Monday, April 8, 2013
Barbara Taylor, the widow of Paul Taylor, says the ride "will be a wonderful tribute to Paul and I hope that it will help in the efforts to raise the awareness of motorists."
A memorial ride will be held May 5 to honor the memory of Paul Taylor, a Decatur area cyclist who was killed on the road a year ago. The Paul Taylor Memorial Ride will start at 9 a.m. May 5 at the old DeKalb County Courthouse on Ponce de Leon Avenue in Decatur. It's organized by BikeFriendlyATL, a group Dave Mathews of Decatur formed to make the roads safer for cyclists. Patch asked Taylor's widow, Barbara Taylor, for a comment. This is what she said in an email: I continue to be touched at the level of support from our neightbors and friends but even more amazed at the support from the cycling community. The memorial ride will be a wonderful tribute to Paul and I hope that it will help in the efforts to raise the awareness of motorists…
Friday, November 30, 2012
Seven months after Paul Taylor was killed in a cycling accident, his widow donated his old hybrid bicycle to become a "ghost bike."
Dave Mathews of Decatur has placed five "ghost bikes" beside roads in Georgia. These are bikes painted white to memorialize cyclists killed on the roadways, usually in collisions with autos. He placed one bike on North Decatur Road in honor of Paul Taylor, who died the morning of April 30 while riding his road bike. Mathews just received a special bike. Taylor's widow, Barbara Taylor, donated his hybrid bicycle to the cause. Patch asked her why she did it. She sent these words by e-mail. I gave the bike to Paul for his 40th birthday. It was the bike he rode on family vacations and around the neighborhood for many years until he became interested in triathlons and upgraded. I have fond memories of both of our girls riding on the back of …
Thursday, September 20, 2012
They say the lack of prosecution in the Paul Taylor death proves something's wrong in the way police handle bicycle incidents.
Cycling safety became Dave Mathews' passion after a bad bike wreck 18 months ago, and he grew more serious on the subject after a pickup struck and killed cyclist Paul Taylor. Mathews became downright angry after authorities announced last week nobody will be prosecuted because they don't have evidence to make a case. "We're human beings too," said Mathews, who started a Facebook page about bike safety in Atlanta. "We're not disposable creatures." This kind of anger and frustration has spread through the Atlanta biking community, which has long complained about lack of respect on the road. As a commenter on a Patch story said, Let me get this straight, if I run over a cyclist at 6:20am and the 4 lane road is otherwise empty of cars so that…
Monday, September 17, 2012
Investigators say they didn't find enough evidence to establish probable cause.
The Decatur Police Department issued a statement Monday morning about its investigation into the April 30 death of Paul Taylor, a bicyclist who was struck and killed by a pickup truck on North Decatur Road. Patch asked police to comment on an article about DeKalb Solicitor Sherry Boston's decision not to prosecute the driver of the truck. Here's what Deputy Chief Keith Lee said. After a thorough investigation, the Decatur Police Department's accident investigators did not uncover evidence to establish probable cause that the driver involved committed any traffic violations. Due to the serious nature of this incident, the Decatur Police Department requested the DeKalb County Police Department's Accident Reconstruction Unit review our …
Friday, September 14, 2012
DeKalb Solicitor Sherry Boston says there's no evidence to file charges against the pickup driver who struck and killed bicyclist Paul Taylor, 53, on North Decatur Road.
DeKalb County Solicitor Sherry Boston will not file charges in the April 30 wreck that killed bicyclist Paul Taylor on North Decatur Road. In a statement released about 5:45 p.m., Boston said. While our deepest sympathy goes out to the family of the bicyclist who died in this accident, we have determined at this time, there is no evidence to file any criminal charges against the driver of the vehicle. Decatur Police conducted a comprehensive investigation that was reviewed by investigators at both our office and the Georgia State Patrol. All three agencies came to the same conclusion -- that there was no evidence to form the basis of a criminal charge, and no witnesses have come forward to supply any further information about what …
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Authorities have filed no charges in the April 30 death of Paul Taylor.
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.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Paul Taylor's wife said he'd taken a position with a pharmaceutical company.
Paul Taylor was primed for a big day on Monday, April 30. After decades as a physician's assistant, he was going to start a new job in the medical affairs department of a Smyrna pharmaceutical company, said his wife, Barbara Taylor. "He had been in a clinical environment a long time and I think he was ready for a change," she said. Paul Taylor's life ended abruptly that morning. The 53-year-old youth soccer coach took a bike ride before dawn and was struck and killed by a pickup truck on North Decatur Road. The wreck left the Taylor family reeling and shook the Decatur area biking community, many of whom reached out to Barbara Taylor. "People came up to me at the funeral and said, 'I didn't know your husband but I'm a cyclist,'" she said. …
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Paul Taylor, 53, died of blunt trauma, the autopsy says.
An autopsy report neither confirms nor challenges a pickup truck driver's statement that a bicyclist he ran over "appeared to be kneeling in the roadway as if he had fallen." The April 30 wreck killed Paul Taylor, 53, of Greenglade Road, who worked as a physicians assistant at Emory. The autopsy report obtained by Patch from the DeKalb County Medical Examiner's Office concludes: It was unclear from the autopsy and scene description if he was upright on the bicycle or had already fallen or been knocked off and was laying, kneeling or sitting in some position at the time that he was struck. Suffice it to say, his injuries are consistent with being run over. Whether he was struck and fell beneath the vehicle and was then run over or was …
Monday, May 14, 2012
Decatur police are still investigating the April 30 death of bike rider Paul Taylor.
The death of Paul Taylor, a bicyclist killed April 30 in Decatur, will be fresh on the minds of fellow bike riders Wednesday, May 16, during the annual "Ride of Silence." Riders will gather at 6:30pm at the 10th Street/Charles Allen Drive entrance to Piedmont Park and ride about 90 minutes to honor bikers who were injured or killed on the road. Rides of Silence are held across the country that day. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution talked to Atlanta area bikers and heard many of them complain about poor biking conditions throughout the metro area. While hard and up-to-date data is difficult to find, between 2003 and 2008, 28 people died in bike related accidents in Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties, according to the Atlanta Bicycle…
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Decatur police released Tuesday the accident report in Monday's fatal collision on North Decatur Road.
Paul Taylor may have been on the pavement, not his bike, when a pickup truck struck and killed him Monday morning, the truck driver told Decatur police. According to the accident report released Tuesday, pickup driver Jorge Mercado-Perez, 57, of Snellville "stated the bicyclist appeared to be kneeling in the roadway as if he had fallen." Decatur police Capt. Scott Richards said Tuesday there are no witnesses to the accident. No charges have been filed, Richards said, but the investigation is not finished. Other than the name of the driver and the statement about Taylor not being on the bike, the report reveals few new details about the wreck that has shaken the local biking community. The collision happened at 6:23am Monday on North …
Wyndy
9:22 am on Monday, April 8, 2013
Paul was a wonderful man who left a great legacy. So glad this tribute will be held in his honor. more ›