# Bicyclist dies in Sunday crash on Uvas Rd, Morgan Hill



## Francis Cebedo

Bicyclist dies in Sunday crash on Uvas
11:58 AM
By Natalie Everett - Staff Writer

A Gilroy bicyclist died Sunday morning after his bike struck a car on Uvas and Little Uvas roads in unincorporated Gilroy, California Highway Patrol officers reported.

A CHP press release said Rita Campos, 60, of Morgan Hill, was driving a 1997 Honda eastbound on Little Uvas Road at 9:45 a.m. when she stopped at the intersection with Uvas Road.

Bruce Finch, 58, was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

Finch was riding southbound at 9:45 a.m. when the front of his bike struck the front left side of the Honda, according to a CHP news release. Campos, who was traveling eastbound on Little Uvas, was stopped at the intersection, the release states. No injuries were listed for Campos in the release. It is unknown what caused the accident.

According to the report, Finch was using safety equipment at the time of the crash and was ejected from the bicycle.

Campos was not arrested.

Any witnesses are asked to call the Hollister-Gilroy California Highway Patrol office at (408) 848-2324.


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## wipeout

Sounds like she pulled out from Little Uvas Road in front of Bruce. How could he hit her if she was stopped where she was supposed to stop? This is sad...


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## sometimerider

wipeout said:


> Sounds like she pulled out from Little Uvas Road in front of Bruce. How could he hit her if she was stopped where she was supposed to stop? This is sad...


I agree - the description doesn't make sense.


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## Keeping up with Junior

*Kindergarten*



sometimerider said:


> I agree - the description doesn't make sense.


Ever listen to a kindergartener lie about what really happened on the playground so they don't get in trouble? Usually does not make sense. 

Of course the same could be said for reading a story written by a grade school kid - usually doesn't make sense. I wonder how many reporters actually graduated from grade school when I try to work my way through some newspaper stories and it looks like Staff Writer Natalie should have been held back a couple of times.


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## Dr_John

That's terrible to hear. 

And glad to see that I'm not the only one confused by the article. Hey, at least she didn't comment that "cyclists frequently ride two abreast, although that doesn't appear to be a factor here."


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## mohair_chair

Without a witness, it's her story against his, and he's dead. I know this intersection, I've ridden through there often. There are no obstructions that would prevent a cyclist from seeing a stopped car. Here's a picture from Google looking southward towards the intersection. There's no way a guy on a bike runs into a stopped car there. She pulled out in front of him. That's a slight downhill, and it's not unusual for bikes to be going 25-30 mph there. Maybe she misjudged his speed, pulled out, and now he's dead.


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## mangotreat0808

really sad incident, my thoughts and prayers go out to the Finch family. 
from the layout (i personally haven't ridden there), it seems like if anyone suddenly pulls out in front when you're traveling 30mph on that slight downhill on a relatively narrow road, it would be almost impossible to avoid the blockage.


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## Magsdad

Sorry, ain't buying it....


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## mohair_chair

mangotreat0808 said:


> it seems like if anyone suddenly pulls out in front when you're traveling 30mph on that slight downhill on a relatively narrow road, it would be almost impossible to avoid the blockage.


Only the bridge is narrow. The road before and after it is two lanes wide, and there is plenty of room. Here's another view, from just beyond the intersection, looking northward towards the bridge. Note the stopped truck. How in the world is a cyclist going to hit a stopped car at this intersection? They're not. You would have to pull out into the road to make that happen.

This is one of the most common cycling routes in the whole bay area.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=gilro...9914,-121.73476&panoid=Nl56Dr3oaOj58V2J4TaaJQ


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## Francis Cebedo

We have this same thread going on in mtbr.com and friends and family members of the cyclist have come in and commented.

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=458571

fc


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## PJ66

First, I want to offer my condolences to the entire family, this is truly tragic. I share in your loss as Bruce and I worked and rode together. We rode this very loop many times during lunch and I know Bruce was not at fault. Bruce was always careful when riding and just cannot believe this has happened. I pray for his wife and daughter especially and that the truth is found. 

