The Blog Page

News, commentary and humor about bicycling and other topics of the day

 

Verdict in Michael Katz case

More than a year after cyclist Michael Katz was killed in an accident in Creve Coeur, Mo., the man who drove the vehicle that killed him pleaded guilty to several ordinance violations, including failure to keep a proper lookout and driving on a suspended license.

On July 25, 2005, Michael was riding his bicycle on Olive Boulevard in Creve Coeur when a pickup truck driven by Robert Rush struck him. While the ordinance violations were filed in a municipal court, the St. Louis County prosecutor's office declined to file charges.

Relatives, friends and members of the St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation -- many wearing "I Am Michael Katz" T-shirts -- attended the court session Wednesday. They are disappointed by the sentence: "shock probation." He'll serve five weekends in jail to see what it's like. If he violates the terms of his parole, he'll have to serve a full year.

They would like St. Louis County prosecutors to reopen the case and seek felony charges. I don't know the nuances of Missouri law, so I don't know whether it would be double jeopardy to charge file felony charges in the case once Rush pleaded guilty to the ordinance violations.

"We think this makes a case for negligent homicide and we're disappointed with Bob McCulloch's office that they won't prosecute it," STLBikeFed Chairman Russ Willis told KSDK-TV, Channel 5, in St. Louis.

KSDK-TV aired a report about the plea Wednesday. I encourage you to visit the site to read the story and view the video.

Roger 0 comments 1:36 PM