These posts are never easy. But this one is real, real bad. I’ve gotten a few emails about it today. I copied the text and photo below from a flickr post.
Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico (Monday June-2-2008) Seven competitors from yesterday cyclist race were severely injured after being hit by a drunk driver, one of them died and other three were hospitalized. The drunk driver was arrested after the rest of the participants tried to lynch him.
30 year old Alejandro Alvarez, from Brownsville,Texas, was pronounced dead on the scene, while Alejandro Salvador Tamez, 18, Juan Machaita, 38, and Guadalupe Martinez,, 16, were severely injured.
Cyclists were participating in a race from Matamoros to Bagdad Beach, when drunk driver Jesse Campos, a Brownsville, Texas resident, in his Ford Grand Marquis, license 659-FKF from Texas, impacted seven cyclists, even as they were being escorted by Local Transit Officials.
News Source: Periodico El Bravo
Pictures Taken By: Fidelino Vera
I had to think about whether or not I wanted to post the picture below. It is fucking awful. Especially when I remember I was once that poor bastard flying through the air after getting dinked off a windshield like a golf ball off a 9 iron.
This image is absolutely unreal in its brutality.
My God that is hard to look at.
I really considered not using that image, just linking to another site that had already posted it. But, you know what? This is our reality. This is what happens when cars hit cyclists. It is not pretty, it is not nice. But it is real.
This is why we fight for bicycle advocacy. This is why we fight for the rights of cyclists.
Keep the rubber side down out there, folks.
Additional links on this story:
cnn.com/…mexico.bikers
newschannel5.tv/…Valley-Residents-Killed-in-Matamoros-Crash
Reid on June 2nd, 2008 9:44 pm
The later photos in the series are just breathtaking in their brutality, the kind of thing I hope I never have to see (or experience).
Kinda makes me want to install some variety of lance on my bicycle, bolted on my frame right about eye-height for a driver. With a very sharp point. Call me pathetic, but it would give me some satisfaction if the jerk-faces who do this stuff don’t get to walk away from it, either…
LuckyLab on June 2nd, 2008 11:08 pm
Kind of makes you wonder how the cop managed to be right there, at that moment, on the other side of the freakin’ street. How’s about putting that cruiser in harm’s way knowing full well those poor boys were screwed, eh?
bikepunk on June 2nd, 2008 11:59 pm
That cop has a fucking cattle-catcher on the front as well. I mean fuck… if HE doesn’t feel a bit of guilt for saving the vehicle and watching all those fucker’s get plowed over… That cop should be suspended seeing as he was the escort for the group; designated with ensuring the safety of said cyclists on that fucking ride.
I would change that pic to a thumbnail personally, but damn. No way am i looking at any other pics.
The cop should have waited a few more seconds. Let that drunk fucker get a bit of a beat down.
sommerfliesby on June 3rd, 2008 3:55 am
I would rather see the pics of the “attempted lynching” of this asshole. Unreal.
Bikers Down | onespeeder.com on June 3rd, 2008 3:57 am
[...] Whenever, I always like to see what’s new over at DC. Today, this pic is up on the latest Biker Down notice and I pretty much can’t believe it. All I have to say, is fuck cars, and fuck… [...]
gnome on June 3rd, 2008 4:14 am
Interestingly, the flickr post and its author are no longer available over at flickr. And yea, wtf with the cops saftey swerve? Maybe he/she should be put on trial too.
Wine Dog on June 3rd, 2008 5:17 am
I hate to indict without all the facts, but it does sure seem like the cop’s job was to protect the cyclists, so swerving out of the way so the drunk could plow them all over seems counterproductive. They should have let the bikers lynch the guy. People like that give drunks a bad name.
If you drink, don’t drive. Stay where you are and continue to get hammered. Jeez.
Blair on June 3rd, 2008 5:36 am
I wonder if the cop’s car has “Protect and Serve” emblazoned on the side of it??
bikepunk on June 3rd, 2008 5:39 am
I might not understand the while thing (as there is little info from the two stories….) but from what I read it would seem that a drunk AMERICAN drove over a bunch of MEXICAN cyclists IN MEXICO.