JO


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## mikebutler

*Still cannot believe it*

Bruce was a good friend, a fellow rider and will truly be missed. I am still in shock and disbelief. 

I hope the Highway Patrol took the time to investigate the accident. Far to often the person in the vehicle is seen as "having been traumatized enough" by the incident for any real questioning of the "facts" to happen. Has anyone in the area contacted the Highway Patrol and asked for further explanation? 

My thoughts and prayers are with Carolyn and Sarah.


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## thien

Very sad.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to both families.


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## smorris411

*I was there ...*

All, I concur the driver is not telling the complete truth. I was riding a similar route that same day & time and saw 2 fire trucks pass me north bound on Oak Glen at ~10 am. I was heading south. BTW had I kept straight on Uvas (which I often do) I would've been on scene before emergency. And in retrospect that could've easily been me!

I'm 99% sure the driver must of pulled out in front of Bruce, there's no other rationale explanation. I too have been hit by a car and that's exactly what happened to me. Only it was a car making a "illegal" right hand turn from the far left lane on Foothill Expressway. I clipped the driver's right back corner panel and flipped backward, my head hit hard! backwards on the pavement, shattered my helmet in over 10 places (I still have it in memory).

A CHP officer passed me w/ lights flashing at Watsonville/Uvas Road while I was heading back from Gilroy loop. I reached the scene ~90 minutes later on my way back and I saw a body (Bruce) in the center of the road w/ a white blanket covered over him. I told the CHP officer "This doesn't look good", he replied, "no it isn't". I asked if it was a fatality and he confirmed by nodding his head.

I saw Bruce's bike up resting up against the telephone pole, but didn't see another car. The officer would not let me pass through. 

It's hard for me to believe Bruce would've been lying in the center of the road if he hit the car "stopped" to the right. And it's also impossible for me to believe Bruce hit a stopped car, no way! And assuming that's what happened then his body would've ended up on the side of the road or in the bushes, not the center of the road!

Hard to believe the reporter didn't ask these same common sense questions to the CHP prior to the story. Also hard to believe it took 3d to break this news. I've been checking the forums and news feeds for past 3d.

I'm hopeful the investigation when complete will bring the truth to light.

Best wishes to the family. This really affected me personally. And raised my safety awareness to higher levels. 

Be safe, and keep the rubber down.

Steve


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## Francis Cebedo

If the driver pulled out in front of the cyclist and caused his death, then there needs to be consequences. 

If the driver caused the accident, then backed up her car to appear she was not at fault, then lied to the police, there needs to be penalties.

If this investigation or accident scene was handled poorly, that needs to change.

If the cyclist was killed doing everything perfectly right and died because of the fault of others, his friends and family should know.

These are just 'ifs' of course but I do have my suspicions and would like to find out the truth.

fc


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## smorris411

From my perspective here's my guess at what went down.

The driver first looked left (didn't see Bruce rolling at 25-30 mph) seconds from crossing the narrow bridge south bound down Uvas Road (btw there are trees and shrubs left & right of that narrow bridge prior to Little Uvas Road that could impair ones vision) then looked right, then pulled out, collison!

From Bruce's perspective he saw the Honda (or maybe not) stopped at the stop sign. And thus stayed his course.

Having been in a bike-car collision it all happens in a matter of seconds. I'm sure the driver's car was in motion but it will be extremely difficult to determine fault. It's not her fault if she didn't see Bruce due to her vision being blocked by trees or shrubs, unless she ran the stop sign. It's just an accident.

My recommendation is to take that 700 billion bail out and invest it into upgrading our roads, bridges & highways (complete w/ bike lanes) and network infrastructure for our schools (something we'll end up doing in the long run anyway). Franklin D. Roosevelt solution to the great depression. It will create jobs, stimulate the economy with all that printed paper and avoid going to war w/ some US marketed demon (fill in the blank).

Steve


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## Leopold Porkstacker

Once again, this is sending a message out to people who drive cars, that it is OK to hit people on bicycles. Bicyclists are evil people who are up to no good. WTF is wrong?


