"The accident remains under investigation, Pleasanton police Sgt. Bob Leong said. The driver has not been arrested, but police said he is not cooperating with their investigation."

Gee, the driver is "not cooperating" with the Pleasanton Police. What a surprise.

Diana sounds like a wonderful person whose life on earth had such meaning. My prayers are with her family and close friends that time will serve as a healing presence in the days, months and years to come.

The fact that the 18 year old driver is not cooperating with the investigation is not a surprise for anyone that read his and his friends social media sites. My guess is that he won't be using the word bi--es as an exclamation point when he takes the stand for manslaughter. Or maybe he will? Is he still that bold? To his friends, explain why he took all his social media sites down? What's to be ashamed of now? And if this were your mother who was killed would you still be #prayingfor??

Dawn - How did you find out the 18-yr old driver's name? I felt bad for him until I read your message and the fact that he is being uncooperative. My prayers are with Mrs. Hersevoort, her family, and friends...

Condolences to the family. However, I would like to read some reportage on the length of the investigation that appears to be ongoing and ongoing. How many agencies are involved, and at what cost to the taxpayers? (Comment deemed inappropriate by Pleasanton Weekly Online staff)

I would like her family to know that I am horrified by what you all have to endure. I feel rage that your mother, wife and grandmother was taken from you NEEDLESSLY, WRONGLY. She wasn't hurting anybody, and she has only, like all of us, one chance to be here, and someone being stupid took that from her? I feel grief and outrage.

Being "uncooperative" is obviously on advice of his attorney. Saying one wrong word could later be used against him if the matter goes to trial, just as most of you commenting on this tragedy have already done. How dare the weekly report this as being uncooperative. They know exactly why matters of this nature are handled this way. They are fueling the fire for more outrage against this kid. So sad for everyone involved...

"Annoyed" wrote: "Being "uncooperative" is obviously on advice of his attorney. Saying one wrong word could later be used against him if the matter goes to trial, just as most of you commenting on this tragedy have already done. How dare the weekly report this as being uncooperative."

So you support the driver's decision to be "uncooperative" with the police investigation but at the same time you're offended by the fact the news story reported that the driver is being "uncooperative" with the police investigation. Huh? You're saying how dare they accurately report the news? You wouldn't happen to be the driver's lawyer, would you?

Your missing the point and the reason for my comment. I would not support being uncooperative at all, but people will look at the word "uncooperative" as arrogance and defiance when in reality it was probably on advice of his attorney and had nothing to do with his personal decision at all to cooperate or not cooperate. Maybe I am wrong but I feel it was intended to further diminish his character. This is just my opinion and I do not expect others to feel the same... Just my observation...

Have some compassion people! This is an 18 year old kid who did not intention set out to mow down people. He is just as mortified and will have to live with this guilt the rest of his life. Infact, imagine how he feels too. Uncooperative would be trying to drive away from the scene. A very commendable act to stay right there and face the consequences. This could be you me or your own mother that accidently hit someone. Take a moment of honesty, no one knows but you and God- Have you ever "almost hit someone?". Biker must take caution and under the full risks of riding in unsafe places. Having grown up on the road - Foothill is not a safe place to be biking - there are no proper bike lines with sharp turns and twists unforeseen. This road was designed to drive cars upon. This is a tragedy for all parties involved. Say Im proud of you young man for not running away from the scene..

As for the above poster stating the driver was 'uncooperative'
every news report I have heard or seen has reported he was uncooperative.
So why is it so horrible that someone here states the same thing?
It's not like this is the first time this has been reported about this young driver.

I just want to back up what member said earlier--this could have been any of us. Haven't we all tried to double the speed limit while simultaneously tweeting photos of our maxed-out speedometers at least once in our lives? How is this young man not the victim here? How was he supposed to know that it was dangerous? Do you really think its fair to hold someone responsible when their recklessness kills someone? No, the real crime here is the bullying so many of you are doing. It sickens me to live in a community where everyone is so willing to judge others for running down cyclists at 90mph or so. I hope he remains uncooperative, and I hope that after this blows over in a few days, his parents will get him a nice new BMW to make up for all that he's had to go through at the hands of people on this forum.

Proud that he stopped?? That not something to be proud of that's what your supposed to do. I hope he was a safe driver that wasn't passing car that road. I hope the kid has a good driving record. I hope he has t wreck 3 cars before. I hope his dados t one of those dads that keeps buying him nice cars that he should t be driving.
Proud that he stopped really isn't something to be proud of if you are proud of that you must not have much to be proud of with that kid! Sorry just saying

It sounds like Diana was an absolutely wonderful woman, wife, mother and friend. I truly grief for her family and friends, for they have lost a very special person. Time may heal, but time passes slowly. God Bless you all.

I don't not feel this is the thread to argue whether the investigation is costing too much (Arnold, in his typical fashion), or debate whether the driver is cooperating or not. Register and go post your opinions on the original thread. That is what I am doing. Let the family have a thread where they can read condolences and comments about their loved one.

This is just a tragedy for all people involved. For the young man involved many will judge you it is the nature of the beast. God and yourself are the only ones you will really have to answer to at the end of the day. It is so sad that you have to learn a hard lesson in this way at the expense of others. I am not saying you did no wrong, we all know you did, but I will not judge you and throw stones at you but I will not hold your hand and be sorry for you either if anything I will pray for you just as I will be praying for Diana and her broken family. Both your families are broken, a city divided, young teens devastated just before the beginning of their lives. Young man pray for forgiveness and those who are judging take a step back and really ask yourselves if you are adding any value to the situation.

"Annoyed" wrote: "Your missing the point and the reason for my comment. I would not support being uncooperative at all, but people will look at the word "uncooperative" as arrogance and defiance when in reality it was probably on advice of his attorney and had nothing to do with his personal decision at all to cooperate or not cooperate. Maybe I am wrong but I feel it was intended to further diminish his character."

Well, I agree that the driver is "all lawyered up" now. As for the use of the word "uncooperative", I think that that's a pretty neutral and balanced word to describe one who is not cooperating. As for any concerns that his character will be further diminished, that's one thing that he needn't worry about.

I agree with "anon" about leaving this page for condolences but maybe The Weekly should not have included "driver uncooperative" in the same headline...again just my observation...

"member" wrote: "Say Im proud of you young man for not running away from the scene."

No wonder our community has a problem with properly raising many of our kids to be good citizens. When it comes to judging proper conduct, some adults in our community set the bar pretty low.

Annoyed wrote: " ...but maybe The Weekly should not have included "driver uncooperative" in the same headline...again just my observation..."

Or maybe the driver should be cooperating with the police so that the Weekly could write "driver cooperative".

