# Sonima County Cyclist Killed



## jumpstumper (Aug 17, 2004)

SONOMA COUNTY 
Cyclist killed on rural roadside 
Motorist booked on suspicion of drunken driving
Jim Doyle, Chronicle Staff Writer

Tuesday, March 29, 2005

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A female bicyclist who had apparently stopped to rest on the side of 
a country road in Sonoma County was killed Monday by a suspected 
drunken driver in a pickup truck, authorities said. 

The identity of the 43-year-old victim from Clearlake in Lake County 
was withheld Monday by the coroner's office. 

It is believed to be Sonoma County's third bicycle death linked to a 
drunken driver in the past year. 

Monday's accident occurred under sunny skies at about 1:10 p.m. on 
Mark West Springs Road near the Quietwater Road intersection outside 
Santa Rosa. The woman, whose family is in the process of moving from 
Clearlake to Sonoma County, was riding solo on a mountain bike. 

Joseph Lynchard, 72, of Santa Rosa, the driver of a silver 1997 Ford 
F- 150 pickup truck, was taken into custody after the accident. He 
was booked at the Sonoma County Jail on suspicion of felony drunken 
driving, inflicting great bodily injury and gross vehicular 
manslaughter while intoxicated. 

"We have every reason to believe that he (was) under the influence," 
said California Highway Patrol spokeswoman Christine Jacobs. She said 
that laboratory results of Lynchard's blood alcohol level were 
pending. 

A driver who witnessed the accident told investigators that the 
victim had stopped her bike on the right shoulder of the eastbound 
lane of Mark West Springs Road, a hilly road with a 15-foot-wide 
shoulder. 

"It was not clear whether she had gotten off the bike and was sitting 
on the ground, or straddling the bike to drink some water," Jacobs 
said. "He swerves off the roadway to the right and hits her. For 
whatever reason, he turned the vehicle that way. Near as we can tell, 
he drives about 50 yards up the road and pulls over." 

Paramedics pronounced the woman dead at the scene, with massive head 
injuries and a broken right leg. An autopsy is scheduled for this 
morning. 

It is unclear how fast the pickup truck was going, Jacobs said. 

Almost a year ago, 43-year-old winery marketing analyst Daniel 
O'Reilly of Agua Caliente was struck and killed by a drunken driver 
as he peddled home on Mark West Springs Road. William M. Albertson, 
46, of Lake County was sentenced to 14 years in state prison for the 
crime. 

Nearly a year ago, on April 11, Easter Sunday, Alan Liu, a 31-year-
old engineer and triathlete, was killed, and his companion, Jill 
Mason, 26, was paralyzed when they were hit by a car as they cycled 
along Highway 12 near Oakmont outside Santa Rosa. The driver, Santa 
Rosa lawyer Harvey Hereford, had drunk more than three times the 
legal limit at which a person is considered too intoxicated to drive. 
He was subsequently sentenced to eight years, eight months in state 
prison. 

"We have a lot of rural country roads out here, and people who ride 
their bikes on these country roads usually know the risk and assume 
the risk," Jacobs said. "They do the best to protect themselves, but 
can't protect themselves against everyone." 

E-mail Jim Doyle at [email protected]


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## oldskoolboarder (Apr 16, 2004)

*Saw that...*

crazy and sad.

My inclination would be to think that it's dangerous to ride in Sonoma/Napa county because of all the wine tasters. But it seems like all these drunkards are locals.


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## jumpstumper (Aug 17, 2004)

oldskoolboarder said:


> crazy and sad.
> 
> My inclination would be to think that it's dangerous to ride in Sonoma/Napa county because of all the wine tasters. But it seems like all these drunkards are locals.


Hell, you can't spit in California without hitting a winery these days!

What gets me is CHIP officer Jacobs attitude in that last paragraph. I'd rather assume I was safe from these maniac drunks and that law enforcement was doing a better job in keeping them off the road...


