Chris Bucchere, a software engineer and bicycle safety instructor, has to stand trial for the death of a 71-year-old he killed with his bicycle, the San Francisco Examiner reports.
Judge Andrew Cheng ordered the 36-year-old software engineer to stand trial for felony vehicular manslaughter after three witnesses testified he ran a red light before killing Sutchi Hui.
Prosecutors argued that Bucchere should face a felony charge because he was an experienced cyclist (and arguably should have known better) and because he allegedly mourned the loss of his helmet on an Internet forum right after the collision, the Examiner reported.
Here's the post that has been attributed to Bucchere, posted on the website strava.com. (Courtesy of the San Francisco Bay Guardian.)
“In closing, I want to dedicate this story to my late helmet. She died in heroic fashion today as my head slammed into the tarmac. Like the Secret Service would do for a president, she took some serious pavement today, cracking through-and-through in five places and getting completely mauled by the ragged asphalt. May she die knowing that because she committed the ultimate sacrifice, her rider can live on and ride on. Can I get an amen?
Bucchere's lawyer said he didn't run the run light, and that pedestrians had entered the crosswalk before they were supposed to.
The Wall Street Journal points out that the Bucchere case highlights tensions between cyclists and pedestrians. From the Journal:
"San Francisco's roads have become increasing congested in recent years as the city undergoes a tech-driven economic resurgence, and the road congestion has aggravated tensions between bicyclists, motorists and pedestrians."
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