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Drunk Driver Forgiven By
Widow Of Victim
Jamie Lizano Aguilar, the widow of
Christopher Lang Arce, forgave the drunk
driver who killed her husband on Sunday
while cycling on the autopista Florencio del
Castillo, during the funeral that was
attended by family, friends and hundreds of
cyclists yesterday.
"I forgive him from my heart", said Jamie.
Although she forgave the man who killed her
husband, the widow was adamant that he be
punished to pay for the consequences.
On Sunday at 7:15am, Christopher stopped at
a bus stop along the highway to Cartago from
San José. In moments his life came to an end
when a vehicle driven by a man identified
only by his last name Rivera, ran into the
cyclist.
The Policía de Tránsito inspection revealed
that the driver, who was found with a 0.93
blood alcohol content, did not even apply
the brakes before running over Christopher.
Jaime told Al Día that if she were to come
face to face with the man she would tell him
to put himself in the place of her husband.
Tránsito official, Gustavo Ordoñez, was the
first to respond to the call. Ordoñez said
he was in the process of giving another
driver a ticket a short distance from the
scene of the accident, when he got the call.
Christopher was run over in front the Pasoca
commercial centre that faces the autopista.
The Tránsito report indicates that the man
was dragged by the vehicle some 17 metres.
Witnesses say the cyclist was flung into the
air when he was hit. The bumper of vehicle
was found some 8 metres from the bicycle
Christopher was riding.
Why do these type of accidents happen, is
the question on the minds of many.
According to cyclists, they say they are
forced to practice their sport on the open
highways, like the Florencio de Castillo as
well as the Prospero Fernandez in Santa Ana,
as well as others, for lack of bycicle
paths.
However, this practice is dangerous and
illegal as posted by signs along the
highway.
A study by the Ingeniería de Tránsito done
in 1993 reported that cyclists should not be
allowed on roads where speed limits are 80
km/h or greater.
The report is clear that bicycles pose a
risk on the autopistas, as they cannot match
the speed of vehicles and can easily become
an obstruction, including causing an
accident.
Some of the practices by cyclists is taking
up a good portion of a lane or using on and
off ramps as if they were a vehicle. Many
cyclists argue that many of the roads do not
have shoulders.
The best recommendation for cyclists is to
use the shoulders and where none to keep as
much off the lanes as possible. The case of
the autopista in Santa Ana is one in point,
where cyclists do not use the shoulder and
in many cases ride side by side, especially
on the portion of the highway were the
posted limit is 100 km/h.
Although seldom enforced, the fine for
riding a bicycle on an autopista is ¢29.340
plus costs and even more seldom is a bicycle
confiscated.
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