By interviewing the reporting police officer and the Examiner’s lead reporter on the story, we’ve determined that neither got their accounts from an actual eye witness. The Examiner reporter readily admitted this.

Apparently, there were eye witnesses present at the scene, but for one reason or another they were not interviewed. These witnesses claimed that Moe was hit while swerving to avoid hitting a pedestrian who suddenly appeared in his way.

Which path is the most probable?

The “X” marks the spot where the police report says Casey Moe was struck by the Decaux van. The oval to the upper left of this spot is a cut in the curb.

The red line shows the path the Chronicle claimed Moe was on when he was hit. This version of events, which is the one nearly every accepts as “true” because of the Chronicle’s faulty reporting, has been totally discredited.

Inexplicably, the reporting officer, Sergeant Mike Mahoney, still refers to Moe’s path as “sweeping left turn onto Sansome” even though he acknowledges the collision occured west of the crosswalk. Clearly, this is not physically possible.

The green line shows the path Moe would have taken if he had been heading towards the cut in the curb by making a turn across oncoming traffic. The problem with this scenario is that Moe would have had to drive his bike across a large MUNI grate to accomplish this. Tire-chewing MUNI gratings, especially this one near Sansome, are a well known hazard to all experienced bike messengers and it’s highly unlikely Moe would have taken this path.

The purple line shows the path Moe would have taken if he had been crossing Market at or near the crosswalk. He could have also driven along Market and made a sharp left turn at or near the crosswalk (beyond the grating), a somewhat odd maneuver and one we did not see anyone attempt in over 30 minutes of observation.

The black line shows a path that is consistent both with the report we received and the layout of the accident area. Rather than being killed as the resultof “riding recklessly” Casey Moe may have been hit from behind while traveling with traffic when he swerved from hitting a pedestrian who suddenly stepped into the street in front of him.

Contributions to Casey’s family may be sent to:

Casey Moe Memorial Fund
c/o SF Fireman’s Credit Union
2390 Market St.
SF, CA 94114
Attention: Michelle

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