For those of you picking on the writer, remember there is some type of Chief PooBa that says the story goes. Ask who manages the reporter? Management of the Victoria Advocate are you listening? Regretably high school headlines that won UIL contests because of their catchy and racy lead are not necessarily what real people want. They also want the truth and accuracy. It is embarrassing to see the persons interviewed, having to clarify the facts in the comment sections. Gee were the girls jay-walking?

First of all, I hope the cyclist will be ok. Now to get off topic a bit.  I think what KitanaAsh might have been meaning (don't take my word on it, I don't know for a fact) when saying "We are us,we are unique." is that that is why he was looking at them. Because they were unique. That is just my 2:30am opinion, however. And don't worry Kitana, the style is in no way "silly," I think it is really pretty, and even though I am a girl, I would have probably stopped and stared to. Lol. I am not extremely familiar with this writer's other articles, but based on how she portrayed the girls ("possibly wearing high heels or short skirts" [that kind of makes me automatically think of either a hooker or one of those new 'fashion trends' -- you know the ones...less fabric, more expensive]) and what I personally know about the Lolita fashion and what Kitana described, I must automatically assume that the rest of the facts in the articles, too, should not be trusted as-is. That is just my opinion, however. To each their own, right?

You're right....you can't ride a bike on the sidewalk. I didn't know that since I don't ride bikes anymore. The officer did say tho that the driver was at fault. I'm just upset because of the way it was written to make the driver out to be a pig. I know him and he is very upset over this. Like I said before, the girls were not sexy, they were silly. But then we have this guy that says he looks at the menu but eats at home....OMG, what if his wife came home and said "I saw some great Kielbasa today but came home to have weinies instead". Now tell me who the pig is here.......Don't mean to make anybody mad, just wanted to make a point.

If the driver's attention wandered for whatever reason, and he hit another vehicle traveling in his lane from behind (that's what I gathered from the story - maybe I'm wrong), then I have a problem with the officer's comment that the driver of the pickup committed no traffic violation. If I took my eyes off the road and rear-ended another car, then wouldn't I have committed some kind of a violation? Failed to yield right of way? reckless driving? something? It is OK just because a bike's involved? Bicycles are legally ridden on the street and there are more and more of them. I don't think bikes are legally ridden on sidewalks.

The picture of this accident shows...the truck IN the street not on the side, in the grass, or on the shoulder. So, I would think the driver stopped right where it happened. It's easier to move a bike than a truck. And did you notice the SIDEWAlk. Why not ride the bike there? Also, it's not that these girls were dressed sexy, they looked like clowns and were trying to be noticed by jumping up and down. Thank God...I have boys and they are BOTH in the US Army fighting for our freedom so we can look like clowns in public.

Bike lanes would be nice Woohoo,and perhaps some vendors can build some bike racks to secure our bikes while we shop or just a pole. I normally take the back roads ,but a lot of times we might have to go a few hundred yards on a main road.

In Europe, everyone bikes. It's time for change, folks. In Austin, there are bike lanes and biking is encouraged. If Sam Houston is renovated, we need to add bike lanes to encourage teenagers, teachers, and administrators to bike to school.

I am glad to hear there are Gals out there who are secure in themselves. I love those skirts. Well, let me clear that up, it is not the clothes, what is in them.. I am a happily married man but as I tell my wife, “I ain’t dead yet” and I am not blind… Look at the menu but take my meals at home!!!

My wife tells me of the “Busy Body” mind set of many of the folks in my chosen “New Hometown”. We have lots of fun when we travel abroad. Much of the rest of the world has a different view on clothing.

Back closer to the more important part of the topic. Right or wrong, if you ride a bike, you are exposed to the greater danger. So, do, all you can to be seen. I ride motorcycles same sort of problems, Those Lolita girls get me every time…..

To All Readers:This is me. One of the girls that were crossing the street when the wreck happened. This is a fact. (*following TOS*)

We were NOT wearing short skirts,or "high heels". My friend in fact,was wearing "heels" but not the bad kind. ^^

We are Lolita Girls. If you do not know what Lolita is,check it on Wikipedia under Lolita Fashion.We were in NO way reveling ourselves as everyone seems to assume. My friend was wearing a two layered skirt,which was right over her knees.

We'd appreciate the none-talking of how we must have been "seeking the attention" when we were not. We are us,we are unique.

Anyways,as for the cyclist,I was also there making the call. I was scared for dear life,but I'm glad to know that he'll be okay.I guess I should kind of be sorry for being possibly at fault,but people looking is not my fault either.

We would also like to add,that we hope the cyclists gets better. ^_^

I just figured out he's a guy....hmm...for some reason expected it to be female.

I think she moved to Michigan, or somewhere else blessed by the higher power.

No...you keep yours..

I forgot about your stalker!!! Is she still around? Would you like mine?

