Another senseless incident

[Pax]

The driver was only cited with "failure to drive in a single lane", how about "improper use of a weapon".

Good lord, lets be really really careful out there!


School nurse badly hurt in car, bike collision

BY TIMOTHY O'HARA

Citizen Staff

A former Monroe County health director and current elementary school nurse was hospitalized Sunday after a car hit her as she and her husband were bicycling on the shoulder of U.S. 1 near Mile Marker 6.5.

Stephanie Walters, 51, of Key West, was flown to Ryder Trauma Center in Miami with serious, life-threatening injuries, according to family friend **** Buckheim. He told The Citizen on Tuesday that Walters was in "very serious condition."

"She had a very bad night on Monday, but was not getting any worse [Tuesday]. She was not getting any better, but not worse," Buckheim said.

Walters, who works at Glynn Archer Elementary School, and her husband, Karl, were biking to Baby's Coffee at Mile Marker 15, as they did every Sunday for an iced coffee, Buckheim said.

They were on the Boca Chica Bridge shortly after 7 a.m. when the car veered out of the northbound lane and hit Walters, according to a Florida Highway Patrol report.

The driver, Donald Johnson, 54, of Key West, "looked away and was adjusting his GPS direction finder" when he hit her, the report states. He was cited with failure to drive in a single lane.

The Florida Highway Patrol report did not say how fast Johnson was driving. The speed limit is 55 mph in that area.

When Walters fell, Johnson "immediately" stopped his car in the grassy shoulder, the report states.

The couple were experienced cyclists who wore protective helmets and other biking safety gear, Buckheim said.

[jesvetmed]

driver, Donald Johnson, 54, of Key West, "looked away and was adjusting his GPS direction finder" when he hit her, the report states. He was cited with failure to drive in a single lane.

Are you kidding me? "Failure to drive in a single lane...?!?!?!" What about the human being he hit while failing to drive in that single lane? Vehicular assault comes to mind?

[Blueberry]

This is just ridiculous. At least the one driver that hit someone here today has (apparently) had the book thrown at him. As he should.

So it's OK to not look where you're going, so long as you don't hit anyone?

[bmccasland]

Whatever happened with the thought of just DRIVING a car? You know, 3000pounds of steel with a motor attached? If you need to know where you're going, pull over and look at a map (paper or electronic). Need to use the phone, your car is NOT a phone booth. I could go on... We have taken multi-tasking to a whole new level, but when one of those tasks could actually kill someone, maybe we should concentrate on it.

This sort of thing makes me think twice about things I do while I'm behind the wheel, and do I REALLY need to be doing that, or driving the beast?

[Pax]

Whatever happened with the thought of just DRIVING a car? You know, 3000pounds of steel with a motor attached? If you need to know where you're going, pull over and look at a map (paper or electronic). Need to use the phone, your car is NOT a phone booth. I could go on... We have taken multi-tasking to a whole new level, but when one of those tasks could actually kill someone, maybe we should concentrate on it.

This sort of thing makes me think twice about things I do while I'm behind the wheel, and do I REALLY need to be doing that, or driving the beast?

I've been thinking about that as well. It seems as though driving (actually piloting the vehicle) has become the secondary or even tertiary activity. I'm a big fan of govt. staying out of our lives/decisions but I'm thinking it's time to have some new rules to put the emphasis back on the task of driving.

[Pax]

Here is an update on the cyclist who was hit:

Blood drive planned for injured cyclist

BY TIMOTHY O'HARA

Citizen Staff

A Key West bicyclist who was critically injured last week when a truck hit her on U.S. 1 continues to improve and doctors appeared to have stopped the internal bleeding, her husband said Thursday.

Stephanie Walters, who suffered multiple broken bones throughout her body and remains in an induced coma, is in critical but stable condition in the intensive care unit at Ryder Trauma Center in Miami.

There will be a blood drive for her from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Key West Yacht Club, 2315 N. Roosevelt Blvd. in Key West.

Doctors have begun to reduce the paralytic medications that induced the coma and curb her reliance on the respirator.

"They have not started repairing anything yet," Karl Walters said. "She will be there many, many months."

Karl Walters leased a Miami apartment for three months to be closer to his wife during her recovery, and has the option of extending it if necessary, he said.

The 51-year-old's recovery may be aided by the fact that she was in excellent physical condition, as she biked 30 miles a week and was working out with a personal trainer, her husband said.

Walters was working as a school nurse at Glynn Archer Elementary School and is a former director of the Monroe County Health Department.

She and her husband were making their weekly bike ride to Baby's Coffee on the morning of April 20 when a truck driver veered off the road at the north end of the Boca Chica Channel Bridge, hitting her and grazing her husband's back with the side mirror. Karl Walters said he turned around to see his wife "flying through the air."

Donald Johnson, 54, of Key West, was adjusting his GPS direction finder when he hit her, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. Johnson was cited with failure to drive within a single lane, the report states.

Karl Walters has filed a lawsuit against Johnson and his insurance company, claiming he was negligent in his operation of the Ford pickup truck when he "decided to operate the ... vehicle's GPS system while driving at the same time." It also claims negligence for Johnson's failure to keep an adequate lookout and failing to keep the vehicle in a single lane.