After my 17 year old son had finished the 10k and braved the long ling for water, we decided to leave the Howlin' at the Moon race before the awards were presented. As we headed home on Stockdale, we noticed that one could not turn left on Calloway and there were quite a few police in the area. We figured there was a fender bender and went on our way home.
The first I heard of what happen was from Robby Baker's mom who wrote me about the tradegy. We knew it was a 17 year old boy and that he was hit by a car and was in critical condition. Immediately, I did a quick roll call of all the local athletes I knew that fit the description and was certain it was not any I knew.
Later media reports said he was from out of the country and I thought oh no. Back in May, a real nice parent contacted me about my club the Bakersfield Distance Project. The family was from Bakersfield but had lived in Doha, Quater (working for an oil company) for the past six years and was looking for a club for their 12 year old daughter to train and compete with.
We exchanged emails and I refered them to a group to train with when they got back to Bakersfield on June 26th. Less then three weeks after arriving back in the states, this horrible accident happen.
In their emails, they did not mention their son, but the pieces came together. I saw their daughter finish the 5k and the victim had just returned to the states. So I was pretty certain who it was. Then on Monday, local media contacted me about the accident and asked if I had any photos of the 17 year old.
Usually I would of because I try to shoot everyone in the race from several locations but my cameras do not work well in the dark and it was really dark out there. I also found out the name of the victim but I believe the media has the spelling of the last name wrong. I have chosen not to publish his name.
When I did google his name, I did find track meet results for him back in 2002 and he was a good age group distance runner before his family left the states. So he was an experienced runner and came from a family that participated and supported athletics.
What exactly happen that night may never be known, but it was a perfect storm of sorts. One can only hope he makes a complete recovery and that lessons are learned from this accident.
I have heard that the 17 year old who was hit by the car had just returned to the United States. His family had been living in Qatar for the past six years. The family is from Bakersfield and just moved back a week or two ago. Their daughter ran the 5k at the race. From what I hear, the accident happen as he was returning back to the finish. Calloway is about half mile from the finish line of the 6.2 mile race. To get to the finish, one must go right instead of straight and go downhill to go under Calloway. It was very dark this way and the turn was not marked by the time he approached it.Several athletes have reported that it was confusing as to were to go, even for those who knew the bike path well. My own 17 year old son, who knows the bike path well, said it was extremely dark. He did note, that there was traffic on Calloway and that he saw many car lights. Several athletes, said they heard the wreck and the aftermath but assumed it was between cars only.Many have reached out to me, to say they are praying for the teen and his family. The running community is sadden by this tragic accident and hope the teen makes a full recovery. One also hopes that lessons will be learned from this incident.
ReplyDeleteMike C at 7:37am July 14
ReplyDeleteThat really sucks. I was a little distance behind him and heard the police officers tell him he could not run across the street and that he needed to use the path. However, it was pretty dark at that spot.
Lisa S at 8:34pm July 12
ReplyDeleteSad...I could see the lights from Stockdale. It was really dark at Calloway. If John hadn't come out to pace me in, I would have gone straight just because I couldn't see what was out there.
Teresa C at 2:13pm July 13
ReplyDeleteI was actually right ahead of him. I heard the screeching tires and honking horn but didn't realize someone had been hit. It was really, really, really dark and my partner almost went to the left also. We could barely see the yellow line not to mention it was pitch black under the bridge. Very scary! I won't do that one again unless they guarantee they'll have more monitors on the course. I hear the runner is going to be okay thank God!