No charges filed in crash that left Richmond principal seriously injured
VENN
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- No charges will be filed in connection to the early March crash that left a Richmond elementary school principal seriously injured.
On Tuesday, March 11, Mary Munford Elementary School principal Greg Muzik was riding an electric bicycle in the 4400 block of Patterson Avenue when he was seriously injured in a crash. Over a month later, he remains in the hospital.
On Friday, April 18, the Office of the Commonwealth's Attorney in Richmond issued a press release detailing its findings on the circumstances of the crash.
PREVIOUS: ‘I didn’t know if he was alive,' Eyewitnesses recount crash involving Richmond principal
Since the day of the crash, an extensive investigation into what happened has been carried out, according to Richmond's Commonwealth's Attorney Colette McEachin. This involved extensive interviews, taking evidence and measurements, using any nearby cameras and more.
"The Crash Team’s investigation yielded no evidence that the 65-year-old driver of the Ford Explorer was speeding, driving recklessly, under the influence, using a cell phone, or otherwise failing to pay attention," McEachin said.
The office provided an aerial map of this portion of Patterson Avenue, shown below.
Map of the scene of the March 11 crash that left a Richmond principal seriously hurt. (Photo: Office of the Commonwealth's Attorney in Richmond)
"In this case, particular attention was paid to the bicycle and to the parking lane markings on the road," McEachin said.
The office said it was determined through witness interviews that Muzik was riding his electric bicycle between the parking lane and the vehicle traffic lane -- outside of the designated bicycle lane. At the time of the crash, he appeared to be trying to turn onto Woodlawn Avenue.
"One witness described that 'the cyclist hit the car' on the passenger side," McEachin said. "Investigators confirmed the bicycle and SUV made initial contact at the front right hood and fender."
It was initially reported that Muzik was rear-ended by the involved Ford Explorer. Based on these interviews and an inspection of Muzik's bike, which found no rear damage, the office determined that Muzik could not have been hit from behind.
"The bicycle instead shows damage consistent with turning left in front of the moving SUV," McEachin said, adding that the left handlebar and front wheel were impacted.
In the state of Virginia, all cyclists are "subject to the same laws, rights and responsibilities as the driver of a motor vehicle." McEachin affirmed that a cyclist does not need to ride in a bike lane and is allowed to ride along the far right side of a travel lane, or as close as possible to the right curb.
"An exception to the right-curb requirement exists when a bicyclist prepares to make certain left turns," McEachin said. "As such, bicyclists must use hand signals to indicate which way they plan to turn. In this case, none of the witnesses or involved parties reported seeing hand-signals or other form of signaling utilized by the bicyclist [Muzik.]"
The office explained that some questions remained unanswered. For example, a car was parked in the designated parking lane and it could not be determined "whether that vehicle created an obstruction" to Muzik's line of sight. Additionally, it could not be determined "whether the numerous bicycle lane and parking lane markings may have contributed to this collision."
"Given the lack of evidence beyond a reasonable doubt required to prosecute either the driver of the SUV or the bicyclist, the Commonwealth declines prosecution and no charges will be filed in this unfortunate incident," McEachin said.