I'll be put of the "naughty list" again too. If you wish to refute any charges made against you, I would recommend copying attacks on yourself. My attacker deleted all her comments, complaints, and blogs to assure no evidence of their words could be examined.

Never mind....neither are worth the effort....

I'm guessing I am just not appreciated in Victoria! : )

LOL bighorn...just noticed & left another comment I am sure they will write another whiney "blog" on. Actually you know who I am. Had to change my name after the last whiner had me "grounded", though I never recieved the chastising e-mail. Oh well, here we go again, I'm sure.

Careful, Left....you appear to have attrached a "fan" (see recent blogs).

The censors here will soon write to you and assume your accusor is correct in their "feelings" and chastise you as one would a child.

Been there, done that.

It never left......I myself have 1 covered in fringe....wasn't much appreciated in Victoria.

Sorry,
I was distracted by the short skirts.. I am hoping the mini skirt comes back...

Help me out, if a very attractive female is wearing reviling cloths, (Short skirts and high heels) how can it be wrong for a man to look at her or even stare???
Might not be good while driving I admit but let’s be real. All men will look. That is why those gals were wearing what they were.
I don’t know the age of the females. If they are developed beyond their years, a driver or anyone else from a distance will not be able to determine if they are over or under 18.

So, any notion of looking at an attractive female who is showing (her stuff) is in any way inappropriate, is out of line. Going to happen… not a thing wrong in it…..

Back to the bicycle on the road, folks you have all legal right to ride them. Right or not, wrecks happen, people die in car wrecks even though the cars are more equally matched. When a wreck between vehicle and bicycle happens you are not going to win. This guy was lucky.

I have seen bicyclist violate all traffic laws, they are light and can make their way through traffic easily. Many of you folks take chances. I used to when I was younger and road a bike. If you ride a bicycle you better be very cautious.

I guess the City Council will next pass an ordinance banning any wearing of short skirts & high heels on public streets & walkways during peak traffic hours.

Sailor...it sounds like you and Uncle Chris have had a falling out. No more friendly visits to the editor? Shucks.

Good post, officer Wallace. I wouldn't worry about it. I don't think the advocate likes to pay reporters high dollar so you get what you get. You are doing a great job under the saddest of circumstances, lately.

Folks if any of you have been following the story on the one year old and on this one, look at the similarities. Both are written by the same reporter and on both forums, are comments about things that could of been edited better and about misquotes. I was in the public sector for many, many years and it was quite common to be misquoted. It not only made me look bad but anyone else who might be involved. What I would like to add is a newspaper is a business. They here something, in this case women in short skirts and heels, and get tunnel vision after that. For all we know, she may have tuned out the officer and not heard anything else he said. They want to sell papers and this is a way to do it. Small town journalism at its best. Although he doesn't know it, the officer worked a accident my wife was involved in a few months ago and was nothing but professional and respectful.

If you read my earlier post, this is poor journalism on the writer. She was at Dairy Treat asking about the appearance of the women who were walking. Neither the officer or the driver were around during that. Thank you for your post Officer Wallace.

I am the officer that worked this accident and there is a few things I would like to set straight. As you can see, there are some things in this article where quotations are used refering to a comment I made. Then you have the one about that high heels and skirt where there is not. In defense of Mr. Frasier and what is not mentioned is the fact that he told me that he only noticed them for their odd dress appearance. He never gave any inclination that he was looking at them inappropriately. My accident report does show Mr. Frasier at fault, with the factor being "driver inattention". Basically there was NO traffic violation committed on Mr. Frasier's part. There is no traffic law that covers taking your eyes off of the roadway. A factor is simply nothing more then a opinion on what caused the accident. As for the bicyclist, he too did not violate any traffic law. My only suggestion to him would be to maybe take back streets if riding a bicycle during busy hours. Secondly, it is not required but it always helps to wear a helmet. When I spoke with the reporter, we discussed this only briefly. We talked more about the one year old struck the day before.

I think it sucks how they put words into the drivers mouth w/out speaking to the source. They quoted the officer. The driver of the truck is very honest, but this story does depicts him as a pig. He should get a reprint setting it straight. I would have probably been distracted by the two girls. This story does not due the driver any justice. Were any laws broken by the driver? Was the cyclist following the laws of driving on the street (not talking about mirror or helmets)? I VOTE for a FACTUAL reprint. I too have heard the Advocate likes to streatch the truth or skip the facts which is pretty sad when you are printing upsetting events that people have to live with... My prayers are with the driver and his family along w/ the cyclist.

I think it is sorry how some of you folks are reacting to this issue. What would you do if you saw a couple of teenagers jumping around in the middle of the street like idiots wearing go-go boots and whatever else? You would look, right? And don't act like you or your husband or anyone else doesnt do it!! I believe that there should be a REPRINT. The reporter himself was shocked to see the girls in the clothes they were wearing. And i know this for a fact. I just think they should have taken a little more time thinking of how to word this better. Maybe ask the driver what really happened and get the story straight.