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## filtersweep (Feb 4, 2004)

jumpstumper said:


> "We have a lot of rural country roads out here, and people who ride
> their bikes on these country roads usually know the risk and assume
> the risk," Jacobs said. "They do the best to protect themselves, but
> can't protect themselves against everyone."


Anyone else find that last passage offensive when you consider they are being killed and maimed by drunks? Riding on a FIFTEEN FOOT shoulder should be considered anything BUT risky! 

I don't get it. Northern europe has practically eliminated drunk driving... why can't the US?


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## bigdeal (Jul 24, 2002)

filtersweep said:


> I don't get it. Northern europe has practically eliminated drunk driving... why can't the US?


There's LOTS of things Europe has figured out which we haven't.....we're too busy creating taxes on bike sales.

Dear Legislator:
Please pull your head out of your *ss.
Sincerely,
BigDeal


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## jumpstumper (Aug 17, 2004)

filtersweep said:


> Anyone else find that last passage offensive when you consider they are being killed and maimed by drunks? Riding on a FIFTEEN FOOT shoulder should be considered anything BUT risky!
> 
> I don't get it. Northern europe has practically eliminated drunk driving... why can't the US?


She wasn't even RIDING on the shoulder, she was stopped on the side of the road when she got hit! And yes, I found it somewhat offensive of the CHIP officer to say that.


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## ukiahb (Jan 26, 2003)

*fourth time in about a year.......*

http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050329/NEWS/503290330/1033/NEWS01


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## Fr Ted Crilly (Feb 7, 2002)

*Drinking and driving*



filtersweep said:


> Anyone else find that last passage offensive when you consider they are being killed and maimed by drunks? Riding on a FIFTEEN FOOT shoulder should be considered anything BUT risky!
> 
> I don't get it. Northern europe has practically eliminated drunk driving... why can't the US?


Drinking and driving
I would disagree that Northern Europe has practically eliminated drunk driving, (at least in the UK & Ireland), but it is a crime that is taken far more seriously than in California by both the police and by the public. Continuous public education by means of TV & radio ads, (especially around Christmas and public holiday weekends), constantly reinforces into the UK & Irish populace that drinking, (not necessarily being drunk) and driving do not mix. It is now accepted by the vast majority of people that that it isn't OK to have 2 beers and get into a car. Compare that to California where in nearly 4 years here I have yet to see a TV ad showing the consequences of having a couple of drinks and then driving. People here seem to think that as long as you aren't staggering you aren't really drunk so you must be OK to drive. And maybe it's just in my workplace, but why the need to go for a beer immediately after work at 6pm and drive home at 8pm? If you want to have a beer, do it properly and get a taxi into town and get hammered with your buddies without worrying about driving home. 
And I also blame the cops and the judiciary system. What sort of test is it to ask someone to walk a straight line or put their finger to their nose? A proper test is a breathalyser that immediately measures blood alcohol level. And a proper penalty system is an automatic, no appeal, one year total suspension of all driving privileges.


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## xandre (Jan 2, 2003)

*sigh...*

*sigh*......i wish i was born in Italy........


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## leadag (Jan 4, 2005)

I spent two months in australia last winter. I drove a rental car for no more than 5 days total, but during that 5 days was pulled over twice in the middle of the day. Both times the officier immediately made me take a breathalyzer test - standard procedure. That's how you curb drunk driving.


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## johngfoster (Jan 14, 2005)

*One year?*

"And a proper penalty system is an automatic, no appeal, one year total suspension of all driving privileges."

What sort of a penalty is that? Do you realize how many people are driving out there with no licence or a suspended licence? That wouldn't stop them at all. I feel there should be a mandatory long-term prison sentence for anyone caught driving while intoxicated--period. We see a lot of trauma at the hospital I work at and so much of it is related to drunk drivers. I also agree there needs to be much more public education about not drinking and driving. This is tragic.


