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

[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.

[Zen]

The accident occurred Sunday 5:25 AM

I seriously doubt the driver was on her way to church or work.
I think the driver was driving home. Maybe drunk, maybe sleep deprived.
Extenuating circumstances lean towards drunk.

There was a witness who stayed with Natasha. How hard that must have been for her.

[XMcShiftersonX]

The accident occurred Sunday 5:25 AM

I seriously doubt the driver was on her way to church or work.
I think the driver was driving home. Maybe drunk, maybe sleep deprived.
Extenuating circumstances lean towards drunk.

If DC is anything like Washington State where 80% of serious injuries and fatalities involving motor vehicles also involve alcohol... Than that would be my guess as well.

[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.

[indigoiis]

This exact type of "accident" happened in Rhode Island in a residential / urban area of Providence last year. Very sad.