Two cyclists died near Napa, California, Tuesday by a lumber truck when its load suddenly shifted of the picturesque roadway.

Authorities say the victims, identified as Christian and Michelle Deaton, were legally riding north on the valley’s winding, two-lane Silverado Trail when they encountered a flatbed truck headed in the opposite direction. Somehow, the lumber it was carrying shifted and fell, hitting the cyclists, Fox 8 reports.

Exactly what caused the load to hit the Deatons when it did is still being investigated, but Christian was declared dead at the scene. Michelle, meanwhile, was taken to a nearby hospital where she later died from her injuries. According to the sheriff’s office, they were visiting the Napa Valley from Portland, Oregon. And to his credit, the truck driver stayed at the scene and reportedly cooperated with authorities who are still investigating what caused the load to shift and hit the cyclists.

read more: https://jalopnik.com/two-cyclists-killed-by-trucks-lumber-load-in-california-1850954500

archive link: https://archive.ph/ZJb0f

  • 601error
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    8 months ago

    Unless the load was improperly secured, or the driver was not driving safely, which we don’t know yet.

    • oo1@kbin.social
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      8 months ago

      Even if so, I’d not argue for a non-“truck centric” approach to moving dead trees.
      The busses would have to have huuuge luggage racks.

      More training or enforcement might be worthwhile - but some sort of medium scale free ranging bulk transport will likely always be an important part of tree logistics.

      • Treczoks@kbin.social
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        8 months ago

        Even if so, I’d not argue for a non-“truck centric” approach to moving dead trees.

        Me neither, but some folks here probably believe that things like that would not happen if those trees had been carried by bikes.