[drewski]

Every time I read about something like I have a Lewis Black conniption fit.
Hope Mr. Lampe gets better soon.

PEACE!

SAN ANTONIO -- Bexar County Sheriff's Office investigators say the driver of a pickup truck who hit and critically injured a cyclist on Saturday did not have a valid driver's license, and she had received a methadone treatment before the crash. The cyclist, identified as 49-year-old John Henry Lampe, is in serious but stable condition at University Hospital after the accident on Blanco Road, near Camp Bullis. It's a popular spot for cyclists, especially on a weekend morning.

"Right there was the point of impact. This is where the cyclist was," Wayne Ferguson said Monday afternoon while pointing to a white spray paint mark on the shoulder. "This would be where she ran off the road back here."

Ferguson is an avid cyclist and member of the Trailblazers cycling group. He's also retired from the San Antonio Police Department.

"Being that I have investigated numerous accidents, I looked at the scene and I could tell this was not right."

He rushed out to the crash site after 8 a.m. Saturday morning when he heard the sirens. He studied the scene where a pickup truck had hit a cyclist.

"It traveled 230 feet before it hit a culvert and brakes were never put on, until maybe five feet before it hit the culvert," he explained.


The speed limit there is 55 miles per hour. Investigators say the pickup driver had drifted off the road and she did not have a license or insurance, and she had just received a methadone treatment at a drug treatment center.

"It's something she has received treatment for several months however, some of the side effects could have possibly contributed to the crash. That's something our investigators are working to figure out now," explained BCSO spokesperson James Keith.

An online petition at change.org supports prosecuting the driver and the petition claims she was texting and driving. However, an investigator said the driver was eating not texting. An accident report says driver inattention was a factor. The driver is not charged in the accident and was cooperating with deputies, but the sheriff's office still investigating.

"I hope that our district attorney [Nico] LaHood looks at this really close and will do something about it," Ferguson said.