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Unsafe Turn by SUV Believed Responsible

SANTA BARBARA, CA - 8/15/2006 - 8/15/06, 4:00 p.m. Police officers just
wrapped up an injury traffic accident that occurred at 1:35 p.m. on Meigs
Road. The collision involved a 63-year-old bicyclist named Gerald Hammons
versus a Ford Explorer SUV. The bicyclist was traveling west, in the 600
block of Meigs Road. He was not wearing a helmet. This stretch of Meigs
Road is fairly steep downhill. Meanwhile, driving up ahead in a Ford
Explorer was Brandon Phillips, age 28, of Florida. He
was also traveling west on Meigs Road. Reportedly, Phillips was lost and
was trying to get to downtown. He pulled over to the right curb, waiting
for a chance to make a sharp left turn onto a side street. He waited for a
few vehicles to pass by and then started his left turn. Midway into his
turn, Phillips alerted to the sound of Hammons shouting at him to ’stop.’
Phillips saw Phillips approaching at high speed on the bicycle. Phillips
aborted the plan to make a left turn, gunned the
engine, and tried to outrun Hammons by making an even sharper U-Turn.
Unfortunately, Hammons swerved to the left, apparently hoping to pass the
Explorer before it completed the U-Turn. Ironically, the two parties’ last
ditch efforts to avoid the accident set them on a collision course. The
bicyclist hit the SUV broadside, and fell to the pavement. Meigs Road was
temporarily closed until the bicyclist was transported to the hospital, and
until police investigators could complete the field investigation. The
Explorer sustained significant damage to both left side doors. The
bicycle’s front wheel, handlebars, and frame were crushed. The bicyclist’s
injuries include multiple
fractures to his right wrist and jaw, a broken right kneecap, and serious
internal head trauma. He was admitted at Cottage Hospital. The preliminary
investigative findings are that Phillips made an unsafe left turn.
Regardless of who is at fault, Santa Barbara Police Department
urges bicyclists to wear an approved helmet at all times.

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