Police report indicates trolley tracks caused biker’s death

July 9, 2010 • Posted by:

A Google Earth image of the intersection where McKinney was killed

The police report outlining the crash that killed Dennis McKinney, a 47-year-old motorized bike rider, says that the trolley tracks caused him to lose control of his bike and fall into the path of Chevrolet work truck.

According to an off-duty police officer who witnessed the accident, McKinney had successfully crossed the right trolley track and was attempting to cross the left when he fell into the path of the truck:

Off-duty Officer Zinn passed both subjects in his vehicle while traveling in the median lane. Between the bike lane and the curb lane there are built in trolley tracks for the downtown trolley system. At 4th Avenue, the bike lane would turn north and/or west  (to continue westbound on Congress) In order to continue westbound cyclists have to merge slightly and cross the tracks that are traveling  parallel to their lane.

Officer Zinn advised that as he passed, he observed McKinney cross one track (so he was now traveling between the tracks). Once Officer Zinn was beyond the (driver) and McKinney he looked in his rear view mirror and saw McKinney fall as he attempted to cross the second track. McKinney fell into the curb lane, and in front of (the driver’s) work truck

The off-duty officer said in the report that he noticed “disturbed” dirt between the track and concrete.

“I did observe dirt that was disturbed between the track and the surrounding concrete near a bandanna that was laying in the roadway and deduced that this was probably the point where Mr. McKinney lost control of his cycle,” the report said.

The driver, who was driving on a suspended license from a previous DUI, said in the report that he was driving behind McKinney between 25 and 30 miles per hour.

According to the report, the driver tried to pass McKinney when “he slipped.” The driver said he thought the bike’s tire got caught in the tracks, which caused him to fall.

“(The driver) said he felt his truck drive over what he thought was the bicycle and looked back to see the bicycle burning,” the report said.

According the report, after learning that the trolley tracks may have been involved, the detective left a message for Joel Peterson, the head of the city’s risk management department.

Here is video from the intersection:

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14 comments
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Woundedkneejp
Woundedkneejp

Wow, all this happened right after Anika fell. Scary stuff. I hope those rubber things mentioned above get installed.

Woundedkneejp
Woundedkneejp

Wow, all this happened right after Anika fell. Scary stuff. I hope those rubber things mentioned above get installed.

Rachelwils
Rachelwils

Let's be honest: the tracks are a nightmare. And, at least for now, they are completely useless as the trolley does not even travel on them. Frankly, I'm surprised it's taken this long for someone to die as a result of the tracks. How many times have we all fallen? (Plus this intersection is a catastrophe for bicyclists-- did the designers think that no one would ever travel south on Toole and want to turn left onto 4th Avenue?)

Greta
Greta

I was in a class at the UA about a year ago with the person responsible for Downtown Links and the Modern Streetcar and I very pointedly asked how they were going to make the area safe for bicyclists. She assured us that they were working on that (this was before it opened) and there were some important design elements that would address my concerns. She mentioned at the time that there were rubber risers that could be installed at intersections that would meet the tracks until the weight of the traincar pushed them down. She said it would be used a critical points in the traffic flow to reduce the risk to bikers. I was disappointed not to see them employed downtown. Now, I'm deeply saddened. A few extra bucks and some follow through could have saved Mr. McKinney his life.

Rachelwils
Rachelwils

Let's be honest: the tracks are a nightmare. And, at least for now, they are completely useless as the trolley does not even travel on them. Frankly, I'm surprised it's taken this long for someone to die as a result of the tracks. How many times have we all fallen? (Plus this intersection is a catastrophe for bicyclists-- did the designers think that no one would ever travel south on Toole and want to turn left onto 4th Avenue?)

Greta
Greta

I was in a class at the UA about a year ago with the person responsible for Downtown Links and the Modern Streetcar and I very pointedly asked how they were going to make the area safe for bicyclists. She assured us that they were working on that (this was before it opened) and there were some important design elements that would address my concerns. She mentioned at the time that there were rubber risers that could be installed at intersections that would meet the tracks until the weight of the traincar pushed them down. She said it would be used a critical points in the traffic flow to reduce the risk to bikers. I was disappointed not to see them employed downtown. Now, I'm deeply saddened. A few extra bucks and some follow through could have saved Mr. McKinney his life.

Red Star
Red Star

Good micro-journalism from a technical standpoint, but most important it's good work because of the story's ramifications. At this time the incredibly competent girly journalists over at the Arizona Daily Star, the Weekly, the local Gannett chat room, and the local TV newstainment shows can't be bothered, so profitable is Old Pueblo gossip...They'll figure something out...

Red Star
Red Star

Good micro-journalism from a technical standpoint, but most important it's good work because of the story's ramifications. At this time the incredibly competent girly journalists over at the Arizona Daily Star, the Weekly, the local Gannett chat room, and the local TV newstainment shows can't be bothered, so profitable is Old Pueblo gossip...They'll figure something out...

tucsonvelo
tucsonvelo

According to the report the driver was cited for the civil violations and arrested. The vehicle was impounded.

Collin Forbes
Collin Forbes

Driving on a suspended license! Do you know if the driver spent his 48 hours in jail as a result?

tucsonvelo
tucsonvelo

According to the report the driver was cited for the civil violations and arrested. The vehicle was impounded.

Collin Forbes
Collin Forbes

Driving on a suspended license! Do you know if the driver spent his 48 hours in jail as a result?

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