Nap Cantwell Memorial at Pike & Boren
On this spot, last week, another cyclist was killed by an automobile driver.
His name was Nap Cantwell.
I actually heard this collision take place, and I’ve been just sick about it ever since. It is why I purposely waited at least one week to mention it. Had I written about it the next day, I probably would have … well, let’s just say that I may have been less than kind to the loser piece of shit drivers that infest my neighborhood on a daily basis.
I digress.
Last week’s death-by-motor-vehicle brings us to … well, I’ve lost count. Honestly. I’ve just stopped counting.
On my way home today, I watched in horror as a woman and her three daughters were nearly run over at Pike and Boylston. This was after they stood at the crosswalk, and watched a 10 car procession drive by before someone even slowed down.
These days, those of us who live in the Pike-Pine area are little more than target practice for Bellevue Brats who think it’s cool to wrap themselves in 5,000lb suits of armor before driving through the big bad city.
If anything has become crystal clear over the years, it is that many, or perhaps most of these folks, just don’t give a damn about the health and welfare of anyone other than themselves. That’s just the lifestyle on that side of the moat.
“Me, me, it’s mine all mine, gimme gimme”, daddy’s C student wants to drink a beer where the bums live, and she isn’t slowing down for some self-important bicyclist or a snot-nosed 8 year-old. After all, Happy Hour’s almost over, and you can’t expect a Greenpeace intern who pays $4.50 for a gallon of gas to pay full price for alcohol. I mean … think about it … she’d have no money left over to buy carbon offsets!!!
Were I to try and find the words to express just how much I truly detest these people, I would almost certainly come up short.
Were there such a thing as Karma, and I doubt there is, but if it does exist … I like to think that all of their futures will be chock full o’ gonorrhea.
Rest in Peace, Mr. Cantwell.
And to whoever puts these memorials up when yet another cyclist loses his/her life in Seattle … thank you for giving a damn. Not many people do these days.
Nap Cantwell Memorial at Pike & Boren
Nap Cantwell Memorial at Pike & Boren
Nap Cantwell Memorial at Pike & Boren
I understand the anger, and the sadness, in response to this tragedy. It should be known, though, that the bicyclist ran into the side of a van, and was not wearing a helmet. Sharing the road, and riding/driving responsibly, goes both ways. Consider for a moment the impact of this horrific incident on the (seemingly no-fault) driver.
The helmet is a red herring. Styrofoam bicycle helmets are, unfortunately, grossly overrated as life saving devices.
Is it better to wear one than not? Well, sure.
For that matter, it’s better to drive your car wearing a helmet and racing suit. I guarantee … guarantee that your odds of surviving a crash will go up. They’ll probably quadruple, if not go up tenfold.
Have you ever seen the crashes that those NASCAR drivers survive?
Shouldn’t everyone wear a helmet?
Therefore, if you get into a car without wearing a helmet, in my opinion, you are negligent and deserve to die.
You see, if you slam into the side of a van on a bicycle, or you get hit by a car doing any kind of speed, your helmet becomes the practical equivalent of a third nipple. Your neck will be broken, or your chest caved in. Hell, a helmet may only prolong your suffering.
Automobile drivers, as pilots of 4,000+ lb weapons-as-vehicles in very congested spaces, have an paramount duty to pay attention. Especially in dense urban areas, and especially when you’re in someone else’s neighborhood. I don’t go over to Kirkland and spin donuts in the cul de sac, so please don’t come to my neighborhood and act like you own the place by running down pedestrians and blasting through red lights.
Last but not least, can you point me to the report which says that the driver was not at fault?
I’m not saying that he was at fault, honestly I don’t know … but this past weekend, I personally observed somewhere between 15-20 cars running red lights in the Downtown/Capitol Hill area.
Your confidence in the skill and attentiveness of motor vehicle drivers vastly exceeds mine, as does your willingness to give them the default benefit of the doubt.
Especially since almost none of them wear helmets.