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Driver Charged For Killing NYC Bicyclist On Oklahoma Highway
By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 15, 2016
Modified Jan 15, 2016
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 15, 2016
Modified Jan 15, 2016
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An driver who was apparently looking at her phone when she fatally struck a bicyclist on a state highway in Oklahoma was charged with first-degree manslaughter yesterday. The victim was Patrick Wanninkhof, a 25-year-old NYC public school teacher who had been biking cross-country to raise awareness and money for affordable housing.
Wanninkhof and Bridget Anderson, 22, both participating in Bike and Build's ride, were riding on State Highway 152 on July 30, 2015, when, at around 8 a.m., Sarah Morris, 34, hit them. The Oklahoman reports:
Morris did not give Wanninkhof and another cyclist, Bridget Anderson, the legally required three feet of space while she was driving and failed to see the cyclists in time to avoid hitting them because she was looking at her phone, court documents state. Morris also faces a misdemeanor count of overtaking a bicycle.
Wanninkhof taught physics and computer science
to Bronx public school students; he called himself a "STEM Educator with a passion for Social Justice."
His father told the Oklahoman, "It doesn't feel like great news, but it does feel like there is a sense of justice and there will be accountability, and I think that's where I take a lot of comfort. This issue is recognized by the state of Oklahoma that this is a serious, serious offense that occurred."
Bike Law attorney Peter Wilborn, who is representing the Wanninkhof family, issued a statement, "Too many times, we’ve heard that a cycling fatality is just an ‘accident,’ but they rarely are. Too many times, prosecutors have refused to file criminal charges when a reckless driver kills one of us, as in a recent bike-car fatality in Maryland. But not in this case here. We hope this is a sign of a turning tide, a sign of justice for cyclists across the country who are hit and killed by distracted or reckless drivers."
In NYC, district attorneys rarely prosecute drivers who kill pedestrians and cyclists.
Tagged
distracted driving
manslaughter
oklahoma
Patrick Wanninkhof
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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