Not really worth an ‘International Incident’ title, but flip it for a second.
Imagine a bunch of AMERICAN cyclists IN TEXAS getting run over by a DRUNK MEXICAN. That guy would have been dead before the cop even pretended to notice something happened.
It is a crying shame and more reason I agree with Gnome. I ride on dirt exclusively for fear of that happening to me. I been hit casually more than once in S.F. I don’t plan on going out like that, that’s for sure. There is plenty of good riding AWAY from the traffic.
Maybe that’s why Shrub rides the dirt. Too many chances one of us would lean into the curve a bit too much, if you know what I mean.
mander villa on June 3rd, 2008 5:50 am
police escort? what the fuck? didnt want to scratch the new dodge hemi? what a cunt
who knows what the fuck happened I’m just sorry it did and that news story aint helpin. it said 5 people died, this is just a big clusterfuck
Blair on June 3rd, 2008 6:03 am
Follow the two links at the bottom…
The two sites – CNN and the local TV station – both have cropped the swerving police car out of the picture.
Sarah on June 3rd, 2008 6:09 am
Notice the lack of brake lights on that car. Damn.
stnik666 on June 3rd, 2008 6:40 am
As for post/don’t post the pics, I believe it’s important to show how things really are. We live in such a culture of denial, supported by most media, that the realities of death, disease, addiction and other “negative” aspects of living are not accurately represented. It’s harsh, but without accurate representation and reporting people will fail to understand the full impact (no pun intended) of such events until they are, if ever, directly involved. One of the best examples I can recall recently – I believe the link was on DC – was “Fallujah in Pictures”. While the govt and media were doing their best patriotic spin these pictures on the net told a completely other horror story. At least if both, or all, sides of the story are available individuals are more capable of making better decisions.
bikemike on June 3rd, 2008 6:53 am
‘I wonder if the cop’s car has “Protect and Serve” emblazoned on the side of it??’
more like “protect (my car) & swerve”
my heart dropped when i saw that pic.
skin that fucker, nail his bloody hide outside the bar where he was gettin fucked up. worthless shitstain.
BackRoadBandit on June 3rd, 2008 8:21 am
I hope that SOB enjoyes a lot of time in a Mexican Prison!
bikepunk on June 3rd, 2008 8:36 am
I also think it is good to post the pic here, but I think as frequent DC readers, we can all decide to click the pic or not. I mean, this is a site about cycling, drinking, advocacy, politics and many other assorted rant-like topics, but I think we all know how bad it can be.
I still think a thumbnail would have sufficed with the warning “Gnarly shit” underneath or before it.
I am still a bit queasy from the first glance, even though there is no blood and guts. I just know it’s not pleasant to be on the other side of that lens. It’s the same feeling when I see an older person shuffling along and stumble a bit. I get all shaky and queasy and think ‘Are they going to fall down and break their hip? Maybe they are having a massive coronary and will end up dying as I try to do CPR (again). Maybe… maybe.. what if… etc…’
Yes, all that shit goes thru my head in a millisecond and makes me feel all queasy for a good half-hour after.
And that photo is now on Bummer Life. Damnit. Im not going to sleep well tonight.
Rottenmac Blogification » Blog Archive » June?… already??? on June 3rd, 2008 9:20 am
[...] other news, Big Jonny at DC has posted some serious shit about a head-on by a drunk driver into some cyclists. BE WARNED. The [...]
Peg Leg on June 3rd, 2008 9:54 am
“shoot him, cut out his tongue, and then shoot his tongue.” I was hit in Globe one year at the end of the race when a cop waved a car onto the course in front of 3 of us sprinting to the finish. It was carnage, but man nothing like this. Looking at it makes the tailpipe pucker. VERY sad.
