Fields Landing Resident Named as the Driver of Vehicle Involved in Fatal Collision on Herrick Avenue
This is a press release from the California Highway Patrol. The information has not been proven in a court of law and any individuals described should be presumed innocent until proven guilty:
On 03/23/2022, at approximately 4:54 PM, Humboldt Area CHP received a report of a crash involving a bicyclist and a vehicle at the intersection of Herrick Avenue and Elk River Road. Personnel from Eureka Police Department, Humboldt Bay Fire Department, Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, City Ambulance of Eureka and California Highway Patrol responded to the scene.
Based on the preliminary investigation, CHP has determined that a 1994 Dodge Ram was being driven westbound on Herrick Avenue, approaching Elk River Road. A bicyclist, whose name is currently being withheld pending notification of next of kin, was riding northbound on Elk River Road approaching Herrick Avenue. For reasons yet to be determined, the bicyclist entered the intersection, riding into the westbound lane of Herrick Avenue, and directly into the path of the Dodge. The bicyclist was struck by the front left of the Dodge, resulting in major injuries. The driver of the Dodge, 59 year old Tom Hull of Field’s Landing, remained on scene and cooperated with law enforcement’s investigation of the crash. Mr. Hull did not receive any injuries as a result of this crash. Unfortunately, due to the severity of the injuries, the bicyclist succumbed to their injuries on scene and was pronounced deceased by emergency medical personnel.
The California Highway Patrol extends its condolences to the family of the deceased, and thanks all responding agencies for their assistance in managing the scene. The CHP Humboldt Area office is continuing its investigation and asks anyone who witnessed the crash, or has any additional information related to the crash, to contact the California Highway Patrol at 707-822-5981.
Note: The original publication of this article had a photo of the CHP report mistakenly stating that Tom Hull was the passenger. CHP sent us the updated report and it is posted above.
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This is becoming a worse problem every day. Bicycle riders, please obey traffic laws. Stop means stop for vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians. Just today I saw a couple riding bikes. They got in the left turn lane with a stop sign. Neither of them stopped. Until riders start riding safely, there will continue to be more hit by vehicles.
Again, the question. What is law enforcement, EPD especially, so busy doing that is so important that they refuse to do traffic patrol, even if it is a blatant violation right in front of them? The streets of Eureka are nothing but trash. They seem to have a huge response once a terrible crash happens. Why not use some of these officer hours on prevention?
Until the story comes out you can’t assume the bicyclist hadn’t come to a full stop @ the stop sign on Elk River Road, and looked both ways to see if a vehicle was coming before entering the intersection.
If you know the intersection, it’s fairly dangerous with no crosswalk or light, though it has a stop sign for the northbound elk River Road Lane.
The truck would be heading west coming from around a blind curve then downhill possibly directly into the sunlight. So depending on how fast the driver was going, whether he was distracted (radio, cellphone, etc.), wearing/not wearing sunglasses or other issue, he might not see the cyclist pulling out into the intersection.
So until we know all the information on the accident, we shouldn’t assume it was the fault of the cyclist, or the driver.
I imagine that is why the police are seeking witnesses to hear what they would’ve seen.
All in all it’s a very sad story.
If you read my comment, I didn’t even talk about this incident specifically. I spoke in general terms because all three groups… bikes, motor vehicles and pedestrians are out of control in Eureka. I was pleading for everyone on the road to be safe and for law enforcement to actually become involved in prevention.
You did not speak completely general. You said specifically, “Bicycle riders, please obey traffic laws. Stop means stop for vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians.”
Speaking generally would have been worded more like this, ” Bicycle riders, drivers, pedestrians, please obey traffic laws. Stop means stop for vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians.”
Yes, I did emphasize bicycle riders. You will notice that I mentioned seeing a couple NOT following traffic laws the very same day a bicycle rider was killed (maybe for not following traffic laws). It is clear that pedestrians and cyclists SHOULD be following traffic laws and being extra vigilant about their own safety as they are more likely to be injured or killed than any vehicle they collide with. However, my initial response to HHG that the incident was NOT specifically mentioned by me is correct.
According to the latest CHP report the bicycle rider rode right out in front of the truck driver, apparently without even looking to see if someone was coming. I am very sorry the rider died, but I am also very sorry for the truck driver that could not stop. Now he has to live with what happened for God knows how long.
Even without hearing the update from the police that the bicyclist likely made a fatal mistake, I don’t see the nanny state of more stoplights being a good answer. Where do you draw the line? Do we need to be so safe that there’s a light on every corner? Seems like roadwork is mighty costly these days too. But of course god rest the soul of the dead bicyclist at least they lived while they did. I wish God would strike down everybody on the road who isn’t a bicyclist. But yeah whatever. Sorry. Tragic. Ban cars immediately
Alf, I agree with your comment 100%.
It’s actually safer for bicyclists *not* to stop, because it takes them a considerable amount of time to get back up to speed from a complete stop.
I’ve seen truck drivers punch it when someone in a vehicle, bike, or walking/running gets in their way. Not saying that’s what happened here but seems people are more concerned about what they are doing than pausing so they don’t have a collision. I’ve seen 2 wrecks where a truck saw a car coming and they punched it because they had right of way. Makes no sense to wreck your car just to prove a point.
Next time get their license plate number and call the police. You seem to be implying the truck driver floored it so he could hit the bike rider, which is just jackass crazy there slick!
Thank god this unfortunate driver didn’t have a beer at lunch.
He would be a felon with a six year sentence.
Unless their name was Kitchen then it’s 1yr per body.
RIP, Tom. Motorcyclists and bicyclists are at an extreme disadvantage on our roadways!
My near death experience was different. I was riding Southeast on Elk River Road when a large black truck came so close to me I could feel the air of the rear view mirror on my face. I went down and luckily landed on the soft turf along the road. I looked up and the two young people in the cab looked back and were laughing. We were the only ones on the road. I believe they purposely drove close to me for fun and to scare me. But had the side mirror hit me I could have been seriously injured or killed. I no long ride on Elk River Road because of the near miss. I agree there are too many bikers who don’t follow the traffic rules. Yet there are some who think it is entertaining to see how close they can come to bikers. My friend Penny was riding near the golf course a number of years ago and she was hit by a vehicle. She now cannot ride a bike nor even walk. Some would state she shouldn’t have been riding on a road with a narrow margin for passing. I say think about slowing down and show some patience.