Make no mistake, time will prevail. Even if the driver's lawyers try to get him off, his family will be shunned, and his friends will abandon him. They may not realize this yet, but his and his family's lives are effectively over. They should move out of the area ASAP if they ever want to fit back into society.

At the moment his protectors are playing the blame the victim tactic, but that will run out of steam really fast once his social media comments and photos are seen. Public opinion always trumps our screwed up legal ststem. It's true that nothing will bring back the victim, but society still functions and his life and his family's are over.

Foothill road is too dangerous for bikes. Any movement to ban them on this road??, Or shall we just wait until the number of injuries and deaths reaches the critical amount, set by traffic engineers?.
Either that, or ban cars!! Ummm, no, that won't happen.
But, definitely Not a road for shared vehicular traffic.

Uh maybe he wasn't speeding, who said he was speeding? Maybe he had a speeding ticket before like me who has a few, but doesn't speed on Foohill Road or maybe he did in the past but didn't THIS time. Was anyone here in the car with him? I get horrified when the posters here act like their on a witch-hunt. Until he is convicted of a crime he is INNOCENT.

This board is comprised of a lot of angry people. They keep referring to his "mommy and daddy" protecting him, well hell yeah, if and when his name gets out everyone from this forum is going to go after him. Leave it alone until evidence comes out.

In the meantime - only post what you know under your REAL name! Hiding behind fake names or no name and then pretending to be "in the know" almost makes ya'll sounds like you're from some hick town outside of a big city... oh wait :)

I had originally felt compassion for all parties, including the 18 year old driver. But no more. The comments by his friends and his social media posts and now knowing he isn't cooperative says enough to me. This is some punk who apparently thinks he did the lady he killed a favor by stopping at the scene and that feels her family now deserves no answers as he refuses to cooperate. Her life is gone, this man is without his life partner, her grown children no longer have a mom and two beautiful small children will never know the love that only a grandmother can give. Saving his own behind is obviously a higher priority that the life he stole. Just because a lawyer tells you not to talk doesn't mean you have to do as they say. Answer the questions and help the family work through what happened so they don't have to live with unanswered questions for the rest of their lives. My feeling is that if you did nothing wrong and it was purely an accident with zero driver distractions (say texting), and if he was alcohol free and if he was not speeding, there's zero harm in fully cooperating. Accidents happen and it's unbelievably tragic that people lose their lives in them. But if this kid was doing something that caused it by speeding or texting or being under the influence, then it was not an accident.

My heart goes out to the family of this beautiful lady that has been taken away from them far too young. And I'm so very sorry they are having to read comments from the snotty self centered youth of our town who seek to justify what happened and to explain the driver's comments that point to the likelihood that he may have contributed to this with speed or something else.

Shunned.... Seriously... Are they Amish? Jeeez plenty of accidents happen in the world.and I don't disagree it is very very sad a life of what sounds to be a wonderful person has been lost during this.
But to say they as a family will be shunned and move away from the area to fit into society......
If someone ran over a family cat or dog would they be shunned? Don't you think anybody who has ever been in an accident has moved away? I doubt it!
Im sure the teen involved didnt think to himself oh today im going to go and kill someone. But also him driving like a loon isn't acceptable either, kids think they are invincible... Truth is they are not!!

Yes people will react differently towards the family, proably more in a sense of not knowing what to say! Crickey!!

It's true that none of us were there at the scene of the accident, so it's not our place to say what happened there. If this were just a simple story about a car versus bicycle accident, and there would be no reason to suspect that either one or the other was at fault. What gives this story special color, though, is the fact that the alleged teen driver posted social media photos and messages boasting about such things as going 85 mph on Foothill Road and flaunting a court dismissal (for reasons unknown) of the speeding ticket. In addition, many of the posts were vulgar and included racial epithets. Now, again, I wasn't there at the scene of the accident, but I don't think that it's out of line to suspect that the accident was probably the fault of the driver who boasted of speeding on this very same road at 85 mph on a road posted for 35 to 45 mph speed limits.

As for comments on the young man's character, I'll make a deal with everyone: Don't post a comment praising this teen's character, and I won't go into any further detail about the nature of the photos and comments on his (now suddenly deactivated) social media website.

Facts will come out. One fact is the car was not operable. He really had no choice but to stay at the scene. I'm not stating he would have left but some are stating it was admirable that he stayed. It was not admirable. It was absolutely mandatory by law and circumstance.

The fact that the car was not operable points to the speed of the car. Facts will come out and we will all know the reasons for this horrible tragedy.

Prayers and thoughts to Diana's family and friends.

wow folks...so much judgement everywhere. Reminds me of the Laurel Williams case a few years back, rest her young soul... however, fast cars and boys have been around since the 50's.... ever watch a tv commercial these days for high powered cars like Lexus and others...yeah watch one, they make going fast extremely romantic... there is some fault everywhere.. Very sorry this beautiful woman lost her life...sorry they chose that road to travel, i travel it daily and you risk your life riding a bike there..i am not saying anything new but also the young man made a mistake, he did not intentionally set out to hurt someone and he will pay..everyone will pay, accidents happen, life happens... too many cars, bikes and everyone is in a hurry these days.... heartbreaking all around...

First of all I would like to send my condolences to the family of Diana. This was a horrible tragedy and I can't imagine the pain you as a family are going through. I have to say that I myself saw this alleged young mans Instagram acct. Being a mother myself to three small children I usually have nothing better to then to go on my iPhone at night when my baby is awake. I always get emails from pleasanton weekly. The other night I saw a mom of a foothill student post hints of hashtags this boy posted pictures to. I took it upon myself to look at one of them which brought up a ticket for speeding on foothill that was basically thrown out of court. Being at the time his acct was not private i saw alot of other pictures that were related to speeding and drinking. Also a few of Pleasanton police officers that pulled this person over with vulgur comments about police. I made copies of these photos just in case it is this person and police may need for the case. I don't feel it's necessary to put these pics out to the public because this is just an alleged suspect. No names have been given. However if it does turn out to be him and I can maybe help the case by handing over these pics to police I will do this. If they don't need them then I will do nothing further with them because its not my place to do that.

DT - these dots are not that hard to connect. yes, I agree you sound like an angry person.

As I rode my bike this morning on Foothill (as I do every week), I couldn't help but notice that the stretch of road where this poor woman was hit has a bike lane. It was not one of those narrow areas that everyone has deemed "too dangerous for bikes." I do not know the facts, but if they were riding single file (as the article indicates) I'll bet they were in the bike lane.

The expectations and boundaries of society dictate what behavior is acceptable and what is not. When behavior is unacceptable, society absolutely has the right to judge. It is the typical liberal response that bristles at the thought of anyone being held accountable for their actions and mistakes that allows behavior to become increasingly egregious.