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## djconnel

The paper should save the money on such useless reporting and simply publish the CHP report verbatim. I fail to see what value Natalie added. There's no mention in the article of the possibility of driver fault, nothing at all except that she "wasn't arrested", yet it was determined to be necessary to mention the cyclist had "safety equipment" (wink-wink, nudge-nudge). She didn't even provide any context to the nature of the intersection: it took 20 seconds to check Google Street View.

There is clearly the _a priori_ assumption that cycling, as opposed to driving, is dangerous.


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## Francis Cebedo

From Alto Velo, this is a very helpful post from John Murphy

-------
I read this article after it was posted on the SVBC list yesterday. The article has changed 3-4 times since then. The first paragraph is the same - Natalie has added the a "close" approximation of an excerpt from the CHP report "the front of his bike struck the front left side of the Honda" in the current revision, revising an earlier revision where she said the bike and the car collided (or something like that).

The revisions are in part in response to an email conversation I had with the reporter, I sent her an email yesterday and we went back and forth 3-4 times, my initial complaint being that it is wrong to say "The bike struck the car" if "it is unknown what caused the accident". I also told her to "expect a lot of mail". 

She forwarded me a quote from the CHP report - "This collision 
occurred when, for an undetermined reason, the front of the bicycle 
collided with the left front of the Honda." 

I pointed out that the CHP report is very neutral - starting with "This collison occured" and saying "the front of the bicycle collided with the left front of the Honda" is also neutral - it does not imply causation. I told her that newspapers and the police have been notorious for biased writing in bike collisions, and that efforts of cyclists to correct that are probably responsible for the neutral wording in the CHP report.

She stated that she did not feel that "The bike struck" implied blame and I described my experience with an insurance company. "The car turned in front of me and we collided". "So you hit the car?" "We collided." "You collided when you hit the car." "For the third time - 'we collided'". The insurance company was trying to get me on tape saying that I hit the car in order to create potential fault. 

Note that the reporter revised the report, but managed to put the bias BACK into the quote by saying "bike struck" (active tense) rather than "collided with" which is not an active tense statement. 

Currently she is slated to call me tomorrow to discuss an article she is writing "a follow up article that will give voice to bicyclists' concerns with this road and bicycle safety in general."

One winning selection from the email thread...

> > We will be following up and speaking with other cyclists, as I know 
> > this is a route frequented by experienced road riders like yourself 
> > and Finch (even though it's not a designated bike route).

Francis - feel free to use any of this email as you wish, I'd post on the forums myself but I already get enough grief for spending so much time on the lists I am already on  



John Murphy - [email protected]


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## djconnel

John's patience is inspiring. My feelings are more aligned with this this comment in the Morgan Hill Times:

_Shame on you, Natalie, for your inaccurate reporting. I was a journalist and editor for two decades, and I can smell sloppy journalism from a mile away.

The true story is that a motorist killed a cyclist.

That's the story you should have written. If I were your editor, this story would have been kicked back to you in seconds._


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## wipeout

Some intrepid reporter should research what level of punishment a driver received after killing 1 or more cyclists in the Bay Area during the last 5 years. I rarely see or hear any result of legal proceedings following a cyclists murder or what the DA is doing in those cases. Perhaps I should be more active and start writing letters to those elected to protect us from murderers on wheels and actively supporting those who promise stiffer penalties. 

http://www.sccgov.org/portal/site/da/ ... ?


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## Dr_John

I'm really hoping the CHP did a thorough investigation at the scene and is just waiting for a witness to come forward to corroborate the findings before they charge the driver. I know, unlikely....but still a hope.


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## alsorideuvas

wipeout said:


> Some intrepid reporter should research what level of punishment a driver received after killing 1 or more cyclists in the Bay Area during the last 5 years. I rarely see or hear any result of legal proceedings following a cyclists murder or what the DA is doing in those cases. Perhaps I should be more active and start writing letters to those elected to protect us from murderers on wheels and actively supporting those who promise stiffer penalties.
> 
> http://www.sccgov.org/portal/site/da/ ... ?