-dan on June 3rd, 2008 11:14 am
if dude is in fact an american, tatoo him in black-face and drop his ass off in south Philly. They will take care of him…
MITCH on June 3rd, 2008 11:20 am
i can’t help but wonder why – being so close – that police cruiser couldn’t have done something to ram that asshat before he hit the pack.
i mean – it looks like he was coming straight down the road – not right off a side street or just suddenly appearing in front of the pack.
but who knows – doesn’t matter now. fuck.
bikesgonewild on June 3rd, 2008 12:19 pm
…just sends ugly chills down my fucking spine…
CTodd: /sea'tôd/ - n. on June 3rd, 2008 1:45 pm
Faaahk.
I just saw this in CNN and posted it to my site. Then I cam here to email Big Jonny and of course – he’s on it already.
Holy shit does that suck. Scary to see that photo…
Cody on June 3rd, 2008 3:04 pm
Here’s a close up.
http://blogs.kansascity.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/06/03/crash.jpg
big jonny on June 3rd, 2008 4:08 pm
That’s the same pic with the swerving cop car cropped out.
And the swerving cop car is half the fucking story.
Humpty on June 3rd, 2008 5:28 pm
Again…5 minutes alone with that fat fuck. I have been throught the windshield of a liquor store truck on my unit, lucky to be here. I am sick of reading this shit. I agree, if it were a Mexican in TX, he would be hanging from a tree. Does not matter where though, this shit has to stop.
Lance, why don’t you pull your Dubya Bush card and get some action on this shit. and I mean for the country. Enough is enough.
Joe on June 3rd, 2008 5:58 pm
Could the cop car have saved some of the impact? my heart goes out to the riders of such bullshit.
This past year i had a friend found in the middle of the street still clipped in and bike straight in the air. he was on his
back still clipped in.. I know a car plowed him from the back.
He has head trauma for life and came out of a coma of 2 months.
Sad Day to see this on the roads!!
take care all.
Joe
el jefe on June 3rd, 2008 8:17 pm
Having been, in the past, one of the dudes flying after being hit by a car, I have very conflicted feelings about showing the photo. Yes, it’s our reality, and we can’t shy away from the truth of it. I’ve had to many friends hit and lost some. BUT I’m still shaking a little about that photo. Big Jonny is a stronger man than I for putting it up. It’s been six years for me and I don’t think I could do that. I think I need to go throw up a little…
bikesgonewild on June 3rd, 2008 11:10 pm
…it’s not we cyclists who need to see that foto…
…that foto needs to be shown to the vehicle drivers that are perpetual cell phone users…also the high school ‘kids’ who have no real idea of the dangers of their new activity…the drinking drivers should have it tattooed on their foreheads…
…it’s ugly, it’s criminal, it’s disturbing & it shakes me up just thinking about it but that foto is a raw display of the vulnerability of a group of cyclists being violated…
el jefe on June 4th, 2008 12:27 pm
Yeah, you’re right. Anyone who has ever threatened to run someone over needs to be forced to see what the consequences of actually doing so are. I still can’t believe the cop’s reaction was saving his cruiser in which he was relatively protected rather than the cyclists who weren’t.
Adam on June 19th, 2008 7:33 pm
The cop was charged today with two misdemeanor manslaughter charges. He faces just up to two years in county jail. Read more here:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/06/19/BAIL11CBFJ.DTL&tsp=1
BrettOK on June 26th, 2008 10:54 pm
That Sherriff story is completely unrelated… did you even read it?
Tracy Adams on December 22nd, 2008 9:42 pm
A terrible, terrible tragedy.
Obviously the cop car was there to lead and protect. But in that instant when everything goes down, I can understand why someone would swerve –it’s what we do every time we drive and must avoid colliding with an object. Many times there is no time to think, and the instinct to survive kicks in, it has nothing to do with protecting a car over protecting the person(s) behind you. It’s unfortunate that the lead car chose to veer out of the way, and the decision to do so will follow that driver forever, but I’ll wait for more details before jumping to any conclusions.