Fact is, this event (it was not an "accident") occurred on a day with fair weather, excellent visibility on a stretch of road where there are few distractions. The driver had an obligation to operate his vehicle in a manner that does not pose an undue risk to society, and in this case, he failed. There is no plausible or acceptable explanation for hitting a slow moving (< 15 mph) object under these circumstances. Judging these actions as morally wrong is not only society's right, but its responsibility.

^ Cynic. Is unfortunate when someone (such as yourself) makes a strong and well written argument but has to smear "liberals" as the cause of all that is counter to your point. It instantly weakens your point and you lose credibility. Many "liberals" have high standards of accountability and raise fine children to adulthood. And conversely many conservatives fail to live to the high standards that they profess and raise children who are a-holes. Life is not as black and white as you wish nor are all issues in society divisible by conservative and liberal politics. Let it go.

This is a tragic incident to all especially the family who lost a life. I'm sure the investigation will be completed and the facts determined, and accountability through our court system will occur if the facts justify such action. I am greatly concerned that the Pleasanton Police Department would label the driver as now "uncooperative" knowing that he is represented by an attorney. This is obviously a very serious incident which warrants being represented, and I believe anyone involved in such and incident should be represented. Anyone connected with the Pleasanton Police Staff would also be represented if in such an incident. To label the driver as uncooperative because he is being represented is unprofessional and may show a bias to an investigation which needs to be professional and unbiased.

I agree with "Cynic" on this issue. What we know so far seems to strongly suggest gross negligence by the driver. And that he is has a revolting number of posts about his selfish, to hell-with-other-people approach to driving before this occurred shows an attitude that he doesn't see the impact of his behavior on others. Plus he is now not cooperating. This makes a pretty compelling case so far.

If justice is served here, I hope he goes to prison for a very, very long time. In an age when civic responsibility, shame and accountability are often second to 'one's rights', independence, blaming others and victimization, it would be gratifying to see the system work. That woman's family deserves that, at the least.

There is actual good and bad in our society. The grandmother appears to have been a good, loving person who was struck down by someone who pretty cared only about himself.

To the family of the deceased, I'm so sorry about your beautiful wife, mother, grandmother and friend. It breaks my heart. Clearly- from what I've read about her and the pictures I've seen- she was a special person and full of love. Thank you for sharing her photos and story with the community. Even though I am not involved in this situation and I try to be a safe driver and a good example for my family, this tragedy has made me think about what else I can do. I know I can do better. I'm going to slow down and be even more cautious than I already am. I'll put my phone in my trunk- because even though my car is hands-free when I'm talking to someone- it's distracting and I don't want my children to grow up thinking its ok to chat while driving. I don't think it's safe even if it is legal. I will be law abiding always, even if it's inconvenient, other people are doing it, or it seems like a silly rule. Sometimes I have done things as an experienced driver that I would prefer my children don't do. I know they'll push limits, so I'll set an even better example, because they are little sponges. I'll talk to them more while I'm driving, about all the things they need to look out for and anticipate so that they can learn by example. I'm so sorry that you lost your loved one, and even though it is not enough, I want you to know I am making changes because of it. I'm sending your family lots of love and prayers at this difficult time.

RJ, the fact is, liberalism came out of the counter culture movement of the 60's, where people came to realize they did not need to be bound by the expectations about society. At that point in time, there was much about society (segregation, women's rights) that needed changing. However, this mentality has been taken to the extreme, to today where there is an attitude of "To hell with what society thinks". It has become accepted to do whatever one wants, and to where those who judge the behavior of others are deemed to be the transgressors. Read the comments above... "accountability through our court system". People feel as if they have lost the power to decide what behavior is right.

In this case, this event was 100% avoidable. A bit of care and diligence on the part of this driver would have spared a good woman's life. Whether the police or the courts agree is immaterial, it is our right and responsibility to demand care and diligence by our citizens, for our own protection and the protection of our families. And this demand by society should require no justification...

I clearly think the board is getting out of control. Everyone is so quick to blame, when nobody knows the story. Yes the matter that the driver is 18 probably still living with his parents. So in that case if your child was in this ACCIDENT what would you do. I would think if your any what of a good parent u would want to protect your child and if that means say nothing that means say nothing. But in the end this was clearly an accident my prayers go out to both families.

Knock it off, Cynic. I agree with a lot of your previous post, but you're starting to go off the rails trying to bring "liberalism" into all this. It's kind of amusing how people such as yourself come out of the woodwork to attack liberals from both directions since someone on the other thread wrote:

"He (the driver) hasn't been named because the police have not charged him (yet). Once the charges become public, so will his identity. Until then, please put away the clubs and pitchforks, you tolerant liberals."

By the way, given the racially bigoted nature of some of the posts on this teen's (now defunct) social media website, I'm going to take a wild guess and say he's probably not an Obama or Democratic voter. If you want to pigeon hole people based on their politics, then he's probably one of "yours". Mull over that for awhile.

Sam, this is no place for one of your infamous, self righteous rants. You lefties preaching tolerance of only your own thoughts and deeds are the biggest bigots and hypocrites on this planet. Your only interest in punishing this kid is because you and he discriminate differently. mull that.

instead of yelling at each other lets all unite on one front: Pleas PD - wheres the report? Pleas Weekly -- how about a followup story?
Someone lost their life, the community is commenting like crazy, and some REAL journalism would seem to dictate an update today. Maybe you'll have to PUSH for that update, Jeb. But, that's your job -- go get the followup story. And if its the parents, schools or lawyers causing the delay in a followup, that's also the responsibility of the press to go through those obstacles and get the story.

@Christina. I like your post, however, he is not an "alleged" young man. He is a young man, nothing alleged about it. He is not the alleged suspect, he is the driver. Since he hasn't been charged/convicted he is the alleged killer.

If the driver is not cooperating, his license should be suspended until the investigation is over, to avoid having him potentially kill someone else by accident.

That said, both adults and teens in Pleasanton are quite careless while riding bikes, crossing streets. Just the other day, a Harvest Park student was crossing the street, with many cars waiting for her to finish crossing, and what did she do? She turned around and crossed the street backwards, very slow, the light changed from green to red and back to green before she finished crossing. People were honking but did this student care? No, it was all a big game to her, she is lucky that drivers were being careful

Many people riding bikes in Pleasanton do not obey signs, and ride in a dangerous way, as if they were entitled - I have seen bike riders running stop signs and going in front of cars who had the right of way.

So until we hear what happened, I'd like to think the driver is innocent until they prove that he was negligent.

