Sporting bumper stickers, wristbands and ribbons, Matthew O’Neill’s family and friends carried their campaign — Change a Lane, Save a Life — to Santa Maria, nine weeks after the UC Santa Barbara graduate student and avid cyclist was struck and killed.
They participated in Saturday’s 2014 Traffic Safety and Awareness Memorial Walk at Preisker Park, several miles west of where the 33-year-old O’Neill was hit Aug. 9 by a teenager driving a pickup truck pulling a horse trailer. The 16-year-old driver has been charged in connection with O’Neill’s death.
In the middle of mourning — a memorial is planned at UCSB later this month — O’Neill’s family and friends have launched an effort to urge drivers to change lanes to pass a cyclist.
“He would want us to do something positive,” said O’Neill’s fiancée, Jen Passwater of Carpinteria.
“Doing stuff like this helps,” O’Neill’s brother, Craig, added.
While a new California law requires passing drivers to be 3 feet from bicyclists, O’Neill’s family says they want the law changed to allow drivers to cross double-yellow lines — when safe — to put extra space between vehicles and bicycles.
The number of drivers, passengers, bicyclists and pedestrians killed or injured in traffic collisions in the Santa Maria Valley prompted the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office and the Santa Maria Police Department to join forces for a one-mile walk. The event was intended to honor and remember the victims while raising awareness about the risk of dangerous driving.
Last year’s inaugural walk was organized by Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Karapetian, who prosecuted the driver who struck and killed Santa Maria resident Frank Diaz and his dog last year on Blosser Road.
While Saturday’s turnout was lower than expected, organizers said the message remained important.
“This event is critical to bring awareness and try to create some understanding of the need for all us who are driving vehicles to be cautious of pedestrians and cyclists, and that the cost of not doing so is too devastating,” said City Councilwoman Terri Zuniga, a victim-witness advocate.
“We need to share the roadways,” she added. “We need to be respectful of each other.”
Zuniga said events like the walk can help lead to stronger laws.
“People’s consequences will alter behavior,” Zuniga said.
Police Sgt. Mark Streker said the number of pedestrian collisions has prompted police to film a public service announcement to remind residents about the dangers of being distracted. A new traffic grant will be used to address pedestrian and bicycle safety.
And he noted that pedestrians have a role to play in being safe.
“Just because because you’re in a crosswalk, just because you think you have the right of way as a pedestrian, you’re never going to win versus a car,” Streker said.
He recalled seeing one pedestrian recently while he was off duty. Wearing a hoodie blocking the pedestrian’s peripheral vision, using earbuds that interfered with hearing and looking down to text while holding a coffee, the person walked across Broadway in the middle of the block in front of a sign that said, “No Pedestrian Crossing.”
Pedestrians who cross the street illegally will be cited, even it they’re injured, Streker said.
Family and friends of Jade Marie Dodson walked in her memory. The 18-year-old died from injuries she received as a passenger when an under-the-influence driver ran a red light at Broadway and McCoy Lane and caused a multivehicle crash last year.
“It’s still hard to talk about it,” said Theresa Dodson-Lin, Jade’s aunt. “Even though it’s been a year, still the pain is there like it just happened yesterday.”
Jade’s cousin, Bobby Dodson-Carag, remains hospitalized from the June 18, 2013, wreck, unable to walk or respond and requiring a feeding tube, his aunt said.
“It’s like losing him, too,” his mom, Josephine Dodson, added.
“I just want people to be aware,” she added, urging the families of those addicted to alcohol or drugs to emphasize the dangers of driving while impaired.
O’Neill’s family and friends launched their campaign just weeks after he died, handing out wristbands and ribbons — they’re green in honor of his favorite color — at his memorial in Chula Vista and later a memorial ride to Ventura from Carpinteria.
An advocate for people with special needs, O’Neill was pursuing a doctorate degree in special education studies to add to his law degree. Passwater said he would want his family and friends to make something positive out of the tragedy.
“He was in education and he knew that education was the way to make changes, so that’s what we’re hoping to do today to help educate everybody about cycling safety,” she said.
“Even if it’s just one person today who says, ‘Oh, yeah. OK, I will be more cautious when I see a cyclist and I will change the lane. I will give them space to pass them,’ then we did our job,” she added.
“Arriving 30 seconds late, compared to saving someone’s life — it’s no contest,” Craig O’Neill said.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.