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TRIAL UPDATE

The criminal trial of the truck driver who killed Sylvia over 26 months ago in Cleveland has finally concluded. Herschel Roberts was convicted Monday 11/21 of "aggravated vehicular homicide" due to recklessness. He was sentenced to 3 years in prison and had his driver's license revoked for life.

Various articles and TV news clips can be found by googling "herschel roberts cleveland." We were wonderfully supported by Sylvia's friends and the Cleveland biking community throughout the trial. We were unhappy that evidence of the use of drugs by the driver (16 times the legal limit) was 'suppressed' (not admitted) by the judge in the bench trial (no jury, at the defendant's request) but he nonetheless concluded that Roberts had to have seen Sylvia in his side mirrors had he looked before turning sharply right. His failure to exercise care was deemed recklessness.

Several legal issues which are important for the biking community in Ohio arose during the two-year legal proceedings which Steve will be addressing as part of his work on the Sylvia Bingham Fund (SBF) when he reduces his work time at Bay Area Legal Aid to 20% in January. Expect to hear from us as we strive to raise more funds to underwrite the Fund's donations to grass-roots organizations whose work corresponds to the SBF mission. If you would like to claim a 2011 tax deduction, we encourage donations at this time to the Peace Development Fund. Click here for details on how to make donations. In January, the items regarding legal proceedings will be moved to an inside page as the website evolves into the SBF's central communications medium.

A new community-oriented store Sylvia would have been very proud of !

On a happier note, our last visit to Cleveland in June coincided with the opening day of the Joy Machines Bike Shop, an exciting community-oriented startup in Ohio City, jointly owned and operated by Alex Nosse, who was Sylvia's boyfriend, and his friend Renato Pereira-Castillo. The concept for the shop was born in the winter of 2010 and only six months later they're open for business. These guys are amazing! Beside repairing bicycles and selling new ones, Alex and Renato are interested in doing outreach and education in low-income communities. See their website at http://www.joymachinesbikeshop.com

Here are pictures taken at their store on opening day:

May 18th Ride of Silence in Marin will meet in Tiburon at 6:45 PM

On wed. May 18th there will be a ride dedicated to Sylvia and others killed or injured on bicycles. The Ride of Silence will meet at blackies pasture in Tiburon, CA. at 6:45 P.M. for a 7:00 departure. The 10 mile Tiburon loop is a moderate ride over bike lanes, small towns, and country roads. For information contact Scott Durkee at scottdurkee@sbcglobal.net for more info.

Trial update after May 2nd hearing

The hearing on the defendant's motion to suppress his drug test was heard on May 2. After hearing testimony from those involved in the testing of defendant's urine for the presence of marijuana, the judge asked for further written legal argument from both sides, after which he will issue his decision. The judge gave each side two weeks to prepare additional argument and then an additional two weeks for each side to respond to the other's argument. No criminal trial date was set but the date of the civil trial remains July 25. We are hopeful the criminal trial will occur sometime in June.

Trial update: HEARING RESCHEDULED AGAIN!

The April 12th hearing has been rescheduled to MONDAY May 2nd and will start at 1:30 PM in Room 19 D (Justice Center).

Urban Bicycle Safety Classes and Bike to Work Day

Learn the basics of safe cycling, riding in traffic, equipment, crash avoidance, rights and responsibilities, from a certified bicycle safety instructor with the East Bay Bicycle Coalition.

Wednesday, May 4, 6:00 – 9:30 pm
3701 Broadway, Oakland, CA, Conference Room G101D

One-Hour Brown Bag
Tuesday, May 17, 12:30-1:30pm, Fabiola, Conference Room 445

Bike to Work Day is Thursday, May 12
Energizer Station, 7:00-9:30am, outside Fabiola Building

View Poster >>

Ride of Silence

The Ride of Silence is a World Wide event held on the 3rd Wednesday of May at 7 pm. This year event will be held on May 18, 2011. Look for such a ride in your area. If none exists, organize one!
Message from Chris Phelan, Ride of Silence founder.

TRIAL UPDATE: Suppression motion to be heard on Tuesday April 12 at 9 AM (room 19D in the Justice Center) and trial scheduled to start on Wednesday April 13 (the new trial date will be confirmed on April 12)

The lawyer for the defendant truck driver has filed a motion to suppress the results of drug tests showing that the defendant had 246 nanograms of marijuana metabolite per ml of urine about two hours after he killed Sylvia. This is over 16 times the legal limit in Ohio (15 ng) and seven times the limit set out in the statute’s subsection under which he was charged (35 ng). No showing of actual impairment is required under this latter subsection.