Just because there are some careless bike riders in this city doesn't mean this was the case here. That's just like saying that since there are some drunk drivers (read the police logs posted on here) that we are all drunk drivers. If you read carefully, some witnesses have posted on here saying the cyclists were in a bike lane and were riding single file. I live near the stretch of road where this happened and there's a good bike lane and it's not a narrow part of the road. The family of the deceased woman and the injured man have also stated that they were riding single file in the bike lane. He was in fact a witness having been there and having survived without any reported brain injury that would have impacted his ability to recall what happened. Another family, including a physician that arrived right after the accident, said the male victim was alert and obviously very upset, but still conscious and able to recall what happened. The family has also said he keeps reliving it. Yes, the police need to finish their investigation, but the evidence we have now makes it quite easy to see that its LIKELY this was the driver's fault. And then with him not cooperating, this suggests he has something to hide. I caused a horrible accident when I was about 20. No one died, but it was an awful accident. I didn't need a lawyer to tell me I shouldn't say exactly what happened, because as much as I caused it, it was truly an accident and I wasn't doing anything I shouldn't have been when I caused it. No, I was not charged, and everyone fully recovered, but I accepted responsibility for what I did and paid the citation and went to traffic school. Why would I have put the other party through hell battling to prove responsibility when it was my fault and I said so.

This kid needs to suck it up, say what happened, and accept whatever the consequences are. If it was purely and accident and he wasn't doing anything that caused him to be compromised, then he won't likely be charged. His not cooperating speak volumes and is putting this poor family through more hell. If he can't tell the truth or give all the facts for his own good, perhaps he should think about the family of the woman who lost her life. Let them mourn and heal and not worry about having to prove who was at fault. This poor man who was injured and lost his life doesn't deserve to have to relive this for years if the driver was at fault and won't accept responsibility.

Resident wrote: "If the driver is not cooperating, his license should be suspended until the investigation is over, to avoid having him potentially kill someone else by accident."

Interesting point. I believe that you can have your license suspended or revoked for refusing to take an alcohol test if you're stopped. It seems that the same logic should suggest that you can have your license suspended or revoked for refusing to cooperate in a police investigation of a traffic accident which results in a death. As the DMV reminds us, driving is a privilege not a right.

Lori wrote: " I caused a horrible accident when I was about 20. No one died, but it was an awful accident. I didn't need a lawyer to tell me I shouldn't say exactly what happened, because as much as I caused it, it was truly an accident and I wasn't doing anything I shouldn't have been when I caused it."

I don't think that anyone should condemn you or anyone else for having an honest accident. Accidents happen. What's different and so outrageous about the current case is that there are indications that this was an "accident" just waiting to happen.

Lori,

I couldn't have said it better. Good job in expressing what most people are thinking.

Tom

This is not a political liberal vs. conservative issue.

It is an accident, due to stupidity, negligence, and likely illegal behavior(s). The irresponsible 18 year old adult will either go to prison or not, but he and his family are effectively finished in this town, both financially amd socially. Anyone who disagrees does not have enough life experience to understand how the real world functions.

Condolences again to the innocent grandmother who lost her life.

The only intelligent solution to this problem is
"NO BICYCLES OR JOGGING ON FOOTHILL ROAD" HOW MANY
PEOPLE HAVE TO DIE OR BE INJURED UNTIL PLEASANTON
PASSES THIS LAW"????? Just the other day I was driving
on Foothill Road and a jogger came off the sidewalk onto
the street right next to my car..My heart skipped a
beat to say the least. I believe most of these accidents are not the fault of car drivers. On Saturdays I never travel Foothill Road unless absolutely necessary since there are so many bike riders. Great exercise, well, have the ever thought about the carbon monoxide they are inhaling every time a car goes by???? Something has got to change or we will continue to see accidents on Foothill Road forever... I feel badly for the woman who died Sunday, her family and her husband, and of course the person who hit them. But just think: if bicycles were banned on Foothill Road none of this would have happened. Let's get smart and BAN THIS ROAD TO BICYCLES . There is no other solution.

I thinking banning bikes and jogging on Foothill is a bad idea. It's a beautiful road and if motorists obeyed traffic laws and speed limits this wouldn't be an issue today. Sure lets ban bikes and jogging and let Foothill remain a raceway. What I think is a good idea is to put in speed bumps every hundred feet or so. This way cars are forced to drive slow and accidents like this would not happen.

Margaret,

(Comment partially removed by Pleasanton Weekly Online staff as irrelevant to this thread.)

I suggest a better way of dealing with reckless driving on Foothill is to reduce the speed limit to 35, and increase enforcement--particularly on weekends and when school traffic is highest. Another idea would be to evaluate the use of speed humps or other traffic calming devices (as Christina mentioned).

The big problem on Foothill isn't cyclists, pedestrians, or joggers: it's reckless and/or inattentive driving at high speeds.

I argue that my suggestion would reduce the number serious or fatal injuries significantly more than yours.

Prayers for the family. What a tragedy

I was driving on foothill this afternoon and saw three small dogs running by themselves. I saw that they had collars but was unable to grab one of them. They ran off so I am praying they were found by the owner or they got home okay. Then as I was driving home I noticed an adult deer had been hit and it was still alive. It was just laying onyhe side of the road. People have really got to slow down on foothill and stoneridge. These poor helpless animals didn't do anything wrong. Now that schools are out will it be a small child who is hit next? Slow down.

Madge - foothill road is more safe than it is dangerous. There are very few accidents on the road based on the volume of traffic.

I agree with BT2: where is the follow-up coverage? It's Wednesday, what are the police doing?

I'll wager that the delay in releasing an update is the result of an attempt by parents, lawyers, etc. to influence police investigation. But they shouldn't also be hindering the Weekly if the paper was doing its job. Give a report please even its just "No News today".

Maybe the police are still investigating and taking statements from witnesses, OR are allowing the student to go through the graduation ceremony with his classmates on Friday before making a statement?

Who cares about the driver's family's position in the community? I sure as hell don't. You see they have the option of moving to a new community to LIVE their lives. He can start over elsewhere and LIVE. I bet the woman that was killed and the family left behind would give everything they have for the opportunity to LIVE a life elsewhere if it meant having their loved one back.

And by the way, the kid's popularity isn't suffering one bit. I won't go into detail, but his life is moving forward with his previous friendships and if anything, his popularity around school has gone up since then. Sick, but true.

"Just because there are some careless bike riders in this city doesn't mean this was the case here. "

And just because there are careless drivers, it does not mean that was the case here. I am all for suspending the license until the investigation is over, but we should not think of the driver as guilty until we know all the facts.

