Another death...

[JackoliciousLegs]

Andrew Olimpiew
Andrew was known by just about everyone in his class. He was the quirky computer nerd, always eager to share his Star Wars knowledge. Whenever he'd open his mouth, you knew something hilarious was about to be uttered. I was in many of his classes, but the one I remember most was Desktop Publishing. Andrew sat across from me. All year long, while everyone was working on assignments, Andrew would be vigorously drawing Death Stars, Imperial Star Destroyers, Tie Fighters, and just about every other Star Wars ship you can imagine. You'd think the teacher would be angry, but Andrew's charm always won her over. It was impossible not to like him.

Our paths would cross again after high school. Andrew lived on the street next to mine. I eventually ran into him and we kept in touch via IM. I'd sometimes go over and play video games, talk about motorcycles and computers, or whatever else came up. He was a good friend.

Here are the details of his death from the local newspaper:
A Reston man was killed Sunday evening after his motorcycle crashed into a car that pulled out in front of him on Lawyers road, Fairfax County Police said yesterday. Andrew Olimpiew, 21, of the 11200 block of Leatherwood drive was the driver of a Yamaha M4 motorcycle, police said. He was heading west on Lawyers road about 6:30 p.m when a 1996 Saturn sedan pulled out from Pinoak lane, trying to turn east on Lawyers. Investigators believe that Olimpiew was traveling at high speed and that the turning Saturn blocked his westbound lane for an undetermined amount of time, Officer Richard Henry said. Olimpiew's bike skidded, then overturned and slammed into the saturn. which was being driven by a 16-year-old reston girl. Olimpiew died later at INOVA Fairfax Hospital. Police are considering whether to seek charges against the teenager, whose name was not released.

[.RJ]

It is unfortunate but its just a reminder that you need to keep the high speed jackassery off the streets, especially on a bike. I drive the length of that road every morning, and if he was flying down the road at 80-100mph there's no way a car would have seen him coming.

[Sijray21]

agreed. I'm very sorry about your friend if it was your friend .

unfortunately it's very easy to be unaware of your speed while on a bike, but going fast on northern virginia roads is asking for trouble. i'm sure he was aware of the risk and that particular incident is the most common accident involved with motorcycles. i wish his family the best.

[.RJ]

i'm sure he was aware of the risk

I'm not so sure. There's always the risk of dumping the bike at high speed with no one else around, which on that road is pretty certain to cause some serious permanent injury, but hitting a car on that road is really, really bad news.

[Dragon]

Lawyers road is horrible. All those twists, turns, and hills are lots of fun in a car, and I'm sure just as fun on a bike, but it's just plain stupid to be speeding on that road. There's so many blind curves, driveways that dump right out into a spot where you don't expect them to be, and of course the developments that are abundent along that road. I used to travel it all the time back in HS, and still do from time to time, you won't find me going more than 5mph over the posted limit there.

[Mike]

bummer, sorry to hear. i lost a friend on lawyers as well

[Ginger]

I'm sorry to hear; it's always sad when a fellow two wheeler goes down.

Check this out, I think the idea is wonderful:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://remembertheriders.com">http://remembertheriders.com</a><!-- m -->

I hope the Police press charges, if only then just to raise awreness. More folks need to look.

"Don't say 'I didn't see the motorcycle' when you really mean 'I didn't look for the motorcycle.'"

[Feersty]

Sorry bout your friend, Jack.

[Mike]

I'm sorry to hear; it's always sad when a fellow two wheeler goes down.

Check this out, I think the idea is wonderful:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://remembertheriders.com">http://remembertheriders.com</a><!-- m -->

I hope the Police press charges, if only then just to raise awreness. More folks need to look.

"Don't say 'I didn't see the motorcycle' when you really mean 'I didn't look for the motorcycle.'"

he was speeding.

[Dragon]

Speeding doesn't excuse the driver that's pulling out from yielding the right of way as I can attest to from personal experiences with the court. In the eyes of the traffic court the girl who was pulling out won't be excused from responsibility, however this might be different if criminal charges are sought against her.

[Mike]

Speeding doesn't excuse the driver that's pulling out from yielding the right of way as I can attest to from personal experiences with the court. In the eyes of the traffic court the girl who was pulling out won't be excused from responsibility, however this might be different if criminal charges are sought against her.

she very well may be excused if he was driving recklessly. nobody can be expected to see something as small as a bike traveling at a great rate of speed through a dimly lit area. when you get on a bike, you know the risks you are taking and must make every attempt to minimize them.

[Evan]

There is no evidence to support the fact that he was speeding. And there is no way of computing that after the fact. The claims that he was driving recklessley are pure speculation and assumption.

[navin]

wow..

Lawyers is a horrible place to be doing stupid stuff, I should know...

navin
-wh0 pulled a 180 or something on Lawyers being a donkey

[Sijray21]

either way, i bet the inexperience of the driver in combination with the fact that the oncoming vehicle was small (probably traveling faster than the speed limit) resulting in the accident. Unless the person cutting you off if almost right infront of you i believe it's possible to stop in time, or atleast slow down (with proper braking techniques - quick stop for you riders out there). You have to be aware of the risk you take when you ride and when you decide to ride faster than you "should". I admit that most of the accidents (51%) are caused by drivers going into your right of way, but as a rider you should also be aware of this. That's the scary part.

[Myuki]

can they tell his speed from the skid?

[.RJ]

There is no evidence to support the fact that he was speeding. And there is no way of computing that after the fact. The claims that he was driving recklessley are pure speculation and assumption.

I drive the road from vienna to herndon every day, and to be honest if you're not speeding you have time to either slow down to a reasonable speed that you wont get killed or avoid the incident altogether. If you are hauling ass, you have very little time to take evasive action.

It is pure speculation and assumption, but I'm just looking at the probability.

[G.Irish]

There is no evidence to support the fact that he was speeding. And there is no way of computing that after the fact.

Sure there is. From skid marks, vehicle weights and measuring metal deformation (or plastic in the case of the Saturn) you can roughly calculate how much kinetic energy went into the impact, thereby giving you an idea of how fast each body was traveling.

[.RJ]

I think evan was saying is that we dont have that evidence at our disposal to make that judgement - or he's just hating as usual

[Ginger]

All of that, and if we want to get really technical it would be REALLY hard to speed on a Yamaha M4.

See for yourself.

Given the reliability of the information on the bike I wouldn't be so quick to assume that he was definitively speeding.

And in reality, the vast majority of motorcycle accidents occur because a cager infringed on the bike's right of way.

[ViPER1313]

This is why they call them accidents - it's tragic, and no amount of finger pointing makes a difference. Does it really matter if the Saturn was at fault or the rider was speeding? A guy ended up dead, it probably was avoidable, but somebody made a mistake. The only thing to do now is mourn the death of Jacks friend.