I didn't mean anything negative. And it does soundlike the driver is very honest, kudos to him for taking responsibility for this.

What the heck was wrong with the article? Sounded pretty straight forward to me. Man on bicycle gets hit by man in pickup truck ogling women instead of paying attention. Can't, for the life of me, figure out what is wrong with the story. Maybe the reporter did show a little bias by blaming the man. I think the women should have been blamed.

I never said "It was the LAW" I'm just saying there's 2 sides and if you weren't there, then who's to say the bicyclist was looking at these girls too and veer'd out alittle. You don't have to get your panties in a wad. I know the driver first hand and he's a very honest man. Extremely horrible accident and could have happened to any of us. With gas prices rising, there will be alot of bicycles out on the roads. NOW, maybe there should be laws of helmets, mirrors, etc....... I'm going back to finish my coffee

I don't want to be "one of those people", but I'm never fond of the writer's articles she writes. She has, in the past, misquoted and wrote some pretty poor articles, that either on her part or the editor, read like a middle school jounalism paper. As for the topic at hand, luckily this one wasn't as tragic as the small child the day before. And for luanne, wtf? Show us where the law says you can not ride a bicycle on a busy street? The bike was going with the same direction as traffic which is very much the right thing to do. The law does say he CAN NOT ride on the sidewalk if it is adjacent. And sickandtired, I saw the chicas too. Wow!!! They were the only reason I pulled into Dairy Treet to get a soda..lol

Luanne:
FYI
"Stipulations in the Texas Traffic Laws that bicyclists should be familiar with include:

Cyclists have all the rights and the duties that apply to drivers of vehicles. This statement includes stopping at signs and signals, yielding the right of way and obeying posted speed limits and one-way street signs.

No bicycle shall carry more persons at one time than the number for which it is designed.

A bicyclist moving below the speed of other traffic shall ride as near as practicable to the right curb or edge of the roadway, except when:

The person is overtaking and passing another vehicle going in the same direction;
The person is preparing to turn left at an intersection or onto a private road or driveway;
Conditions of the roadway, including fixed or moving objects or vehicles, pedestrians, animals, surface hazards or substandard lanes, make it unsafe to ride next to the right curb or edge of the roadway.
The person is operating a bicycle in an outside lane that is less than 14 feet in width and does not have a designated bicycle lane adjacent to that lane, or it is too narrow for a bicycle and a motor vehicle to safely travel side by side.
For night use, a bicycle shall have a lamp on the front with a white light visible from a stance of at least 500 feet to the front and with a red reflector on the rear that is of a type approved by the Department of Public Safety, and visible when directly in front of lawful upper beams of motor vehicle headlamps from all distances from 50 - 300 feet to the rear of the bicycle, or a lamp that emits a red light visible from a distance of 500 feet to the rear of the bicycle.

Violation of the law is a misdemeanor offense and could result in a Justice of the Peace Citation."

However, I am surprised that the law doesn't require a rear view mirror. I believe there is also a movement underfoot to require some sort of modification to the law to require bicyclists to have something comparable to a driver's license. Not sure how that is going, though. If people can drive around on their little hover chairs without a license, then I don't see how a bicyclist could be required to have one. Just my thoughts!

OMG! A bike doesn't have to have mirrors and although a helmet would help, its optional. This isn't a freakin motorcycle. Why do people like you come on here? My nephew was at Dairy Treet after the wreck and saw one of the scofflaw girls. He said they would have caught his attention since the one he saw had on a plaid skirt and black socks to the knees.

I think it's time I do some missionary work at this intersection.

Gosh, I hope this poor fellow's honesty doesn't get him run over by his wife.

Oh, I'm sorry....I forgot it's legal to ride a bicycle on a busy street without a helmet and side mirrors.

Well, unless he had eyes in the back of his head, I'm guessing he didn't see the truck approaching since it hit him from behind. Come on, people. Read the article!

luanne how is he going to see the truck when it hit him from behind? read the story

How fast was the bicyclist going? Was he also looking at the girls to not notice a large white truck approaching?

I'm trying to visualize the interrogation of the driver:
. .DRIVER--"I was distracted by two women."
. .COP--"What were they wearing?"
. .DRIVER--"I think maybe high heel shoes. Or else a short skirt,"
. . COP--"Really? Which way did they go?"
. .DRIVER--"They were crossing the street."

I couldn't help but notice that the story was posted by the same reporter who posted a blog about commuting to work on bike. Maybe we should BOTH wear a short skirt and heels on the bike. That way we'll be sure motorists will notice us.

You know why a woman in a short tight leather dress, low cut, wearing knee high leather boots turns a man on so much???? She smells like a new truck!!!!!
One more thing to consider when you ride a bicycle on the road, You may be 100% legal and doing nothing wrong, but you are no match for a vehicle at 30 mph.

Mini skirts and high heels.I have heard it all.At least the driver was being honest.