I have driven on that road, and I have to be extra careful because the people riding bikes are not careful at all (young and old alike). I agree with comments above that the road should not allow bike riders unless they all agree to obey traffic rules and be extra careful.

@Lena. I sure hope this is not true. He shouldn't even be at school. His girlfriend posted on her twitter that she has been excused from classes and finals for the week. I hope he is arrested and not allowed to go through the ceremonies. Or, arrest him at the ceremonies, that may have an impact on parents that tend to be enablers and other students.....mmmmmmmm...

@ resident:

I know, why don't we ban all cars on Foothill too and not allow cars on the road "unless they all agree to obey traffic rules and be extra careful". Did you miss the part in driver's education that says when you drive or ride on the road that by doing so you are agreeing to obey traffic rules? Perhaps you should turn your own license in until you study a bit more.

Why don't you spend some time reading all the comments on this post and on previous posts on the matter and you'll read the accounts of a few witnesses in addition to what the widower has said happened. He was there after all and is said to be reliving the nightmare over and over.

No one is convicting anyone, but with him not cooperating it leaves the community to try to piece together what happened based on the information available. And while I believe in due process, I also believe in personal responsibility and think he should step up, cooperate and help this family find closure. If it was an accident where he was not compromised or distracted, then he should be expressing this and cooperating instead of forcing the family of the victims to go through this. You don't go to jail if you were doing the right thing and something bad happens. His silence speaks volumes and is certainly torturing the victims' family as I'm sure justice will be of some small comfort for them.

To the victim's family..... We won't let this go until it's sorted out. We will stay on the media and police to determine exactly what happened and I'm certain the police themselves are committed to a complete investigation. Please mourn and comfort each other during this heartbreaking time and know that our community supports you and will help see this through to a final resolution and justice for your loved one if there is found to be fault on the part of the driver. May God bless you during this time.

Update. Just drove by the accident site where several people, including a policemen, were doing what looked like an investigation. The number of flowers at the site has grown. I also noticed that a light pole and several yards away, a street sign had beet damaged badly. Since the husband witnessed this accident, I'm sure, to the extent that he can remember much, will shed light on what happened.

On my way up Foothill road around 2:30 this afternoon there was a two man team measuring and photographing scene. Pole still on ground where it has been all week. Memorial growing. One of the guys was actually standing in the middle of the memorial. Looks like PPD wants to get this one right. They should use a CHP accident reconstruction specialist, they are the best!

@ John:

"What would you do?" If my kid got cited for going 85 on Foothill not only would I not hire an attorney for him I would pull his license and car myself for at least a year. The same if he posted pictures of his reckless driving on social media. Clearly another example of a spoiled, entitled brat with spoiled, entitled parents.

Obviously an accident but one that could have been easily prevented had his parents created consequences for his previous reckless behavior. Spare me the comments about what lovely people they are. Their stupid decisions resulted in an innocent person's death.

I'm no accident expert, but it would take some force to knock down a pole, force being speed. I predict that they will find him at fault and that speed and/or something else was a factor. If he hit them and then a pole hard enough to knock it down and render his car unable to drive, he probably didn't even see them far enough in advance to apply his brakes.

This is so unbelievably sad. This didn't need to happen. I have two teenage drivers and I would absolutely take their cars and licenses if either came home with a speeding ticket on a city street at 85+. And certainly if their recklessness led to the totaling of a car, they'd get a bus pass and not be given a new one. Even if they are so selfish and not think about others that are at danger that share the road with him, how about his own safety? Why not take away his ability to drive so he didn't end up killing himself?

Sadly in our community many kids have been raised with a sense of entitlement. Without learning the value of money. Many parents like to show their net worth in their kids cars, clothes amd toys. They want to be their kids friend. The cool parent. I dont know the situation here, but most commonly with divorced parents, it is father who wants to be cool. Supplys alcohol, turns a blind eye to ollegal behavior. I know parents who are letting their kids drive on suspended licenses for MIP's. How any parent would let their kid drive after reckless speeding tickets and wrecking cars is beyond me. Maybe the parents just couldn't be inconvenienced. How did that work
out?

I drove by the area of Foothill Road on my way back from work today. Foothill Road is a nice drive with its wooded scenery and green canopy of trees that give it a peaceful feel. it's obvious why it's so popular with cyclists. The road is a bit winding but it doesn't feel all that dangerous, especially if it is in the middle of a clear bright day with no rain and one is obeying the speed limit, which is 40mph along that section of Foothill Road. There's a small memorial of flowers where the accident apparently took place. So sad that a nice weekend quickly turned to tragedy for this couple.

I can't imagine how this tragic accident could have occurred unless someone was deviating pretty far from the standard rules of the road. Given the fact that both the cyclists and the car were traveling in the same direction, and that typical cycling speeds are in the range of 10 to 20 mph, the relative closing speed between the car and the cyclists should have been a modest 20 to 30 mph if the car driver was obeying the speed limit. Seems that there should have been ample time to brake and slow down. It will be interesting to see what the police investigation finds.

In my opinion, I believe that the driver will be charged with vehicular manslaughter and on top of that, he will have to answer for his recklessness in a wrongful death civil case.

He was driving North around 1:00 PM, his back to the sun, on a road surrounded by many trees. 'The sun was in my eyes' can't be an excuse.

The more information is uncovered the angrier this makes me. I did not know Diana or her family but my deepest sympathy and prayers for all of you. It's just unthinkable that this driver even considered speeding like a lunatic on Foothill Road. It's no different than a loaded gun...
a machine driven ny a reckless young man for no other reason than being young and foolish. I hope to God he is not driving again until he shows respect for human life...if ever he does. If I were the parents of his girlfriend I would never let her ride with him behind the wheel. They may be planning a funeral as well

It amazes me how lightly people on this forum make and pass judgements on something they know nothing about. No one here has DIRECT knowledge of what happened. You don't know this teenager. You do not know his family. They are loving parents and good, working class people, born and raised in this town long before it became the wealthy, white-washed version of little house on the prarie it is today.

I hope as people and as parents you never have to face what they are about to. Because judging from the attitudes posted here, it will be difficult for them to raise and nurture their other children when his name does eventually come out.

It is an absolute tradgedy what happened and every thought and prayer goes out to the family of the victim. But publicly crucifying this kid and his parents is going to solve what, exactly? Traumatize two families? Vindicate the woman who was killed?

They say it takes a community to raise a child. Act like that, a community. Support the family who lost a loved one and support a child who is going to need it in the months and weeks to come. At the end of the day, his failure is a testement to all of us, not just him and his parents.

And until we find out exactly what happened...please let's keep the speculations, judgements, and political debates to a minimum.

