcement solutions from other countries? The Netherlands? Australia -- where bikes have outsold cars for seven years (recent article)?

January 28, 2008

Daniel Lunsford said:

Joe, no offense, but your comments reek of ignorance. You're right, she did "accidentally" kill Mr. Quinn, but there are still consequences (or, as the author states, there SHOULD BE) for taking a life. If she accidentally killed YOUR child walking in a crosswalk, you wouldn't simply consider it an unfortunate write-off. The biker was completely within the bounds of the law, but now apparently he also needs eyes in the back of his head to watch out for reckless drivers coming from behind.

January 28, 2008

eric said:

At a minimum, she should never be permitted to operate a motor vehicle again in her life. It needs to be easier to strip a person of their license to drive. Driving is a serious matter. Any collisions with pedestrians or cyclists should automatically result in a driver's license suspension and felonies for driving without a license. It's time to take driving and its reprocussion seriously. The more careless drivers who are banned from driving the better! And even drivers can will benefit. Also, it's unfortunate the way these type of incident are usually reported: "cyclist killed by car". They should read "cyclist killed by [insert driver's name], who was driving a car at the time."

January 28, 2008

Jennfer Buntz said:

At a recent meeting of cycling advocates, the general consensus seemed to be that a large punishment for this driver was not the answer. There was consensus behind using this (and other incidents) to push for improved/increased driver education. One way to do this is by incorporating information about cyclists and their rights on the road into driver education courses and the written driver's test. (Another approach is being taken by Olev Rapido, an ABQ area racing group - www.bicyclenm.net - but that isn't what I'm concerned with here) My concern is how to turn this death, and the death of Paula Higgins in 2006 at the hands of a 16 year old driver, into changes of the drivers education process in New Mexico. What ideas do people have about how to accomplish this task? I feel we owe it to those we have lost and to ourselves to act.

January 31, 2008 | url

notsaying said:

I heard, and I may be wrong, that Paula Higgins was southbound on Pennsylvania turning left onto Comanche when she was hit by a car going northbound on Pennsylvania. In other words, she made a left turn in front of oncoming traffic. Maybe the girl was speeding. Maybe the light was changing. Regardless, the best you can say for Paula is that she misjudged oncoming traffic. Let's not go and assign all the blame to the driver simply because she was 16. Education and maybe red light cameras might help prevent accidents like this in the future. However, education isn't a one way street. If I'm wrong about what happened, somebody please correct me.

March 07, 2008

Name

Email

Website

Title

Comment

Add Comment