Bethlehem, PA
05 April 2012
This blog post has moved to here:
http://bethlehempolice.wordpress.com/2012/04/05/press-release-city-honors-two-citizens-for-exceptional-service-to-their-community/
The official blog of the City of Bethlehem Police Department.
Good work by the named citizens, especially the bus driver. I have no idea how he could see all that in his rearview mirrors.
ReplyDeleteI also hope the suspect will be charged with hit and run. The video evidence looks pretty conclusive.
The charge entitled "Accidents involving Death or Personal Injury" id the section commonly referred to as "Hit and Run". It dictates the responsibilities of a motorist when they are involved in any accident involving an injury.
DeleteGod bless the good people who stepped up to the situation - the bus driver, the following driver, the officer on the scene, and the district attorney.
ReplyDeleteCould you please post the missing footage from 3:06:27 to 3:06:33 looking at the back of the bus? I'd like to see the circumstances under which the driver merged back into the right lane and struck the cyclist.
ReplyDeleteJason, there really is no "missing" footage during the times you posted. All of the video footage from this incident was captured by the same camera. Our video cameras are all PTZ (Pan-Tilt-Zoom). They are programmed to alternate between several pre-defined areas. This particular camera has five pre-set positions that it continually scans between. All of the cameras can also be operated through our Communications Specialists in our 9-1-1 Center. The missing footage is when the camera is repositining itself between a view facing south and a view facing north. It was fortunate that the camera happened to catch the actual crash. In earlier frames, the offending vehicle can be seen making a lane change to attempt to pass the bus on the left. Through witness accounts, and the video footage, the entire story gets put together. The offending driver's path gets blocked by the bus and he then changes lanes back to the right to go around the bus. That is when he strikes the cyclist from behind.
DeleteAh, thank you for the clarification.
DeleteReally very fortunate the actual crash was captured on video, well done PTZ! :)
DeleteI hope the rider is alright. I'm going to be riding through this area this coming summer, on a cross-country bike trip. My biggest worry is being hit by a motorist. What is sad is that I am a brother, a son, an uncle, a friend...and if this kid hit me and took off, I might die from my injuries, and all those people who love and know me would suffer....all because of a cowardly act based on impatience. Wow.
Very impressed with your law enforcement there. Blessings!
http://tr4f.wordpress.com
Wonderful, commendations are well deserved for all. And thanks so much to the BPD for the coverage of this, huge thanks for your service. Be careful out there.
ReplyDeleteRichard Gubish, Jr., you made my day. Well done!
ReplyDeleteThank you to all involved!
ReplyDeleteThis reflects so well on the City of Bethlehem. As a former resident of Bucks county, I know how fantastic the riding in the area is. To see that the local residents value and respect cyclists only makes this part of Eastern PA a more desirable place to vacation and live. Great work by the individuals, but also great work by a township in publicizing how much they value someone on a bicycle. I'll certainly visit and spend some tourist dollars next time I'm riding in the Delaware Valley.
ReplyDeleteExcellent work by all involved and kudos to PA for passing this important legislation. Hopefully the young driver takes the lesson to heart and uses better caution, and shows greater personal responsibility, in the future.
ReplyDeleteI am truly impressed with the quick thinking and selfless actions of Mr. Gubish, Mr. Smull, and Officer Haubert in what could have been a tragic situation. Kudos also to the Bethlehem Police Department for their willingness to publicize and support the heroism of those individuals and for their obvious interest in helping to protect vulnerable road users, such as Mr. Pavlick. As an avid bicyclist myself, I am sadly aware of how often authorities will blame the victim in this type of situation.
ReplyDeleteGreat news that Mr. Pavlick wasn't badly hurt and also that the bad guy got caught. I only wish this was a more typical outcome.
I'm glad that the cyclist wasn't seriously hurt.
ReplyDeleteAs a avid bike person, I hope Mr. Gubish, Mr. Smull, Officer Haubert and the rest of the Bethlehem Police Dept realize how happy thousands of people who ride bikes are too not only see how the incident was handled, but how public the event has been made. It's sets an outstanding precedent that will hopefully help keep all road users safe.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this outstanding contribution to public education of the subject of cyclist safety.
ReplyDelete