His social media boasts about speeding, including photos of his dashboard exceeding the speed limit, including texting about going 140 mph on I-5 with "Already going 140 on I5 I can't control myself 😌" on his Twitter account that he just deleted, but will be out there forever because whatever is posted on the internet stays on the internet. Then he boasts about drinking and driving. And that he beat the system and got a speeding ticket going 85 mph thrown out.

Well, apparently he could not control himself and a wife, mother and grandmother is dead. My heart goes out to this family of the victim.

I have no sympathy for the driver or those that enabled him.

To Shocked..."At the end of the day, his failure is a testement to all of us, not just him and his parents." How dare you put this blame on our community. I can guarantee you, if my 18 year old high school son's twitter and instagram were filled with vulgar language, drinking and bragging about breaking the law (driving on Foothill Road in speeds in excess of 85mph see #foothillroad or #smartasachink on instagram), he/she would not have access to a motor vehicle. There were eye witnesses who did report what happened. The majority of the other posters are commenting on his character which was displayed on his social media sites. Now you want to reverse the image that he spent two years creating via twitter and instagram? Yours and parents such as yourself and their attitude of "boys will be boys" are what's wrong with this town. OPEN YOUR EYES!!

To "Shocked": Writing a post urging support and sympathy for the teen driver while completely ignoring the reasons why there is so much anger and animosity directed at this driver just isn't going to fly. Sorry. You know very well why people here are upset, and so your little "it takes a village" post comes across as more than a bit disingenuous.

Quit commending him for staying at the scene. He didn't have a choice. His car wasn't drivable.

To say he is going to need support in the weeks and months ahead..... Let me correct you, he'll need support for YEARS AND YEARS as this isn't going away by Christmas. And let his family keep his lawyer on the payroll so he can give him sympathy. I have none for him AT ALL. His own comments on social media and the pathetic comments of his friends that are on here trying to defend him cause me great concern for the teenage population in this town. I have two teenagers myself and you can bet this incident has caused some serious conversations in this house.

Some of those posting were there and the accounts of the second victim that this driver mowed down, the man left without his wife of decades, has stated what happened through the loving voice of his daughter (who no longer has a mother) and unfortunately it's so raw in his mind that he is being tormented by having to relive it over and over and over again. They were riding single file in the bike lane, both with proper safety gear. The car plowed into them and still had enough force to hit and knock over a pole. If he was going only 40 MPH, he would have seen them and been able to slow down, but instead he still had enough speed to run them down and hit a pole hard enough that it knocked it down with enough damage to his car that it was not drivable.

It's hard to understand why the girlfriend is getting a pass on the last week of school when her boyfriend didn't have a scratch on him and it's clear from his friend's posts that they aren't mourning for the victim. Maybe their upset because he's going to have to have mommy and daddy yet another car since this wasn't the first one he totaled. Maybe the girlfriend is comforting him during this time, the same comfort the widower wishes he could get from his dear wife that was stolen from him.

Does anyone know if there is a Facebook or community site set up where we can offer to help the victims' family? And I am not referring to the driver.

I'd like to see if I can cook a few meals for them because they are likely to have many visitors and in no position to cook for guests. Can anyone offer information? I can bake desserts, casseroles, pastas, salads, or whatever they think they need.

Please let me know if you hear of something. I know it's a very small gesture in the grand scheme of things, but it's the only little think I can do to help bring them some comfort.

This is such a tragedy for everyone involved. As a parent of a high schooler, this is a parents worst nightmare. My condolences go to both families who will never be the same again. And yes to "Piper" the driver's girlfriend was bragging on twitter about getting out of school for the remainder of the year due to this tragedy...posting it with excitement that she basically beat the system......disgusting at best...or completely clueless. I hope she realizes a woman lost her life for her "free pass".

I think that "Shocked" must be one of the driver's high school buddies. His/her post has all the hallmarks of being written by someone whose only experience at written communication is composing long meandering lofty-sounding essays for a high school composition class. Welcome to the real world, "Shocked". You may be able to skate by in HS composition with tripe like that, but you're going to have to learn to pay more respect to your readers' intelligence when you go on to college and the real world.

When you kill someone with your car you are a murderer and should be treated as such. There are no excuses for murder!

My condolences to the Hersevoort family.

To the family of the victim:

I want you to know that I'm one of so many people that are now watching so carefully for cyclists and am so mindful of being extremely careful as I share the road with them. I've not ever driven in a dangerous way, but have also not been so mindful of their existence in sharing the road and that they would likely lose in an accident if there were one. Please know that your loved one's death will mean something and likely other lives will be saved. I don't know that this is of any comfort to you, but I want you to know that what happened to her may very well keep future cyclists safer and reduce the chances of another family enduring what you are.

I hope this makes sense in the spirit that it's meant. May the Good Lord be with you and your family during this very difficult time. God Bless.

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My heartfelt condolences to the Hersevoort family.I have thought about your loss almost nonstop in the last days. The photo with the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is heartbreaking in its loveliness of a beautiful life that is gone. I wish it were not so.

I am hoping some good things will emerge from this enormous nightmare. Like "Just another mom," above, I too am so very much more aware of bicyclists and traffic courtesy and safety now. I hope this awareness and resolve extends to our newest drivers, who I hope are re-considering the meaning of even a moment of inattention at the wheel. And the possible consequences of it.

Another thing that I hope we will come to absorb is what this huge amount of offensive and vulgar social media content means to a child, to the friends, and to a community -- even to our country's social fabric as a whole. We are all to blame for tolerating this. I am thinking back to when Tipper Gore called for action regarding lyrics of popular songs. At the time, I had no children, and I didn't think about it; I let it go; I was anti-censorship at that time. Some months ago, I saw that Lil Wayne was winning music industry awards for his songs (based in part on his huge sales), and it was being reported in The New York Times. If any of you do not know Lil Wayne's work, as I did not until encountering it in connection with my child some years ago, it is about as offensive as I can imagine anything getting, and yet it seems to be accepted by mainstream institutions (like the NYT) and certainly by our children, at least many of them.

Third, I hope we all come to realize that public statements on social media (and even private statements) are all there forever. As the top computer gurus say, "There is no privacy on the Internet: get over it." Not even behind "privacy" settings or other firewalls. So all these off-color, racist, rude, vile, bragging, nutty, poor-judgment comments will forever be there on the web, available for future employers (and future loved ones) to see. Access may vary for regular folks, but we can all be sure that employers and government agencies will forever have access to anything we put on the web -- and they will use it against us whenever it suits them.

Hard to imagine good coming from this saddest of sad events, and the saddest of factors preceding it and contributing to it. But I hope this blog and all the heartfelt comments on it will help us all to be kinder, safer, more concerned about our children and their values/behavior -- just more aware of what can happen.

