How do you drive 3 miles with a bike under your SUV and not know it???????

[smilingcat]

I have no sympathy for the driver as well it was just an accident. I don't buy I just hit a deet so I drove home. And why would you drive home with that much damage to your car?

She may have "accidently" hit the cyclist but what she did after the collision is criminal!!

[kermit]

With the amount of damage to that vehicle (and flat tire) there is no way she could have just driven home and not known there was a problem. Much less probably sparks flying up from the bike scraping the ground or at least the car not driving properly. My guess, out partying late or DUI, really neglectful. She's an idiot and should be charged. If she's not sure what she hit she should have stopped. It might have made the difference between life and death. Leaving the scene of an "accident with injuries".

[arielmoon]

This is mind boggling! I have a hard time believing she didnt get out to look at the damage before going on home!!

I was driving on a very foggy road one morning and saw a deer on the side of the road. I saw it's movement and had time to think "no!!!" before it ran out right in front of my car. It bounced off the windshield and left fur and some blood streaks on the front of my car. I was so shocked it did take me about 300 feet to stop but the deer had bounced up and ran away.

[OakLeaf]

I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but here we are again with the strict liability vs. mens rea.

There's basically no downside if an automobile driver leaves after killing a bicyclist or pedestrian. As shockingly immoral as it is, it's actually the sensible thing to do. The next day - or whenever you hear the cops are hot on the trail of your car - you turn yourself in. You're sober and they can't prove anything about what your mental state was when it happened. So at worst you get a little ticket for failure to control.

[WindingRoad]

I've hit a deer in an old 69 Chevy pickup truck and it seriously screwed up the truck and I was only going 45. There is no waaaaaay you can convince me she didn't know SOMETHING was wrong! I think she was drunk.

That poor girl, it makes me sick thinking about it.

[warneral]

oh how horrifying that poor young woman

[Cataboo]

One article I read said that the woman thought it was a deer & didn't want to stop because of how early in the morning it was - and that she & her husband found the bike underneath - so I guess if you're 4 miles from home and you want your husband to check what's going on, just driving home makes some sense. I also don't know how dangerous or not that section of town is. (Lots of people perceive parts of the DC area to be dangerous)

I'm just glad the bike rider wasn't dragged with the bike for 4 miles.

[Bike Chick]

I keep thinking how awful it must have been for the victim. That poor girl. This is just tragic. I don't want to pass judgment on the woman that hit her without knowing more facts but it leaves me with a lot of suspicion.

[badgercat]

An updated story: http://www.wusa9.com/rss/local_artic...storyid=112106

Authorities are now saying that they're finding evidence of reflective gear at and around the scene.

Whether she was riding totally "in the dark" or was lit up like a Christmas tree, this is a terrible, terrible tragedy.

[zoom-zoom]

Notice where the bulk of the impact damage is to the front of her vehicle...it's on the driver's side. How would that happen unless she was driving way over on the shoulder or even a bit off the road. Something's rotten in the state of Denmark and I have a feeling that it involves alcohol and/or intentionally striking that young woman. There is no other explanation for that level and pattern of damage to the vehicle. If this woman walks there should be some major outrage and not just from the cycling community. The whole thing makes me sick.

[emily_in_nc]

This is seriously disturbing and very tragic. I am baffled and greatly saddened by this senseless act. I wonder if the full story will ever come out?

[Selkie]

The world lost a very promising young woman.

Let's hope justice prevails and the truth comes out. It's beyond my comprehension why the driver didn't stop. Thank God that the cyclist didn't end up caught under the car with her bike and that she had someone there with her until help arrived.