Yahoo Movies Deaths of 2 cyclists add to rising toll on the Rickenbacker. Cops: ‘Just a terrible accident’
The crash on the Rickenbacker Causeway that took the life of two bicyclists on Sunday happened on one of the most scenic — and notoriously dangerous — roads in South Florida, a stretch where traffic constantly whizzes within feet of throngs of cyclists, joggers and walkers.
Police on Monday said the driver of a Jeep that struck the cyclists had so far only been issued traffic tickets but the case remained under investigation. Miami police spokesman Michael Vega said the driver remained on the scene after the crash, had passed a field sobriety test and that the accident had occurred on a confusing section at the foot of the largest bridge leading to Key Biscayne from the mainland.
“He wasn’t under the influence,” Vega said. “It looks like this is just a terrible accident.”
Police released the names of the victims late Monday afternoon: Yaudys Vera, 48, and Ogniana Reyes, 46.
On Facebook and in other social media posts, friends posted memorials and tributes. One woman said Reyes was like a sister to her and that she had passed away, “On your best moment, when you were the happiest.” Another said she cried when hearing the news of her friend’s death.
“I don’t doubt that both are resting in peace because they deserve it,” she wrote. “As they have been together in recent times, likewise they left.”
READ MORE: Charges unlikely in Rickenbacker wreck that killed 2 cyclists
Miami Police hadn’t released the driver’s name by Monday evening, saying they were withholding it during an open investigation.
The Rickenbacker Causeway, with arching bridges and spectacular views of the city skyline and Biscayne Bay, is a magnet for fitness enthusiasts and visitors but has also been the site of numerous vehicle-bike accidents over the years, some of them fatal.
READ MORE: How big a danger is the Rickenbacker for bicyclists? Here are some of the tragedies
Herald archives show that at least seven people, including the victims over the weekend, have been killed on the Rickenbacker since 2010. Official records were not available on Monday but scores of others also have been injured in collisions with vehicles and sometimes other bikers.
And despite constant calls for new safety measures, cyclists say they have been slow in coming and those that have been implemented, like a slight raise in the toll rate, have been mostly ineffective.
Miami attorney Howard Srebnick, who has biked across the Rickenbacker every morning for most of the past two decades, wasn’t surprised to learn that police determined the driver of the Jeep had not been drinking.
“This is not just about DUI. This is an unsafe design and speed issue as well,” he said. “And it’s gotten progressively worse as the population increased and with many more cyclists on the road.”
On Sunday afternoon, the Jeep struck at the foot of the William Powell Bridge heading from the mainland to Key Biscayne. The crash happened near where an off-ramp to a road forces cyclists to curve slightly left toward traffic. The cyclists were headed in the same direction as the driver. While police initially said that potential criminal charges were unlikely, the case remained open and under investigation and, they said, charges or additional citations could be added.
READ MORE: What’s next for the stalled $500M plan to upgrade bike safety on Rickenbacker Causeway?
South Florida attorney and DUI specialist Robert Reiff said it’s not uncommon for police to jump the gun a bit and issue citations before a thorough investigation is completed. He said a criminal charge in this case seems unlikely with the driver passing a sobriety test and because it would require the driver to have willfully disregarded the safety of others. One possibility, he said, might be a charge of careless driving, which is a civil infraction that could carry a year’s suspension of a driver’s license and attending high-risk traffic school.
“What you want to do is have sufficient time to investigate the case to make sure it wasn’t a criminal act,” he said.
Miami attorney Lee Marks, another avid cyclist, said he noticed one of the bikes in pictures from the crash was a Bianchi road bike with zip carbon wheels — an expensive option that indicated its owner was serious about cycling.
Marks, who has represented the families of some of the cyclists killed over the years, believes the single biggest factor in the deaths is the causeway’s 45 mph speed limit, which he said the Florida Department of Transportation has not been willing to lower over the years. And, the attorney said, despite repeated pleas over the years for safety measures, they’ve been few and far between.
Marks recalled the 2006 death of Omar Otaola, who had arrived in Miami in 1992 just 12 hours before Hurricane Andrew struck after a dangerous raft trip from Cuba through the Florida Straits. More than a decade later Otaola had raised a family and made a life for himself when he was killed while cycling after being hit by a truck on the causeway just over a bridge heading towards Key Biscayne.
Otaola was hit as he avoided a concrete triangle that forced cyclists off the bike path and into traffic. The self-employed plumber and cycling enthusiast was 33 with a wife and two young daughters. Carlos Gimenez, at the time a county commissioner for the district, set up a meeting with Marks and Key Biscayne advocate Bruce Matheson. The triangle was removed.
Eight years later in 2014, Miami-Dade commissioners ordered another study of the causeway after the deaths of cyclists Aaron Cohen in 2012 and Cristophe LeCanne in 2010. It’s not clear what became of the report.
Cohen was killed by a hit-and-run driver and LeCanne was struck by a drunk driver who dragged him almost a mile before stopping. Cohen’s death led to the Aaron Cohen Life Protection Act, which increased penalties for drivers who leave the scene of a fatal accident.
Though there have been slight improvements, setbacks have been more prevalent. Like when a 2015 plan by renowned local architect Bernard Zyscovich, which would have created a barrier between bikers and the roadway along the causeway, was scuttled by islanders who complained it would be a burden.
The Zyscovich plan came after the cycling death of Walter Reyes, who was 51 and the chief financial officer of the Keyes Company. Marks said besides the deaths, it’s near impossible to tally how many cyclists have been seriously injured in accidents over the years.
“In almost every one of those cases, speed has a direct correlation. Impose lower speed limits,” said Marks. “Why do we need speed when driving through paradise?”
