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Woman arrested for SLO hit and run

January 24, 2014
Dina Yassin

Dina Yassin

San Luis Obispo police arrested a 27-year-old woman who allegedly crashed into a bicyclist and then left the scene on Wednesday.

At about 11:15 a.m., Dina Yassin of San Luis Obispo crashed into Ernie Brink, 68, as he rode his bike on Tank Farm Road near Broad Street. Yassin fled the scene while several onlookers assisted the bloodied victim until police arrived.

Emergency personnel transported Brink, who suffered moderate injuries, to Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center.

Police arrested Yassin for hit and run and booked her into the San Luis Obispo County Jail with bail set at $50,000.

 


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What a horrible thing to happen to such a nice guy. I hope that ugly hag enjoys prison.


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yes it is a horrible thing to happen, horrible to both.

very sad that you would post such an ugly comment.


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I’m surprised to find people thinking that she ‘must have panicked’ and ran. Think about it for a minute, is it natural to run when you seriously accidentally injure someone? I don’t think so.

If this woman doesn’t have the instinct to panic for the person who she injured rather than for herself and to stop and do whatever she can to help him, then she isn’t someone that should be driving. As it turn’s out, the victim was on a road in daylight where there was plenty of immediate help, does anyone think she would have stopped to help him if it had been on a deserted dark road at night? I don’t think so, I think she would have done the exact same thing that she did in the daylight. They should take away her license, she is indeed a very dangerous driver regardless of who was responsible.


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Sad situation for all involved. The driver may have panicked after the accident and fled. Now she’s got a felony on her record. Glad the cyclist should be ok. Riding Tank Farm is scary.


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When I’m approaching a bicyclist in my lane I assume they’ll swerve into my travel path and I take appropriate measures. If there’s no oncoming traffic I move to the left in anticipation of this possibility. If there’s heavy traffic I slow to reduce our disparity of speeds. In a nutshell, I pay attention. Of course I’m one of those old codgers who isn’t under the illusion that a motor vehicle is a phone booth, daycare center, dressing room, restaurant, or a social meeting spot. I allot extra time for my travels assuming there will be delays. It’s a car and its only purpose is to transport you from one place to another in a safe manner for you, and the people you share the road with. The only people who have a valid excuse for speeding are law enforcement and emergency service personnel. When an involved driver flees the scene their driving PRIVILEGE should be revoked for life after release from prison.


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And Tank Farm Road? The Mavericks of SLO for the cyclist! IMHO it takes a “special” person to take that beast on riding a bike!


And in retrospect, after walking that beast a time or two since June 2013, god help any cyclist on it! Windy as hell, 55 MPH speed limit (very seldom followed) coupled with people rushing to work or home afterwords, JEEEZ! After the second or third time we walked it I couldn’t do it anymore! It was shorter that way to my “home” but the risk just wasn’t worth the reward. We walked back down to Bridge St from Prado, go through Meadow Park and back down Broad all the way back to Tank Farm!


Just sayin’…


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From the pictures I’ve seen of the crash site, this did not occur on the section of Tank Farm Road that you are referring to. It was on the east side of Broad next to the Vons. Slower speed limit, painted bike lane, and sidewalks. But there are more turning cars in this area, so there are always hazards whenever you’re on a bicycle.


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There is never an excuse for hit and run. You stop and render aid –period. There is a moral obligation as well as a legal obligation.


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Glad you lived to tell the story! PP5. Until the next senseless death- not too far in the future I’m sure- peace.


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Much like the state requires automobile operators to have insurance, it’s probably time to make the same requirement of bicycle operators. As well as some sort of licensing.


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Mandatory licensing of bicycles/bicyclists has proved to be a more-trouble-and-expense-than-it’s-worth proposition in most places it has been tried. The prime benefits of bike licenses has been to aid in returning stolen bikes to their proper owners. That doesn’t need to be mandatory. I doubt that most insurance companies would touch insuring cyclists for injury without premiums greater than those for motorists. While some may applaud the idea of this round-about way of removing cyclists from the road, there are enough benefits from a high population of cyclists operating correctly that would make this a mistake too.


What is needed is to correct bad behavior by cyclists. Maybe if scofflaw cyclists had to attend a cycling traffic school (and pay for it) or face larger penalties if they refused, they would be more inclined to know and obey the laws. There are people in SLO who are trained and capable of running such classes but, as far as I know, there is no connection to the court/legal system — just the occasional class for people getting into cycling. Cops might also spend more time addressing the issues if they thought that their actions might produce some results.


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It is time to make these attempted murderers pay- send her away and sue her family for everything they own. Bike riders are being killed and it’s OK because it was done with a motor vehicle . Something has to change. It is unbelievable what some people will do just to beat the other driver to the next stop sign. The streets in SLO are driven like a stock car race and it’s got to stop. Where is SLO PD? If an officer stood on the corner of any intersection in town he could write tickets all day long.


