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Los Osos woman hit and killed while cycling with fiancé

October 31, 2014
Anna Deis with fiance Jason Cooper

Anna Deis with fiance Jason Cooper

A 25-year-old Los Osos woman died Wednesday after she was struck by a vehicle while bicycling with her fiancé. [KSBY]

Anna Deis was crossing Los Osos Valley Road east of Turri Drive around 6:40 p.m when an 86-year-old man driving a Lincoln Continental hit her. Deis was not wearing a helmet, and the crash threw her off her bicycle.

“Neither one of them saw the other one coming, and neither one of them could stop or avoid the collision,” said CHP Officer Richard Lee.

Emergency responders transported Deis to Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center where doctors pronounced her dead just after 10:30 p.m.

Neither the driver, nor his passenger suffered any injuries in the crash.

Investigators say drugs and alcohol are not believed to be factors in the collision.

Deis, who was an avid cycler, was only a few weeks away from marrying her fiance Jason Cooper. The couple’s wedding was scheduled for mid-November in Morro Bay.

Deis had raised $3,000 for the charity AIDS/Life Cycle and had signed up for a seven-day race in 2015. She also opted to be an organ donor, and doctors harvested her organs Thursday morning.


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eighty F”n six in TOO OLD to drive – get these old drivers off the road now!!


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“in too old to drive” Ah yes, more eloquence from the public “education” system. Care to compare accident statistics between old and young drivers genius. Hmmmm


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Yes, here you go:


http://static1.consumerreportscdn.org/content/dam/cro/magazine-articles/2012/October/Consumer%20Reports%20Dangerous%20Drivers%2010-12.jpg


Deaths among teens and seniors over eighty are the same.


It’s a big leap in logic to condemn the education system for a typo. You go right ahead and throw in some name calling while you’re at it.


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More accurately, 25 is TOO YOUNG to ride a bike.


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To all the non-cycling folks here that can’t imagine cycling safely on a road with high-speed traffic: Just because you can’t imagine it, doesn’t mean it can’t happen.


I have ridden well over 100,000 miles in almost 40 years, the majority of it on such roads, and have never been hit by a car. Yes, there is some danger there and luck may have played a role in my experience. But the danger is not much worse than it is for motor-vehicle drivers because I almost always ride legally, predictably and attentively. I know others with similar experience.


The vast majority of drivers do not want to hit cyclists (or anyone else) and most actually do pay attention to the road — although that does some to be somewhat less common now. I figure if I ride in the way specified by law (obeying stop signs/lights, riding on the right as far as practicable, signaling turns and lane changes), others will know what I am doing and planning to do and can avoid me. Yes, there is a chance that I can be hit and killed by the rare maniac or the less-rare inattentive driver. But that is a risk when I drive too. Life is not risk free and some activities are worth the risks involved. For me, using public roadways — on bike or in a motor vehicle — qualify.


You don’t have to join me out there. Just don’t tell me I can’t go where I need to go on a bike because there isn’t a segregated bikeway to get me there. This is what can happen if people think that the only safe place for a bike is such a pathway.


My experience on the Bob Jones trail through Avila Valley is that segregated bikeways are at least as hazardous for cyclists with a goal involving moderate speed as roadways are. (If you want to cruise slowly and casually, they are fine. If your want to get someplace in a limited time or push hard enough to call it exercise, there are too many unpredictable and inattentive other users on the paths to safely maintain a speed of over 10 MPH.)


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Very sad situation for all involved.


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Break out your whiz wheel and calculate the closure rate with an object traveling 7 times the speed of another object. Factor in curves with a limited line of sight. Factor in visibility impairment due to the sun low on the horizon, or fog and rain. Don’t forget the distracted driver component, and tell me bicycling on a strip of asphalt with 4000 pound hunks of steel passing within 3 feet is a good idea. It makes as much sense as flying your Cessna 150 in a MOA (military operational area). That said, what a tragic waste. Condolences to her family.


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To the families of Anna and Jason,


May the Lord our God comfort, strengthen, and lift you up during this most difficult time.


Matthew 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. -NKJV


God bless you all.


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Where are our supervisors on this issue? Are they planning bike routes through out or county? I rode from Pismo to Nipomo this summer and felt like my life was at risk. Come community leaders, lets spend a little cash on some bike lanes.


