Elena Castaneda - Ghost Bike

Dear Mark:

The loss of Elena Castaneda, 55, on the streets of Oakland has certainly touched many who descibed her as a beautiful woman. Although I was not previously familiar with Elena, I cannot help but be touched by her many friends who convey that, like most bicyclists, she was full of life.

We still cannot make sense of the police account of the Thursday morning fatal collision between Elena and a 13-ton dump truck contracted to work on the Temescal Pool. As you note, the report published in the Friday Tribune newspaper oddly has Elena riding NB on San Pablo in the complex diagonal intersection with Isabelle/West Streets--toward her Berkeley home--rather than toward her office job in Old Oakland. (map of intersection: http://tinyurl.com/2b7jey; Tribune: http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_6590826)

When we met you at the flower-bedecked site on San Pablo with other saddened friends of Elena's on Friday afternoon, there was a steady stream of bicycle commuters heading home toward Berkeley. Most bicyclists take the lane on San Pablo. Others ride in the sidewalk on this poor excuse for an urban street. The busy crosswalk next to the SB lanes at Isabelle and West Streets, where Elena was purported to have ridden NB, is a kill zone for anyone inside the crosswalk! Over multiple visits, I have seen few motorists headed WB stop in the middle of the intersection to wait for a bicyclist or pedestrian. Most drivers swerve past, using the overly wide Isabelle and West junction.

East Bay Bicycle Coalition Board Members Mary Norton and Leo Dubose are both very familiar with the site from a handlebar perspective. During recent visits, they too watched conflicts between motorists with bicyclists and pedestrians.

Members of the EBBC placed a Ghost Bike memorial at the crash site this Monday morning. We hope to resolve the conflicting accounts and learn what led to Elena's tragic end.

Friends and family have traveled great distances to remember Elena. Flowers on San Pablo Ave help soften the harsh environment for grieving visitors. A private memorial will be held in the garden at her Berkeley home on Tuesday, August 14 at 6pm.

May she rest in peace,

-Robert Raburn, Executive Director
********************************************
East Bay Bicycle Coalition www.ebbc.org
PO Box 1736 tel:(510)530-3444
Oakland, CA 94604 fax:(510)336-1604
info msg:(510)433-RIDE (7433)
********************************************
"To promote bicycling as an everyday means
of transportation and recreation"

> -----Original Message-----
> From: discuss-bounces@lists.bikealameda.org
> [mailto:discuss-bounces@lists.bikealameda.org] On Behalf Of Mark
> Sent: Friday, August 10, 2007 8:24 PM
> Cc: BikeAlameda
> Subject: Re: [Discuss] accident in Oakland
>
>
> I went to the site of the accident this afternoon and Robert
> Raburn of EBBC was there along with other friends of the
> deceased. We got a very graphic account of the aftermath from
> a local mechanic. Fortunately his thick Caribbean accent sort
> of muffled his graphic description so that it was not quite
> as horrific to the ears, but the picture was clear and this
> was as bad as it gets.
>
> The Tribune newspaper account of this accident does not jive.
> Elena was headed to work, which would have been south bound
> but the article says she was north bound. It is a very
> convoluted and confusing diagonal intersection as are those
> of San Pablo with Market and Adeline also. West actually
> takes a dog leg as it passes through San Pablo making the
> transit very long. Time cannot be turned back, but I am very
> concerned that an exact account of the actual circumstances
> are verified and made public.
>
> -MI (I am only able to send to Bike Alameda list but somebody
> could flip this over to other appropriate lists. Thanks)
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: discuss-bounces@lists.bikealameda.org
> [mailto:discuss-bounces@lists.bikealameda.org]On Behalf Of Mark
> Sent: Friday, August 10, 2007 2:42 PM
> Cc: BikeAlameda
> Subject: Re: [Discuss] FW: East Bay Bicycle Coalition founder
> dies at 86
>
>
> The woman who was struck and killed by the truck at West
> street and San Pablo avenue yesterday was a very old friend
> of mine. The accident was horrific even though the truck was
> moving 20 mph, not tremendously fast. I certainly hope the
> initial impact was enough to knock her senseless before being
> run over.
>
> By the description in the paper she was in the cross walk,
> but in my mind she may have been traveling from the sidewalk.
> I am anxious to find this out. I warn my kids that if they
> ride the sidewalk to be ultra cautious at each intersection.
> As a driver I use my peripheral vision perhaps more than I
> should. I depend on not hitting people coming off the
> sidewalk based on the speed of pedestrians.
>
> Alameda intersections are often crowded by vehicles and
> visibility, or lack of it, makes a driver inclined to pull
> through the crosswalk in order to be able to see on coming
> traffic at all. The size of SUVs and the heavy tinting of
> windows only makes it tougher. I was driving Oak down from
> Clinton to San Jose and an adult male came off the sidewalk
> from my left like a rocket and I almost nailed him. He never
> had a clue how close he came. I wanted to follow him just to
> tell him right of way is no insurance.
>
> Mark Irons

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