Here is some info that I found and posted on MTBR about a cyclist that was killed in Woodside. Different circumstances, but some similarities. The driver in this case was not drunk, or speeding, or anything, just not paying careful attention while driving and ran down a cyclist. You should also check out the similar thread on MTBR.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...earch&aq=f&oq=


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## alsorideuvas

Sorry, copied the wrong link.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Michelle+Mazzei+death&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&oq=


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## CoLiKe20

:*(

sad


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## alsorideuvas

mikebutler said:


> Bruce was a good friend, a fellow rider and will truly be missed. I am still in shock and disbelief.
> 
> I hope the Highway Patrol took the time to investigate the accident. Far to often the person in the vehicle is seen as "having been traumatized enough" by the incident for any real questioning of the "facts" to happen. Has anyone in the area contacted the Highway Patrol and asked for further explanation?
> 
> My thoughts and prayers are with Carolyn and Sarah.


Hi Mike,

I called the CHP a couple of days ago and they would not give me any information except that the crash was still under investigation. I hope it includes an accident recreation.


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## alsorideuvas

I have also contacted the reporter that wrote the original news story about this in the local Morgan Hill paper.


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## Dinosaur

*The possible scenario*

This has happened to me on numerous occasions. You are tooling down a road, a car approaches an intersection (usually a "T" intersection). Driver slows, not coming to a complete stop. Starts to pull out to make a left turn, sees you, stops. Then instead of remaining stopped (sometimes blocking part of the roadway) commences to pull out directly in your path. I have one intersection where this happens all the time. I slow down and anticipate the car to pull out in my path. I'd say 50% of the time they do. I sometimes wonder if it's because (1) They under estimate our speed (2) They don't see us or (3) Oh- it's just a bicycle.

It's a clear cut right-of-way violation. I hope the family of the cyclist retains a good attorney. One who specialized in traffic accident reconstruction.


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## mangotreat0808

Visibility is key as has been mentioned in earlier comments. I think using blinkers, strobe lights even during the day facilitates a higher level of visibility to the fossil fuel driver who (by instinct) is looking out for other cars. From afar off, a cyclist is a vertical line and can be camouflaged with the backdrop of trees, even road pavement - a strobe light (front and back) makes you, the cyclist, more visible, if not just plain noticeable to oncoming and cross traffic.


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## mikebutler

alsorideuvas,

Thank you so much for following up. 

About 200 people attended Bruce's memorial on Saturday and someone mentioned a memorial ride. If anyone hears anything, please post it here.

Thanks again

MB


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## alsorideuvas

mikebutler said:


> alsorideuvas,
> 
> Thank you so much for following up.
> 
> About 200 people attended Bruce's memorial on Saturday and someone mentioned a memorial ride. If anyone hears anything, please post it here.
> 
> Thanks again
> 
> MB


Hi Mike,

I was there, I am sorry that I did not get to meet you or figure out who you were. We have hooked up with one of the owners of a local bike shop.Concept Cyclery: 

http://www.conceptcyclery.com/Home_Page.html 

Jennifer the owner, or one of the owners, said that she would start working on one right away. I said that I would help out and I certainly will let you know when this might happen.

Todd


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## Francis Cebedo

New article by the same author is up.

http://www.morganhilltimes.com/news/249493-cyclists-mourn-loss-after-uvas-crash

What do you think?

fc


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## Dr_John

Glad to see Natalie followed it up.



> While Campos said she "sometimes has to crawl a little bit further out" to see down Uvas Road, she doesn't think she did that day - but it all happened so fast she can't be completely sure.


 Hmm.....


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## alsorideuvas

I think that this article is a little better, with a little more consideration for Bruce. A few exceptions: 

1) I still do not like the use of the word "accident," though I have to admit that is the word that I used to say, until this incident. Even the CHP's comments: ""In almost every accident, there is someone who committed a moving violation,"" implies this was _not_ and accident but a preventable collision with specific cause(s).

2) The above compared to (in the same article):

""I live on top of the hill, I got down the hill, down to the stop sign, and stopped. I always look for bikers because there's always (some bicyclists), deer, cars and everything else," Campos said. She said she was looking to her right, and about to turn and look left again when Finch's bike struck her car."