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Bike routes are extremely expensive to build. (Relabeling wide shoulders as bike routes requires the existence of wide shoulders.) While I am not against doing that, there is a much cheaper way to improve safety for cyclists. Education (both cyclists and motorists.)


To ride safely, one has to know the laws and obey them as they were designed with the idea of creating a traffic flow system that is as predictable for all users as is possible. Too many cyclists either don’t think that traffic laws apply to them or excuse breaking them by not believing that there are good reasons for them. But, equally important to riding safely is being constantly conscious of your environment. I rarely ride with cycling groups due to a tendency for some cyclists to place the social aspects of riding with others above the importance of observing what others (both in motor vehicles and on bikes) are doing.


Maybe my memories are not all that accurate but when I first started riding, there were not a lot of other cyclists around and many of us did ride in groups. However, there was an emphasis (at least locally) upon safe and responsible riding within those groups that seems to have faded away. I know there are still classes available locally for this purpose but they aren’t reaching enough cyclists. Perhaps the laws need to be better enforced and those who ignore them given the option of attending such a class in lieu of fines. While this idea is not inexpensive, it is still far less expensive than purchasing massive strips of land all over for the equally expensive purpose of constructing segregated bikeways on them.


The new 3′ passing rule for motorists is a good start on their education but 2 bigger problems exist that, while not affecting only cyclists, affect them more severely. The problem of distracted drivers (including DUI as a distraction) puts everyone else on the road in danger but cyclists don’t have 3000 lbs or more of metal and plastic protecting them from the overconfident and self-indulgent people who engage in these activities. The biggest problem though is changing the attitude by a large proportion of drivers that they have a right to go as fast as legally posted under any and all circumstances. Their “right” to the road does not exceed that of any other road users except as specified in the laws. Safety trumps impatience at temporary holdups.


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I think this is a great idea…as soon as a 50% tax is levied on all bicycles and bike parts/accessories to pay for them.


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It’s time to take the bike lanes off of the highways and wherever possible put them adjacent to the roadway like they do in Europe. I see riders every day that seem oblivious to the high speed traffic roaring passed them. How many riders need to be killed or maimed before we act? Personally I think it’s stupid to ride a bike on the freeway but if you must ride there please put on bright clothing and for heavens sake stay as far to the right as you can. If one ever has driven a Class A motor home in the wind you would never ride a bike on the freeway again.


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She wasn’t on a freeway. At some point, drivers need to take some responsibility for being careful as well. RIP


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She was riding on a road that vehicles travel on at 55 mph on average. To me that is as close to a freeway as one can get. Freeway, Highway, Roadway, you’re still riding with your back turned away from 2 ton machines traveling at high speeds in your direction. I sure wouldn’t do it. Distance closes way to fast at 55 mph. I’ve got nothing against bike riders…I just want them to be safe and riding along with high speed cars and trucks is not safe. If we had dedicated bike ways along side our highways these kinds of tragic accidents would decrease.

I also think more people would ride to work if were made to be safer and that would be a good thing.


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How about putting down your cup of coffee, putting down your cell phone, stop texting… focus on driving? When I drive through Los Osos I put my life at risk. I stopped riding my bike through LO 5 years ago, when cyclists became clay pigeons for the locals.


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And HOW was this the motorists fault? You must be a bicyclist, always blaming the motorist for your dumb decisions.


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Let’s see…she was in dark clothing with no lights on her bike and riding ACROSS the lanes in the dark…and how is it drivers are supposed be more responsible?


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While I am not sure is was quite “dark” when this happened, the conditions were certainly such that more caution was needed in regard to visibility than was present. However, even if Ms. Deis pushed the limits too far in this case, that doesn’t mean that drivers can’t be more responsible in other situations.


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Totally agree. With so many using and enjoying bicycles here …which they every right to do, there should be more dedicated bike trails to more safely enjoy this pasttime.

I’m a very careful driver…been told that I don’t drive fast enough, and yet I’ve had more than a few close calls with bike riders, especially when out in the country. You just come up on them quicker than you realize.


The time of this tragic accident may have had a part in this, too. At 6:40, a car traveling west on LOVR this time of year would have been almost directly looking into the sun, and possibly semi-blinded.

Both the drivers and riders should take these conditions into account.


No blame though, just sorrow.


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Absolutely tragic, another beautiful life gone too soon.

Our thoughts are with her loved ones.


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Quite the tragedy. May she rest in peace. Condolences to her family and friends. So tragic when someone trying to make a positive impact on her community is taken so young…


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