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## ukiahb (Jan 26, 2003)

*3rd DUI for the driver......*

http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050330/NEWS/503300306/1033/NEWS01


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## Fr Ted Crilly (Feb 7, 2002)

*We're on the same side on this issue*



johngfoster said:


> "And a proper penalty system is an automatic, no appeal, one year total suspension of all driving privileges."
> 
> What sort of a penalty is that? Do you realize how many people are driving out there with no licence or a suspended licence? That wouldn't stop them at all. I feel there should be a mandatory long-term prison sentence for anyone caught driving while intoxicated--period. We see a lot of trauma at the hospital I work at and so much of it is related to drunk drivers. I also agree there needs to be much more public education about not drinking and driving. This is tragic.


Maybe I should have chosen my words more carefully. I was trying to suggest that an automatic one year, no appeal, ban for failing a routine breathalyser test would be a good start in re-educating the California population of the seriousness of drinking and driving. If you were governor and proposed mandatory jail time for failing the breathalyser test then I'd be the first in line to support you.


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## ukiahb (Jan 26, 2003)

*further developments.....*

from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat....

Cyclist's death leads to probe
Eddie's bar owner is brother of suspected drunken driver

Saturday, April 2, 2005

By DEREK J. MOORE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

A Larkfield bar is under investigation following the death this week of a cyclist who was hit by a suspected drunken driver, authorities said Friday.

Eddie's bar in the Larkfield Shopping Center is owned by the brother of Joseph Lynchard, who was arrested Monday on suspicion of felony drunken driving and vehicular manslaughter.

Lynchard, 72, left the bar shortly before the collision on Mark West Springs Road that killed Kathryn Black, according to CHP investigators.

One issue authorities are looking into is whether bar owner Clair Edward Lynchard or any of his employees bear any criminal or civil responsibility for the crash.

Eddie Lynchard didn't directly address that issue when contacted at home Friday but said his "record all along has been clean" in 29 years doing business.

State records confirm that the bar has had only one minor violation in that time.

Eddie Lynchard also defended his brother.

"If you guys (the media) would leave him alone, he'd probably be doing fine," he said.

Joseph Lynchard, who is free on bail pending an April 19 court appearance, didn't return a message left Friday on his answering machine.

A neighbor who declined to be identified described him as a friendly man.

"I've never seen him inebriated, but I do a lot of shopping in Larkfield and I've seen Joe many a time coming out of the bar," the neighbor said.

It's unknown if Lynchard, a former backhoe operator and truck driver, consumed any alcohol at his brother's bar Monday before leaving for home in his 2005 Ford F-150 pickup.

Investigators believe he swerved on Mark West Springs Road and plowed into Black, a 43-year-old Clearlake woman who had left a relative's home in Windsor on her mountain bike about 45 minutes earlier.

She may have stopped to rest before she was struck, authorities said.

CHP officers said Lynchard "didn't do very well" on a field sobriety test after the crash.

One reason for the focus on Eddie's bar is state law makes it a misdemeanor to serve alcohol to an obviously intoxicated person. The state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control also could seek fines against an establishment or seek to restrict or revoke a liquor license.

But proving such cases is difficult, even with drivers who are later arrested for DUI, said Scott Warnock, a supervising investigator with the ABC.

"That person would have to show objective signs and symptoms of intoxication," he said. "A person above the legal limit doesn't always exhibit those signs, and in fact, rarely does."

Legal experts say bars and restaurants typically have wide immunity from criminal or civil penalties when a customer consumes too much alcohol and later gets in trouble.

The current law, established in 1978, states that consumption of alcoholic beverages, rather than serving alcoholic beverages, is the proximate cause of injuries inflicted by a drunken person.

One way around that would be if it could be shown that Joseph Lynchard didn't pay for any drinks he may have had at the bar, in which case it could be argued that he was a guest of Eddie's and not a customer, Santa Rosa attorney Charles Applegate said.

The law states that a social host who serves alcohol to a guest he knows has an "exceptional physical or mental condition" no longer has immunity from civil penalties.