If what posts above say is true that the driver had posted on social media about reckless driving... the driver will probably face criminal charges as well as civil.

If it is true what was posted above about the girlfriend: if she was there and saw the woman die, that is hard and I understand why the girl needs time off. However, if it is true that the girl bragged about getting a free pass, beating the system (as someone posted above), that information needs to be given to the school and district administration. People get fired for posting stuff like that, so witholding the diploma in that case would be reasonable.

But since we do not know that the above posts are true or accurate, we must give both the driver and the girlfriend, time for the investigation to be over and determine if they are at fault.

community of character...omg! I am so sorry for the family of Diana their loss and may she rest in peace, but "naming" the girlfriend of the driver and involving her or any of his other friends who were not with him that day is just wrong. Remember these are kids, (some of which just reached legal adulthood) and had NOTHING to do with this horrible accident...last thing I heard he was alone in his car. I pray for justice for Diana and her family, as I am so sorry for their loss! Please lets focus on the investigation of the accident and hope the police and district attorney can bring forward what is best for all of us as a community and for the victims family to find peace one day.

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Al wrote: "I am hoping some good things will emerge from this enormous nightmare."

Well, if nothing else this should provide a good example of the dangers of reckless driving to the youth of this city. It may make a good case study for students of driver's ed at Foothill and Amador. Speed limits exist for a reason. You might get away with excessively breaking the speed limit on some road (if this alleged claim of 85 mph on Foothill is true), but you're playing a game of Russian roulette. If you do successfully break the speed limit on some road like Foothill by an excessive amount, that doesn't mean that you're a good driver (as the kid was probably boasting to his buddies), it just means that you were lucky in this particular round of Russian roulette. You can't beat the odds forever, though. Whatever happens from this point on, life will never again be the same for this teen driver.

Just as an FYI, a week before this tragedy happened I was driving my son home from school, we had just passed Hart Middle School and if you are familiar with the area, you know that right now there is construction going on a little passed Hart where 3 lanes merge into one and there is a cement block on your right and the middle median to your left and a VERY narrow lane for a bit until it opens up, well, like I said about a week before this tragedy happened I witnessed this young driver in his silver Dodge FLY passed me and about 8 other cars and cut us all off to barley make it when the lanes merges, honest, I told my son that someday he was going to kill someone, and now it has happened. I don't know this kid, but I can tell you if what happened that day happened on the day an innocent woman was killed, it would not have been an accident, this young driver had ABSOLUTE NO REGARD for anybody else on the road, including himself!!!

Hey Anon,

The Pleasanton PD trains CHP Investogators in reconstruction.....PPD has the best trained and experienced investigators in the area.

Truth wrote: "The Pleasanton PD trains CHP Investogators in reconstruction.....PPD has the best trained and experienced investigators in the area."

I have a feeling that if the teen driver is reading this thread that you just ruined his day.

Sam, I was thinking the same thing: that this is a case study of lots of unfortunate factors, each of which deserves a lot of thought.

One more possible unfortunate thing that I am preparing myself for is that the police might not charge the driver, or charge him lightly. As many have said, we do not know the exact details of the event. But the facts that have outraged and saddened so many (the driver's self-inflicted damage to his reputation before the event) might not be relevant in a legal sense. It might be that the police do not have enough to charge him. It seems they would, but let's say (as a hypothetical) that all the social media black-eye data is valid, and also the various witnesses who have seen unsafe and illegal behaviour by the driver are also correct. If similar behavior cannot be proved to have caused the collision, then the police will not charge the driver. Note I did not say that "the behavior did not cause the collision," but only that there is perhaps not sufficient proof to say it caused it. In a legal sense, not in an ethical or "probable-cause" sense.

As we all know, one's past behaviour (although all seem agreed that it is a good predictor of future behaviour) is not what is on trial in a case like this: it is the actions in that event and the extent to which guilt can be proved. Even a bad driver -- a reckless driver, a disrepectful driver, a driver who speeds routinely -- can have an accident. I'm not saying it WAS that way, but only that the legal system must be able to prove otherwise IN THAT EVENT, not based on earlier actions in the driver's life.

I do hope that all of us who are watching this matter unfold will give the experts some slack. The delay in more information being released suggests to me that it's complicated. I don't know where the line is, legally, between negligence and accident. So let's not fly off the handle with preconceived opinions.

None of will bring back a life or make the nightmare go away. The bereaved family has sent out word that they are very aware of this. But let's not add to it. Let's give the police and officials and experts a fair hearing.

No matter what, the official who let the previous speeding ticket be minimized is surely thinking it all over now. As are we all, from our own perspective. I know I sure am.

Truth. I know for a fact that isn't true. PPD doesn't see the number of traffic accidents that CHP, or larger cities do. Accident reconstruction expertise takes years of hands on experience. Usually motor cops are the ones the end up being ARS. Ptown doesn't have that many accidents, especially fatalities (thank God) to be trainers. You may see things at the Fairgrounds and thing that is PPD training others, but it just them using the county fairgrounds for the training.

I don't think anyone named the drivers girlfriend or said she was with him during the accident. She posted on her public(now "private")twitter page that school was excusing her for the whole week and she did not have to take her finals.

I ride Foothill on a weekly basis. The roadway near Golden Eagle is relatively straight and quite wide. There are bike lanes on both sides of the street. I've never had a close call on this stretch of road (Bernal, from Foothill to Valley is another matter). There is no reason to ban cyclists from this area.

Foothill, south of the Country Club is the winding, narrow part of this road that is being described above. If all parties observe the rules of the road, and drove/rode considerately, there would be no issue.

Let me get this straight, I kept my two teenagers home from school to keep my kids safe when there was a threat of violence and that someone intended to commit mass murder on campus and it was UNEXCUSED, but somehow when your boyfriend mows down a couple of cyclists after a long history of reckless driving and I (the girlfriend) wasn't even in the car and I am EXCUSED for five days, including for all final exams? If she's too traumatized by what her boyfriend did to go to school for a week and the school is excusing it then she better not be magically okay to attend graduation activities. She shouldn't be able to have it both ways and most definitely not be bragging about beating the system.

someone named her it has been deleted

Can one of the girlfriend's friends verify this? We all know you are trolling this page - is she excused from school this week and from taking finals because of this situation? She wasn't there nor involved. I can understand that she would be upset...as well all are for different reasons...but that shouldn't excuse her UNLESS she is so traumatized and saddened for her boyfriend that she cannot function. If that is the case and she is SSSOOO traumatized then she should NOT be at the ceremonies nor the graduation party afterward. Especially if she is bragging about it.

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Anon...you have no idea what you are talking about....but your perspective as a citizen is well intentioned I am sure.