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Not to excuse what she did by fleeing the scene, but how do we know the biker didn’t swerve into the lane? Drivers are instructed to “share the road” but that’s hard sometimes, especially when some roads simply are NOT designed for both a car and bike to share at once.


Countless times I’ve being going a normal speed, not driving in a “stock car race” but have had a near miss because a biker has plowed through a stop sign without stopping, or is riding side-by-side with another cyclist, or is swerving back and forth into the lane of traffic.


Again, the driver should’ve stopped–maybe she panicked–but I wouldn’t call this an “attempted murder.” Let’s find out some more facts (Was it a DUI? Was the cyclist at fault?) first and hope that the injured cyclist fully recovers from his injuries.


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Sorry, too many deaths. Bikes and cars can co-exist. Stop blaming the cyclist! They don’t usually live to defend themselves. Have you walked, run, or ridden a bike in SLO? Ever?? I thought not.


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Actually, years ago I attended Poly and have walked and ridden a bike all over San Luis since I didn’t have a car for 5+ years. So yes, I know exactly what it’s like to be a cyclist trying to share the road in SLO. Believe me, I had some near misses on my bike (one was a very windy afternoon on Tank Farm, BTW) and some of those close calls were admittedly my fault and some were the fault of the nearby vehicles.


The fact is that there really ARE some roads in SLO that just aren’t equipped to handle cars and bikes safely. And there ARE some–not all–bicyclists who swerve and don’t ride safely. No one’s “blaming the cyclist” (yet) because again, I wrote “let’s find out some more facts” before we blame ~anyone~. Have a nice day. :)


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I have (all three)! Back in 1991 through 1996 when I lived up in Perfumo Cyn. I did all of them, and drove a truck to boot! It was different back then; far less, and much more conscientious motorists on the road for sure, but I do recollect a much more respectful crowd of cyclists as well.


I remember Boomer and I walking down Higuera for the first time after getting here in June, coming from South Street heading towards Elks Lane going to Prado for the first time. We were on the sidewalk, almost in front of the Goodwill store, when this kid came flyin’ down the sidewalk on his multi-thousand dollar road bike and ran into Boomer! Nope! No “I’m sorry” or “Excuse me” or “Hope I didn’t hurt your dog”, nope, nope, nope… “Get your f * # & ing dog on a shorter leash” was his warm reply. My reply (after counting to ten real slow and Boomer lookin’ up at me with that “Don’t do it, Dad” look) “Excuse me! I’ll be sure to be in the bike lane next time!”


It set a tone… I just don’t remember how many times I had to get off the sidewalk to let a cyclist go by, and usually stepping out into a bike lane to do so! Or how many times I saw cyclists blowing red lights as not to disconnect from their pedals. Or the “crews” going down Higuera side-by-side completely oblivious to the traffic all around them.


I’m sorry tojofay, but from my vantage point, one of being and walking on the streets of SLO every-single-day to the tune of about 12 to 13 miles a day, most often it was the cyclist that wasn’t doing his or her job correctly.


Hit-and-run is despicable, bye-the-way. No matter who’s at fault…


Just sayin’…


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Oh yea! Back then the real danger on the road was some Poly’ coed with her cell phone stuck to her ear while driving her over-sized mean to kill you SUV pelmet though down town. That ain’t sexist bye-the-way, that’s just the truth…


Just sayin’…


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I agree that there are too many deaths, but co-existence is a 2-way street. I have been cycling “seriously” for 2/3 of my life and still commute at least 15 miles/wk. by bike. I was taught young that cycling requires attention to all other road users and that cyclists do need to obey the laws as much as motorists do. As a result, my only car-bike collision was at a gentle <3 MPH when a car ahead of me stopped more quickly than I was able to stop.


It is quite apparent to me that a lot of cyclists are either ignorant of their legal obligations and good defensive cycling techniques or have an unjustified entitlement attitude about their obligations in a share the road scenario. It used to be that those who rode "seriously" and dressed like "real" cyclists were generally not in this category. As cycling became a stronger fad, this changed.


I have also spent most of my adult life in jobs requiring me to drive. I understand both perspectives. Impatience and inattention by drivers contributes greatly to the collision danger too. Automobiles do not always have an unfettered right to the main traffic lane and to maintain their normal speed there. Just because someone doesn't make enough allowances for delays in their transportation plans doesn't mean that they are allowed to take their problems out on someone else. (I wonder why these folks rarely try dangerous passing or extreme tailgating when a big rig is causing the delays.)


pasoparent5 is right, we don't know enough to place blame yet. Making assumptions about the situation based on ones feelings or personal experience is not warranted.


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