Police reverse finding in Charleston advocate’s death
Posted Aug 09 2010 7:17am
When Charleston cycling advocate was stuck by a Jeep Cherokee on July 21, the initial police report placed the blame on the cyclist.
Edwin Gardner, much loved and respected in the comunity died from his injuries two days later.
Now in an unusual and complete reversal of the original finding, Charleston police now say that Gardner “was not in fact a contributor to this collision.”
According to a press release last Friday a review of the case was conducted by the police department’s Fatal Collision Team. Their findings were that the driver of the Jeep, 21 year old Charlotte White was the sole contributor to the collision. White will be charged with following too closely.
In my original article I mistakenly stated the driver was a young man, when in fact it was a 21 year old female.
On Saturday July 31st about 500 local cyclists rode though the streets of downtown Charleston in tribute to Gardner’s life. The ride ended at the scene of the collision, and a white painted Ghost Bike was left to mark the spot.
The police were out in force during this ride, escorting the cyclists and in some cases closing the streets. It is my personal and humble opinion that this tremendous turnout of support by local cyclists had some bearing on the police department’s decision to reopen the investigation into this case.
Edwin Gardner, much loved and respected in the comunity died from his injuries two days later.
Now in an unusual and complete reversal of the original finding, Charleston police now say that Gardner “was not in fact a contributor to this collision.”
According to a press release last Friday a review of the case was conducted by the police department’s Fatal Collision Team. Their findings were that the driver of the Jeep, 21 year old Charlotte White was the sole contributor to the collision. White will be charged with following too closely.
In my original article I mistakenly stated the driver was a young man, when in fact it was a 21 year old female.
On Saturday July 31st about 500 local cyclists rode though the streets of downtown Charleston in tribute to Gardner’s life. The ride ended at the scene of the collision, and a white painted Ghost Bike was left to mark the spot.
The police were out in force during this ride, escorting the cyclists and in some cases closing the streets. It is my personal and humble opinion that this tremendous turnout of support by local cyclists had some bearing on the police department’s decision to reopen the investigation into this case.