Solicitor Looks at Bike Fatal Case
Authorities have filed no charges in the April 30 death of Paul Taylor.
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The DeKalb County Solicitor's Office is now investigating the April 30 death of a bicylist who was struck by a truck.
"The matter is under investigation and during that review it will be determined what, if any, charges are appropriate," said Emily Gest, spokeswoman for Solicitor Sherry Boston. She said there's no timetable for the investigation.
Paul Taylor was killed about 6:20 a.m. April 30 on North Decatur Road in Decatur. Police said a pickup truck struck him near the intersection with Willivee Drive.
The truck driver told police it looked like Taylor fell off his bicycle and kneeling on the pavement. No charges have been filed but Decatur police say it's still an active investigation.
The solicitor's office prosecutes misdemeanors.
Tom
3:33 pm on Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Bike riders are amajor problem in Dekalb Co. I have seen several aggressive bike riders running stop signs, cutting in front of cars...These bicyclist need to obey the laws and stop being so aggressive in traffic...
Susie
5:46 pm on Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Really, Tom? I man is run over by a pick up truck and killed leaving behind a wife and two daughters, and that is your "comment"? I am more worried about the aggressive drivers who are eating, drinking, talking and texting when they should be paying attention to what they are doing behind the wheel of a vehicle that could kill someone in the blink of an eye.
Steve
6:24 pm on Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Susie, there is enough blame to go around. I regularly see bicycles run red lights and stop signs.
Tom
9:24 pm on Tuesday, July 3, 2012
This guy would be alive today an celibrating July 4th with his family if he didn't ride his bike on a major, narrow business commute at 6:30 in the morning. This poor mexican will do some time because the bicyclist are aggressive and insane...
Z Johnson
12:40 pm on Thursday, July 5, 2012
I was struck by a car (SUV) broadside near that location (intersection of Wilivee/Scott Cir) by a woman running the stop sign. I survived because she was "only" moving about 15 mph. It was then that I learned from Dekalb police that GA law regulating vehicular traffic does NOT apply to cyclists. In fact, cyclists are NOT required to obey any of the laws that pertain to automobiles. That doesnt' excuse poor or risky behavior on anyone's part: I suspect that Mr. Taylor would be alive today if the truck that struck him had been traveling near the speed limit.
Tom, Steve, in more enlightened societies cyclists and other forms of transportation co-exist peacefully and productively. I'm a long time Atlanta native and in my travels I marvel at cities that have worked this all out to everyone's benefit. We're moving in that direction, albeit glacially. Cyclists and other non-auto forms of transportation are here to stay.
Virginia Sowell
9:57 am on Wednesday, July 4, 2012
The "poor Mexican" has two prior DUIs. Look it up, Tom! Jorge Mercado-Perez, 57, of Snellville is the ONLY eye witness to say that Paul was on the pavement already when he ran him over.
Jo
10:36 am on Wednesday, July 4, 2012
We would all be better off--healthier and safer--if more people rode bicycles instead of driving cars. And I have seen a number of drivers acting like they own the road around bicycles, some even going so far as to drive close behind cyclists and hit their horns for the cyclists to get out of the way. That is completely illegal, as well as offensive and irresponsible--the signs of a bad driver looking for a place for his next accident to happen. It would do us all a world of good if that sort of aggressive driver was permanently restricted to two wheels or two feet.
Knott Telling
9:08 pm on Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Wow, folks. Anyone discussing bike/car interaction who thinks one side in particular is the main source of the problem is surely guilty of some form of personal bias. As has been stated already, there are plenty of examples to support any position you want to take. The thought that either side permanently occupies some sort of high ground is absurd. If everyone on bike and in car were to treat the other as being more important than themselves, then maybe civilization still has a chance of success. A more helpful area of focus would be for everyone to learn basic laws of the road than apply to themselves, and then seek to follow them scrupulously. I doubt anyone reading this can state proudly that they do so without exception. So let's all take a good look in the mirror first, OK?
Oh, and before you head out on the road, regardless of your chosen mode of transport, lay off the booze.
I doubt many folks climb onto a bike in an altered state, and I'd like to think that poor Jorge was not prone to drinking in the early morning hours when this tragic accident occurred. I think we would all know already if that had been the case - the police on the scene surely investigated that. In prior brushes with the law under different circumstances, though, it is fortuitous that similarly tragic results apparently did not occur. See next post for related info.
Knott Telling
9:10 pm on Wednesday, July 4, 2012
8/03/03 - Arrest record for:
- Public intoxication
(http://georgia.arrests.org/Arrests/Jorge_Mercado-perez_6640125/)
11/12/03 - Arrest record for:
- Open Container
- Loitering for drug-related purposes
(http://georgia.arrests.org/Arrests/Jorge_Mercado-perez_6651932/)
8/22/08 - Arrest record for:
- Failure to drive on right side of roadway
- DUI
(http://www.bustedmugshots.com/georgia/snellville/jorge-mercado-perez/33162052)
11/07/09 - Arrest record for:
- Failure to maintain lane
- DUI
- License: Violation of conditions of permit
(http://www.bustedmugshots.com/georgia/snellville/jorge-mercado-perez/33162052)