Is there no way to initiate further investigation? I can't believe there were no other witnesses. What about security camera footage?

And it's a conflict of interest that the ONLY people questioned for the police report were the ones who might have committed a crime. The driver may not be at fault, but I imagine if you'd just struck someone with your car, and it looked as if the person may not survive, you wouldn't necessarily volunteer the information that you were responsible. I'm not so sure either that the driver necessarily feels awful. I've talked to bicyclists and pedestrians who've been hit by cars that then fled the scene.

This is exactly why we need more people on bikes, and in particular more drivers who also ride bikes themselves. I'll explain.

As the percentage of trips made by bike increases in a region, the total number of bike accidents quickly levels off at a certain (rather low) threshold, while the total number of trips can continue to increase past that with no significant increase in accidents. Accidents chart as a Natural Log as bike mode-share increases. This means that there is a massive and perpetual increase in the safety of the individual cyclist past that threashold. The threashold itself is lowered by increasing quality bicycle infrastructure, driver training, and reducing the number of cars, improving the design of the cars, etc. This is confirmed by several dutch, danish, german studies, etc.

Many efforts to make cyclists feel safer, such as helmets and reflectors, have actually been shown to increase risk-taking behavior - particularly those cyclists who think they need them. This is called risk compensation. Similarly, drivers are more agressive when their cars are equiped with ABS, seat belts, etc. In the case of cyclists, the promotion of these devices dramatically reduced the number of cyclists. In all these cases, the cyclist looses, because the technologies added to cars do increase safety to the driver about as much as expected (overall accidents are the same due to risk compensation), while the helmets and reflectors used by cyclists are much less effective than people think (resulting in a higher level of accidents than otherwise). In the end it is the car that kills the cyclist, especially when both driver and cyclist risk-compensate.

The most effective way to increase the true safety of cyclists it to increase their numbers, without resorting to gimics. Drivers learn how to share the road with cyclists by becoming cyclists themselves as well. The tried and true way to make this happen is to get real bicycle infrastructure in place by redistributing the distribution of space, money, and time, as you will find in Copenhagen, Holland, Japan, etc. This will only happenn when bicycle planning must becomes an integrated aspect of all transportation planning - not an afterthought. There will also need to be de facto support from small buissiness, who it has been shown vastly under-estimate the profits they stand to gain from pedestrianization and integrated bicycle policies.

My condolences. Now let's make it happen!

Rasha was intelligent, gifted, witty, beautiful and caring. We also knew her to be incredibly safety-conscious. She was an experienced cyclist who would NOT have taken foolish risks with her bike.

Yes, she had lights and reflectors on her bike. Yes she had a helmet and ALWAYS wore it. It was covered with reflector tape, as was her bike... all over.

Could it be that these accidents happen so frequently in this city that they are not taken seriously anymore? The bicyclist is presumed guilty until proven otherwise? In so many ways, this is just tragic.

We miss her terribly.

...what can I possibly say here?

Too many people die on our streets in ways that are completely preventable and blindly accepted by society.

I also understand your anger ZeldaB. I've told all my close friends to not believe a report that puts me at fault if I get hit and killed by a car. I screw up from time to time but very, very rarely. If I die under the wheels of a car and I'm said to be a fault, I've told all of them to raise holy hell in my defense!

There is no good reason for a Hummer to be in NYC! Where is the rough terrain? They are huge, gas guzzling, polluting, tanks! There has been many attempts to get them outlawed from the city in lieu of 9/11. To clarify I only mean they should be banned from Manhattan. The other boroughs are larger and less crowded, even though I still think they are ridiculous in all of NYC, but at least they are less dangerous in the outer boroughs.

Rasha has been biking in NYC for 10 years she knew what she was doing. This guy was in his twenties driving his father's monster car! Please out of respect to the many, many people who love Rasha don't say she ran the light until it is proven either way.

When will they put EDRs in autos do I have to wait till 2012 give me a break?

May she rest in peace.

The left-turning vehicle scenario seems probable. I try to never to cross against a red (on foot or on bike) unless I have the intersection timings and order wired. It can be hard though, when it seems like no one has the light and you're just waiting (and exposed to rain, cold, heat, whatever) for no reason. Sometimes cars too will run lights, especially late at night. When in doubt, wait it out.

I fear my first assumption may have been wrong. Reflectors alone do not meet the night time running requirements for riding a bike at night in New York or most other states.

Everyone! Please keep it legal out there!