"It may not be a winner, but it may be ugly enough to force a settlement," said Applegate, a civil litigator with Beck Law.

CHP investigators have interviewed two bartenders and a cook at Eddie's to determine whether alcohol was served to Joseph Lynchard in violation of any laws.

"If we believe that there is any kind of responsibility on the part of the establishment we would turn that over to ABC," CHP Officer Christine Jacobs said. "We're not equipped to investigate that kind of violation."

Sonoma County court records show that Joseph Lynchard has two prior convictions for DUI - one in 1992 and another in 2001.

He also was convicted of misdemeanor DUI in 1985, a law enforcement source said Friday.

The CHP took Lynchard's driver's license away after his arrest Monday. But he was issued a temporary license, which is good for 30 days.

Such action is standard while the state Department of Motor Vehicles decides whether to suspend or restrict a license for up to a year. Courts also can impose longer suspensions or other penalties, a DMV spokesman said.

Black's husband said he was "livid" that Lynchard is allowed to drive after what happened this week.

"That is a travesty with our law system," Hugh Black said Friday. "That man can kill somebody, get out of jail a few hours later and the very next day get a driver's license."

Black said he placed a cross and poppies at the site where his wife died. His family was busy Friday planning her funeral service.

Visitation will be from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday at Romano's Mortuary in Windsor, with an 11. a.m. Mass on Monday at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church.

In the meantime, the CHP is continuing its investigation of the fatal crash, the second involving a bicyclist on Mark West Springs Road in less than a year.

CHP Officer Steve Wyatt said Friday that Lynchard may have swerved onto the shoulder of the road 60 feet before the pickup struck Black. Investigators are basing that on a tire imprint found in the dirt on the side of the road, which they believe will match the pickup once tread comparisons are made.

The truck was impounded for evidence, Wyatt said.

Wyatt said two people who were driving in a car in the opposite direction of Lynchard witnessed the crash and reported seeing Black standing on the shoulder of the road, straddling her mountain bike.

She'd left Windsor around 12:30 p.m., telling her husband she was going to Clearlake, where the couple lived with their 5-year-old daughter.

Black was feeling stressed about losing her job last week, a troubling medical diagnosis and a phone call Monday informing the couple that a real estate deal was falling through.

Witness statements and physical evidence suggest that she was five to six feet away from the main road when she was hit, Wyatt said. An autopsy revealed that both of her legs were broken in multiple places, consistent with someone standing upright when they are struck by a vehicle.

Two off-duty nurses stopped after the crash to administer CPR, but Black was pronounced dead at the scene.

Hugh Black, who was on his way to pick his wife up, came upon the flashing lights and his wife's body beneath a yellow tarp.

"We're just sticking together right now," he said of his family


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## jumpstumper (Aug 17, 2004)

Unbelievable - The killer (who has prior DUI convictions) is allowed out of jail AND he gets a temporary license to drive? WTF? This is so wrong.


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## johnny99 (Apr 2, 2004)

ukiahb said:


> CHP Officer Steve Wyatt said Friday that Lynchard may have swerved onto the shoulder of the road 60 feet before the pickup struck Black. Investigators are basing that on a tire imprint found in the dirt on the side of the road, which they believe will match the pickup once tread comparisons are made.
> 
> Witness statements and physical evidence suggest that she was five to six feet away from the main road when she was hit, Wyatt said. An autopsy revealed that both of her legs were broken in multiple places, consistent with someone standing upright when they are struck by a vehicle.


Poor woman didn't have a chance. The drunk was plowing through the shoulder for 60 feet before he hit her.


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## jumpstumper (Aug 17, 2004)

I read this a while ago:

Judge allows defense to blame brother | PressDemocrat.com

The guy who ran over Black is in prison and the bar owner was held responsible for his actions. They ended up paying $1.75 million to the family of Ms. Black:

Santa Rosa DUI crash results in $1.75 million settlement | PressDemocrat.com


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