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OH MY GOD! you parents are just as bad as us kids!!! how can you expect your kids to not tweet and post on social media sites bashing comments towards others when you are sitting here doing it yourself.

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How about you guys all stop assuming you know what happened. Everything everyone on here posts about is all "hear say". So unless you were there first hand, unless you have spoke with the young man, or his "girlfriend", maybe you should stop posting things you know nothing about. You ever have something happen to you in life that EVERYONE wanted to talk to you about, question you about. Its horrible to have to face all those people with their questions. Maybe this is the reason the girl is upset and not in school. And did you call the school and find out if the girl got a "free pass" out of school, if she took her finals. NO? Don't rely on information from anyone but the source.

Don't you people have better things to do than to sit on a message board and post your slander.

I thought this article was about the beautiful woman with an amazing spirit who lost her life all too soon. My sincere condolences go out to the family who lost their wife, mother, grandmother and friend. Please know that our heart goes out to you.

"Its horrible to have to face all those people with their questions."

The same can be said of the husband who watched his wife killed, for Diana Hersevoort's children, grandchildren, friends.

It seems there is reason to question if one only uses social media comments. Anger will continue to grow as long as there is an absence of communication.

Terri wrote: "How about you guys all stop assuming you know what happened. Everything everyone on here posts about is all "hear say". So unless you were there first hand, unless you have spoke with the young man, or his "girlfriend", maybe you should stop posting things you know nothing about."

I'm not in favor of involving the teen's girlfriend in all of this since she wasn't driving and apparently wasn't even in the car at the time of the accident. As for the teen driver himself, though, it's not "hearsay". Many of us saw the social media pictures and posts firsthand. It was a publicly open social media site in which the youth spoke of speeding at 85 mph on a local public road regularly travelled by many people in Pleasanton. So that makes it fair game for public comment. Sorry if you don't like what's being said about the youth, but he has no one but himself to blame.

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I would just like to say as a student who drives at Foothill, there is not one single time that we or our parents have not sped or driven a little wreck less. Everyday kids drive to school on foothill road and become used to it. When your get comfortable in areas you know you take more chances. Every single day after school kids burnout of the parking lot onto foothill road and race home to beat the traffic. Something like this was bound to happen, it sucks tha this happened to someone days before graduation but it did, I don't blame him for wanting to walk on graduation day, it's a right he earned by working hard all four years of highschool. One accident, although very upsetting and horrific, shouldn't turn the world against him. This could have easily happened to me or any one of my friends. It doesn't matter what grade or how old we are. We are still kids.


Also his girlfriend is such a kind and compassionate girl who is very active in the community with great grades. Why is she being out on trial? She didn't stop going to school using this incident as an excuse, she didn't go to school the last 3 four hour days because of all the questions and harrassment she would get from the clearly very active on social media website 2100 students. Just because she dated that guy doesn't mean she should be talked about on this forum or by anyone else. It's frankly just rude.

I can see very clearly why kids at foothill and from Pleasanton in general feel so entitled to know everything and to he in everyone's business, they're being raised by people who judge people off of things they read on the Internet. That's pretty sad.

To "Be Humble",

I this individual doesn't want to be judged "off of things they read on the Internet", then he shouldn't have posted all that stuff on the internet. He deserves to be judged by what he posted.

"Be Humble" I wish everyone could stop to think about things the way you just did. Thank you for your post.

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"Be Humble" wrote: "I would just like to say as a student who drives at Foothill, there is not one single time that we or our parents have not sped or driven a little wreck less. ...... One accident, although very upsetting and horrific, shouldn't turn the world against him. This could have easily happened to me or any one of my friends. It doesn't matter what grade or how old we are. We are still kids.,

"Be Humble", I think that your reasoning is a bit simplistic when you try to equate driving a little bit over the speed limit with what this teen driver has allegedly done (by his own admission on his social media site!). Going, say, 70 mph on a 65 mph freeway (as I admit that I did today) is not the same as going an allegedly 85 mph on Foothill Road. The speed limit along the section of road where the accident occurred is 40 mph, so if this boast by the teen driver is true he was doing over double the speed limit. Are you seriously trying to claim that what he boasted of doing is any way equivalent to what you or your parents or other parents are doing? Admittedly, we don't yet know how fast he was going on the day of this accident, but he has only himself to blame if people are suspicious that he may have been greatly speeding just before the accident.

As for your claim that "One accident, although very upsetting and horrific, shouldn't turn the world against him", that's not true. It it is found that he was greatly speeding just before the accident and that that excessive speed was the main factor in causing the accident, then the whole criminal justice system and the world will should and will turn against him. He can potentially go to prison over just "one accident" if it is shown that he was driving recklessly. Legally, he's not just a kid - he's an 18-year old adult and will face adult consequences if he is guilty.

You are in control of a lot of power when you get behind the wheel of a car. It's not a toy. Take your driving responsibilities seriously. Unfortunately, not all 18-year olds do.

The girlfriend inserted herself into this by boasting on social media that she was excused from school. Forgive me for being direct, but how distasteful and plain wrong to brag about not having to go to school because a woman died. It's like she was dancing in her grave. I'd she was traumatized, she should have kept to herself, not posted this sort of stuff on Facebook to allow this to be about the family that list a loved one instead of how she benefited from the tragedy. And no, before today she was not at school.

If what the previous poster said us true and all foothill kids drive like this then we need to fund a few officers, actual PPD, that will stand in the parking lots ticket book in hand and ready to go to court when these tickets are challenged. Also, one traffic ticket and you should lose parking privileges on campus. I say random check points should also be set up so every teen going or coming has to show license, registration and insurance.

We better see an arrest. If you are driving 45 without being compromised and you run over two people and still knock a pole down? 45MPH my arse.

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The emphasis on the girlfriend needs to stop it has gotten way too much unnecessary attention. They were only dating a very short time. The driver has many longtime good friends attending foothill including a longtime old girlfriend of many years, all of which attended school all week and probably endured many questions they did not want to. We all know why she did what she did but i am sure she didnt expect such a reaction and who cares if she walks at graduation or not she earned to just like everyone else.

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hey jeb -- come on. do what a journalist is SUPPOSED to do.
Call the PPD and ask for an update. Then blog it.

If the short term girlfriend didn't want to be part of it then she shouldn't have bragged about the benefit she saw as a result of it. She should have shown some respect for the deceased and been silent instead of posting publicly what value she personally saw as a result of someone being killed. If she was so traumatized that she couldn't go to school and to avoid all the questions then surely she will want to avoid them during graduation activities too. Too bad her parents weren't watching closely enough to make sure she handled thus in an appropriate manner.