The defendant’s lawyer argued in his papers that the urine testing procedures did not follow all of the drug-testing rules of Ohio. The drug test was conducted pursuant to federal Department of Transportation regulations requiring such testing when a commercial driver kills someone. The Cleveland prosecutor is of course preparing to contest this motion. Under Ohio law, the drug test must be in ‘substantial compliance’ with the Ohio drug-testing rules.

We are hopeful that the Cleveland community will be present in the courtroom when this motion is heard.

The trial date (April 13th) may be postponed, depending on what happens in court on the 12th. People interested in attending the trial should check this website on the afternoon of April 12 for confirmation that the trial is beginning the next day as scheduled.

The criminal trial has been postponed again! We are very disappointed. No new trial date has been set yet.

Alex and Emilio Speak About Their Bicycle Trip Across The United States In Memory Of Their Friend Sylvia

See Video Clip and News Article >>

TRIAL UPDATE: Trial date rescheduled for February 28, 2011

We are encouraging people to attend the trial both in memory of Sylvia and in solidarity with the bicycle movement. Please check this website a day prior to coming to court to make sure the trial date has not been changed.

ANNIVERSARY BIKE RIDE ONE YEAR LATER

In the morning of Sept 15 2010, exactly a year after the tragedy, Steve, Francoise, their nephew Alfred, Sylvia’s close friend Jill and a group of other friends and bike activists left Sylvia’s house in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland to retrace her route to work at Hard Hatted Women. They stopped at the corner of Prospect and 21st Street and placed flowers on the Ghost bicycle, which is still there, then completed the ride to Hard Hatted Women, where they were received by the director, staff and board members and Americorps VISTA volunteers.
Anniversary Bike Ride Photo Gallery >>

TRIAL UPDATE: Truck driver withdraws guilty plea

The truck driver who killed Sylvia last year and pleaded guilty last month to aggravated vehicular homicide while under the influence of drugs was allowed on October 8 to withdraw his plea of guilty. He claimed he was pressured into agreeing to plead guilty and submitted a letter to the court critical of his own lawyer. As he had not yet been formally sentenced (that was to happen October 25), the Ohio standards for withdrawing a guilty plea are very lax. For Francoise and me, this is of course a very bitter pill and a great disappointment, not just because we now once again have to face the prospect of sitting through a criminal trial but also because we had had some measure of comfort, believing that Herschel Roberts was truly remorseful. We expect that a new trial date might be set for December and hope that the defendant’s new lawyer will not seek any further continuance. Fifteen months after Sylvia was killed is far to long to wait for an outcome. We have also filed a civil lawsuit against Mr. Roberts and Leff Electric Company. That trial is scheduled for next spring.

Sylvia Bingham's spirit, and her 'ghost bike', live on after fatal cycling accident: Michael K. McIntyre's Tipoff

By Michael K McIntyre
February 01, 2010
Originally posted on Cleveland.com

A truck mowed down Sylvia Bingham in September, killing her as she rode her bicyle on Prospect Avenue headed to work at the offices of Hard Hatted Women, Inc.

The Yale graduate's ghost bike, though, lives on.

The white bike propped on the corner of Prospect Avenue and East 21st Street is still decorated with flowers and a number of bicycle helmets. (Though she was a proponent of helmets, Bingham was not wearing hers at the time of her death.)

Jim Sheehan of the Ohio City Bicycle Co-op, which put up the memorial, said people regularly add helmets, turning the memorial into a sort of public art display. The helmets, he said, can be taken by those who need them, in keeping with Bingham's giving spirit.

But helmets aren't the only issue. Bingham's family has established a fund in the name of their daughter, a California native in Cleveland for a yearlong stint as an Americorps Vista volunteer, to demand  the right for people to bike safely and to educate people about how to share the road.

The driver who hit Bingham, Herschel Roberts, has been charged with aggravated vehicular homicide and driving while under the influence.

Cleveland man indicted for killing bicyclist Sylvia Bingham

By Stan Donaldson
October 22, 2009
Originally posted on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — A 61-year-old Cleveland man was indicted Thursday for vehicular homicide and driving while under the influence in a Sept. 15 accident that killed a 22-year-old bicyclist, the Cuyahoga County prosecutor's office said.

Herschel Roberts was also indicted for failure to stop after an accident. Prosecutors said that Roberts drove a 2005 Peterbilt Straight truck near Prospect Avenue and East 21st Street when he struck Sylvia Bingham and left the scene.

Roberts' truck was found an hour later in the 1100 block of East 40th Street. Police said he tested positive for marijuana.

He is scheduled to be arraigned on Nov. 2.

Bringham, a Yale University graduate, was killed as she rode from Ohio City to work at the Hard Hatted Women office, where she helped tradeswomen become mentors.