Imagine you were walking in the designated pedestrian section of the American River Parkway Trail and you were run into by a bicycle from behind. Imagine further you are a legend in the running community and the crash resulted in five facial fractures, a fractured skull, a broken hand, two broken teeth and serious lacerations over much of your face and body. Finally, Imagine the person who hit you and then fled dropped his cell phone… the same phone that bystanders used to summon paramedics. The last piece of the puzzle is the District Attorney’s office cannot determine if a felony has been committed and cannot use the information from the cell phone to identify the bike rider.
This case is working its way through in Sacramento right now as a result of how the vehicle code is written. The largest question is does the California Vehicle Code apply on the trail? If it does the DA can obtain a search warrant to open the phone, determine the identity of the owner and charge them Felony Hit & Run. If the vehicle code doesn’t apply they’re forbidden from doing anything.
Had the crash happened on a highway or street the vehicle code would apply. A bicyclist has all of the rights and responsibilities of someone driving a car. Whether that extends to a trail is where the debate lies. A highway is a street, parking lot or anyplace that is publically maintained and open to the public for the purpose of vehicular travel. Does the American River Parkway qualify as a highway under current law? Please share your opinion on our Facebook page. Our answer will be published next week along with an outline of how our office would work to uphold your rights. Be sure to check back.
We represent people who are injured because of the careless and reckless acts of others. At the end of the day your case can only be settled one time and you need to know all of the facts beforehand. The reason that insurance companies have paid our clients in excess of $130,000,000.00 is that we get the facts and are not intimidated at the prospect of going to trial when they refuse to follow the law. We help with serious issues that require serious representation. We are the Law Offices of Guenard & Bozarth. We have over 80 years of experience in our plaintiff’s only law firm. Call GB Legal 24/7/365 at 888-809-1075 or visit www.gblegal.com We Can Help!
