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Johnny Smythe, my best friend and roommate was killed thurs the 11th as he was biking home. He was violently hit by a drunk driver on West 6th only 2 blocks from our apartment.
The driver took off and much later called 911 saying he "might of hit someone"
Austin drivers have to be more aware of cyclists.
They have as much right to be on the road as these gas guzzling Trucks and SUVs
You would think with the success of Lance Armstrong people would be more aware of bike riders. Johnny and I discussed the aggression and road rage Texans have against bikers, unlike much of the rest of the country. He rode in Austin's Critical Mass bike ride on several occasions and would help inform other riders of their legal rights.
Honestly I have ridden my bicycle in NYC and not encountered this type of aggression found on Austin's downtown roads.
Unfortunately, with Texas law, the driver that killed Johnny will not even have his license revoked due to it being his first offense.
Johnny's death is a tragedy, and I am still in a state of shock....he was a extremely close friend of mine for over 10 years....words cannot express my grief. It's so sad to have his family members show up at your doorstep, and tell you of your best friend's death...let alone sort thru all your roommate's belongings.
Please....be kind to bike riders and all who share this earth. And please do not drive drunk
I will be contacting the kids who run Austin's Critical Mass bike ride and the downtown bike carriage people who shuffle people up and down 6th St., right past the place where he was hit.
Any of their contact info would be greatly appreciated.
Johnny was on Tribe for awhile and was known throughout Austin's electronic music scene and will be missed dearly. He was a member of this tribe and posted "Snail Mittens" He worked as a Graphic Designer in NYC, SF and Austin
The driver took off and much later called 911 saying he "might of hit someone"
Austin drivers have to be more aware of cyclists.
They have as much right to be on the road as these gas guzzling Trucks and SUVs
You would think with the success of Lance Armstrong people would be more aware of bike riders. Johnny and I discussed the aggression and road rage Texans have against bikers, unlike much of the rest of the country. He rode in Austin's Critical Mass bike ride on several occasions and would help inform other riders of their legal rights.
Honestly I have ridden my bicycle in NYC and not encountered this type of aggression found on Austin's downtown roads.
Unfortunately, with Texas law, the driver that killed Johnny will not even have his license revoked due to it being his first offense.
Johnny's death is a tragedy, and I am still in a state of shock....he was a extremely close friend of mine for over 10 years....words cannot express my grief. It's so sad to have his family members show up at your doorstep, and tell you of your best friend's death...let alone sort thru all your roommate's belongings.
Please....be kind to bike riders and all who share this earth. And please do not drive drunk
I will be contacting the kids who run Austin's Critical Mass bike ride and the downtown bike carriage people who shuffle people up and down 6th St., right past the place where he was hit.
Any of their contact info would be greatly appreciated.
Johnny was on Tribe for awhile and was known throughout Austin's electronic music scene and will be missed dearly. He was a member of this tribe and posted "Snail Mittens" He worked as a Graphic Designer in NYC, SF and Austin
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New Mexico
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Re: Johnny Smythe was killed riding a bike 8/11
Fri, August 12, 2005 - 7:50 PM -
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Re: Johnny Smythe was killed riding a bike 8/11
Sat, August 13, 2005 - 7:19 PMThere will be a memorial tomorrow Sun the 14th on the pedestrian footbridge across Town Lake @ Lamar at 8pm.
He loved watching the sunset from a certain bench there.
The bench had a plaque with the date of his birthday on it and was very close to his heart. It was his favorite place. He would play his flute and ride his bike across that bridge everyday last summer.
At 6pm his family will be meeting at the 1400 block of 6th where the incident occurred and will be marking it with flowers and signs and then proceed to walk to the lamar footbridge.
Thanks to everyone for their outpouring of support.
This has been so very difficult for me. I am at a loss for words.
Please tell people openly how much you love them and please drive safely,
mary
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Re: Johnny Smythe was killed riding a bike 8/11
Sat, August 13, 2005 - 11:55 PMI am so sorry for your loss. He sounds like a great person, and although I don't know either one of you, it saddens me that he is gone due to someone's carelessness and disregard of their car as a potential weapon. Sending good thoughts your way,
Diana
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Re: Johnny Smythe was killed riding a bike 8/11
Tue, September 29, 2009 - 8:59 PMI'm sorry for your loss.
I drive past that accident scene on my usual route home from work. Makes me sad every time,
Some days I ride my bike to and from work. On those days, you would not catch me dead riding my bike on West 6th. I'd find an alternate route.
I've ridden my bike all over Austin for decades and have always managed to avoid riding on the major heavy traffic streets. There's always an alternative route. You can cross this entire city without riding on major streets if you give the matter some thought.
There's no excuse for drunk driving. There's no excuse for motorists running down bikes. But the same thing could have happened even if the motorist had not been drunk or unaware. West Sixth is an extremely congested and dangerous street. Bikes have NO business riding on it.
I wish Austin bike riders would be less strident about demanding their rights to ride on major streets and use back streets instead. These major routes, like Lamar, 6th Street, etc., can barely handle their automotive traffic as it is. Adding bikes to the mix is asking for trouble. No amount of protest will change that.
The smart solution is to establish bike routes on alternative streets, instead of having bikes try to squeeze their way down the main thru fairs that have the heaviest motor traffic.
