Bike Fed statement on Iowa County DA's letter about Allen Belonger case

Recently, the Spring City Spinners cycling club and the Bike Fed wrote to Iowa County District Attorney Larry Nelson asking why no traffic citations have been issued in the year since Allen Belonger, 61, was killed in a truck-bicycle collision while he was cycling in Iowa County on July 11, 2009.

A state trooper's report completed in October 2009 found that the driver of the passenger truck had failed to yield and that Belonger's behavior did not contribute to the collision.

We thank Mr. Nelson for taking the time to write to us in response to our questions. However, we are disappointed by the content of that response.

Mr. Nelson stated in his letter several reasons for why no citation had been issued. These included:

• "… issuance of a citation is a law enforcement function. District Attorney's [sic] Offices do not issue tickets." This response begs the question. District attorneys have the power to recommend that law enforcement personnel issue citations. Mr. Nelson made no such recommendation.
• "I would support a decision not to issue a citation in this or any other matter where the incident occurred and all appreciable facts were known over a year before." This answer is based on a false premise – that all the facts were known more than a year ago. The sheriff's department did not conclude its investigation into the collision until October 2009. The Spring City Spinners did not receive the accident report until July 2010. Moreover, there is plenty of precedent for acting on a legal infraction more than a year after the infraction occurred.
• “Could I … recommend to the Sheriff’s Department that they issue a citation? Certainly. … I did not do so out of an affirmative decision not to issue because it may or may not have been warranted.” We do not understand why the district attorney feels that a citation "may not have been warranted" in a clear case of failure to yield resulting in death. (That's not our conclusion; that's the state investigator's conclusion.)

We do not seek retribution against the driver whose actions resulted in Allen Belonger's death. However, we do believe that he should not be spared the legal consequences of his actions.

Every day, we teach people how to operate their bicycles safely and legally on Wisconsin's roads, and we support efforts to keep bicycle operators legally accountable for their behavior. We believe that motorists should be held to the same standards.

Iowa County district attorney stands by decision not to issue citation in Belonger's death

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's Tom Held reported today that Iowa County District Attorney Larry Nelson written a letter to explain why no citation was issued in the July 11, 2009, killing of Allen Belonger - but it doesn't clarify much. Belonger was fatally struck by a passenger truck when the driver made a sudden left turn, according to a state trooper's report.

Nelson wrote:

I would support a decision not to issue a citation in this or any other matter where the incident occurred and all appreciable facts were known over a year before.

Nelson made the statement in a letter to the Spring City Spinners (Belonger's cycling club), Belonger's widow and the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin. The group had written a letter to Nelson on July 27, 2010, requesting an explanation for why no action had been taken in the year since Belonger's death.

Nelson's above statement is problematic because the state trooper's report was not submitted until October 2009 and not released to the public until July of this year. It seems, then, incorrect to conclude that all appreciable facts were known more than a year ago.

Nelson also stated:

“Could I after declining criminal prosecution and having been made aware a citation had not been issued at the scene recommend to the Sheriff’s Department that they issue a citation? Certainly. I expect the Sheriff’s Department would have done so upon my request. I did not do so.

“However, I did not do so out of an affirmative decision not to issue because it may or may not have been warranted. As I stated before, my focus was to review possible criminal charges.”

It's difficult to figure out why Nelson thinks charges "may or may not have been warranted," given that the state trooper's report clearly states that the truck driver "failed to yield to the oncoming vehicle. This was a significant factor in this crash."

The report also stated:

The timing of the crash sequence demonstrated that Belonger was riding defensively and was watching the slowing truck as it approached the driveway. Belonger did not have any obvious perception delay to the hazard. He was presented with a nearly impossible hazard to avoid. The manner in which Belonger was operating his bicycle was not a factor in this crash.

The Spring City Spinners are currently considering their next step.

See last week's blog entry for more background on this case.

Looking for answers in Allen Belonger's death

Allen Belonger was killed on July 11, 2009, while riding in Iowa County. As he descended a hill at 30 to 35 miles an hour, a 16-year-old driver named Eric Hendrickson "abruptly turned [his truck] in front of Belonger," according to a recently released state trooper's report. The report states that Hendrickson "failed to yield" even though Belonger was in his sight line for 10 seconds prior to the crash, and that the "manner in which Belonger was operating his bicycle was not a factor in this crash."

Despite these conclusions, no charges have been filed against Hendrickson. Nor has he received a ticket for failure to yield. According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Hendrickson orginally received a citation related to intoxicated driving, but when tests showed no alcohol in his system, that citation was dropped and no other citations were made.

Belonger's friends at the Spring City Spinners cycling club are pressing Iowa County District Attorney Larry Nelson for answers. A recent letter to Nelson written by Spring City Spinners President Laura Fisher and co-signed by six other club members, along with Bonnie Belonger (Allen's widow) and Bike Fed Executive Director Kevin Hardman, says:

Our question is a simple one: Why was no ticket issued to Mr. Hendrickson? There is no defense to his driving that day. Our friend died a violent and needless death because this young man was not paying attention and violated the law, and not even a traffic ticket was issued. Why?

Please understand that we have no vendetta against Mr. Hendrickson. He must be
devastated by this tragedy, and no doubt will carry it with him the rest of his life. We also understand that you must be very busy in performing the important functions of your office. Nevertheless, it is our opinion that there must be some official condemnation of his actions. Otherwise, the public may very well and possibly quite reasonably conclude that your county does not take the safety and rights of bicyclists seriously. That type of attitude can only lead to a greater disrespect of cyclists' rights and therefore to more tragedy, not only in Iowa County, but throughout the State.

The Bike Fed fully supports the Spring City Spinners in their quest to find justice for Allen Belonger and make the roads safer for everyone, and we are working to educate motorists about the rules of the road as they pertain to bicyclists. (Please direct your friends and acquaintances to www.share4motorists.bfw.org for an introduction to these rules.) Yesterday, Tony Galli of WKOW 27 in Madison interviewed our Madison director, Amanda White, for a piece that laid out the problems with the case and why it's important for motorists to treat bicycles as the legal vehicles they are. You can see a summary of the piece, which aired on the evening news, here.

The Waukesha County case referred to at the end of the story was the Father's Day killing of Waukesha resident Brett Netke as he rode on Highway 18. He was hit from behind. The driver in the case has paid a $114 traffic ticket for failing to provide a safe passing distance and, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, may receive a three-point license deduction. You can see a story on the case from Milwaukee's TMJ 4 here.