I am not sure which story to believe. Maybe neither is true? I am not sure if the author of the story caught the (to me) apparent difference in the driver's statements. Did the reporter ask for a clarification on this? The answer is not in this article.

3) The trail advisory member's comments suggest little knowledge of the laws that govern cyclists on the road, or cycling in general, "Instead, Uvas Road is primarily designated as a scenic road frequented by cyclists , who ride on a narrow area outside the car lane or on a limited or no-shoulder area, Aragon said, similar to Monterey Road and portions of Watsonville Road." Last time I checked, we ride in the lane. Might have been a good time to talk to someone with some cycling expertise, say for example, someone at Specialized Bicycles, or some more experienced riders, for a relevant opinion on Uvas Rd. I would hope that those in "advisory" positions of influence at least have an understanding of the rules of the road. Time to be on an advisory board, I think.

Check out the article for yourself, 
http://www.morganhilltimes.com/news/249493-cyclists-mourn-loss-after-uvas-crash
Make sure to scroll down to the comments at the bottom. I think that she got the attention of the drivers this time, which, in my opinion, is important.


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## smorris411

_
"I live on top of the hill, I got down the hill, down to the stop sign, and *stopped*. I always look for bikers because there's always (some bicyclists), deer, cars and everything else," Campos said. She said she was looking to her right, and about to turn and look left again when Finch's bike struck her car."_

The stop sign is a good 8-10 feet back from where Little Uvas intersects with N/S traffic on UVAS. I road past just yesterday again to survey the scene again. If she was stopped at the stop sign white line, Bruce would've passed right by and waved with a couple car widths to spare..

If Bruce struck her car at the stop sign it would've required him to "swerve out far right onto Little Uvas Rd. One would only attempt that if they planned to make a right turn on Little Uvas Rd. If he had struck her at the stop sign he'd not ended up in the middle of the road. Law of Physics proves this. 

I suspect she looked left (didn't see Bruce around the corner approaching the "narrow" bridge due to the trees & shrubs that cover then looked right, thought all was clear so then pulled out. Collision.

From Bruce's perspective if he saw her stopped at the stop sign as he crossed the narrow bridge he assumed the car would remain stopped til he passed. But the driver states she didn't see Bruce when she looked left (the first time) so she must have pulled out and caught Bruce completely by surprise.

That would support the facts I'm aware of to date. Technically if she came to a full stop prior to pulling out she'd not be in violation. The error was she did not see any oncomng traffic when in fact there was. I've witnessed car accidents under similar circumstances.

I'd like to better understand if where she claims her car was at the time of the collision. When I arrived on the scene Bruce's bike lying up side the telephone pole which BTW is far in front the stop sign and I don't hear stories of cyclists crashing into that pole.

Cold reality of our sport is cyclists are the smallest vehicle on the road. I always ride w/ a exit plan in mind where possible and always anticipating the unexpected. I rode w/ a guy on Sunday who's been riding 30 year and struck 4 times by cars. I guess I'm lucky as I've only been struck once nothing serious. Most avid cyclists have several stories of either road rage or other bike/car incidents. I've been hit by objects thrown from cars, hit by (untied) tie downs waving from the back of trucks, buzzed by cars and trucks. I had a car cross over the shoulder while he was parallel with me forcing me to break hard to avoid being forced off the road.


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## smorris411

*correction*

In my earlier post I stated "The stop sign line is 8-10 feet back from the road". The stop sign is 8-10 feet off the road but the actual stop sign *white line *is only 3-4 feet back off the UVAS intersection white line that marks side of the road. It's approximately even with the telephone pole to the right.

I road past today and noticed someone has used spray paint to mark what appears to be where the 4 tires of the car where positioned. NOTE it shows 2 front tires 1-2 feet in front of white stop sign line. It also shows a poor rendering of a bike (not to scale) and line of sight arrow pointing towards the 4 tire marks.

Was difficult to make to much sense from the markings. Only that it appears someone is investigating.


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## alsorideuvas

*Charlie*

Is anyone on this forum possibly Bruce's friend Charles, or know a neighbor of Bruce Finch's named Charles?


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