On memorial day morning a friend of mine was riding her bike near Vega, TX, struck by a car and killed. There are many things that can be said about Tasha. She was a cancer survivor, long time bicyclist, computer programmer, charity fund raiser, and friend to many people. This story isn’t about her. It’s about the odd behavior or the media outlets in Amarillo, TX. Specifically, KFDA, KVII, KCIT, KAMR, and the Amarillo Globe News seem to all have completely missed the story.
In an age were every auto accident gets at least 3 sentences on the evening news and possibly 10 seconds of video, this story has gone nearly unmentioned. KVII has a brief mention on Wed. the 28th. The newspaper had an obituary, mention of funeral services, and a very brief piece over a wk later. The websites that these organizations participate in has been similarly brief.
Amarillo is NOT a bike friendly town, no matter what the mayor says. Not as long a bicyclist can seemingly be driven down for whatever reason and killed without question and hardly a mention in the local media outlets. As long as this story is basically unreported such accidents are likely to happen again. IMHO, all the local media have rescinded any moral or ethical obligations they may have about reporting the news here.
It is interesting to note that two weeks after the incident the Amarillo Globe News finally ran one piece on Sun. 6/8/2009. It goes out of it’s way to mention as little about the driver as possible and shows a lot of attention to Katie’s law, which gives DPS the ability (Did they need any?) to more thoroughly examine drivers over the age of 79. I’m unable to link to this article, because it does not seem to be on their website. Curious.
KVII: http://www.kvii.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=139084
Is for sentences long on 5/27/2008 and fails to mention the driver, bicylcist, or much else. And it states that the DPS troopers are still investigating. Investigating what? All the information would be available on the scene; tire tracks, witnesses, evidence of DUI or DWI, etc.
KAMR: http://myhighplains.com/content/fulltext/?cid=8749
This post also from late Tuesday, has more information. Like the name of the driver, more details of the accident, Tasha was wearing her helmet, etc.
KAMR: http://myhighplains.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=452&sid=96a8691334ddb2654416ba1c56fd34f5
KAMR also runs a forum and someone posted questions about this accident. The thread started on Tuesday. It doesn’t contain any answers.
Globe News: http://www.amarillo.com/stories/060408/new_10478422.shtml
Amarillo.com has a bit more information than the accident. Though it was posted on Wednesday, a full 2 days after the accident. It also has a number of unanswered questions in the comments section. Why was there a delay in reporting this? Is there going to be a follow-up? How fast was the vehicle going? etc.
KFDA does not seem to have any mention of Tasha or a bicycle accident on Monday. For them, it did not happen.