Immigration Agents Arrest Truck Driver in Swanson Accident »
publishd July 25, 2010:
The driver in the accident that killed bicyclist Alice Swanson was picked up on an immigration charge Thursday,reported WUSA9. Marco Fuentes Flores was arrested at a trucking company in Sterling, two days after a WUSA9 story earlier in the week revealing Flores’ continued employment at the trucking company despite his questionable driving record. Records also show that Flores had been convicted of smuggling drugs, confined in federal prison and deported before returning to drive a garbage truck.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, the news story and interview with Ruth Rowan, the mother of Alice Swanson, provided information leading to the arrest. “I don’t have anything against immigrants. But it seems it was the only way to get him off the road,” said Rowan in an interview following the arrest. KMG Hauling, Flores’ previous and current employer, settled out-of-court with Swanson’s family without admitting liability in the death.
A ghost bike remains at 20th and R streets, the location of the accident.
Remembering Alice Swanson, 2 years later.
In sum, the truck executed an unexpected sharp turn from the center lane across another travel lane. If Swanson was in a Smart Car (instead of a bike) in a full travel lane (instead of a bike lane) and drove under the truck and was crushed, would it still be Swanson’s fault? I don’t think so.”
— comment in response to the analysis of the police report on Alice Swanson’s death, which uses language to shift the blame from the reckless driver of the garbage truck who killed Alice and instead seems to indicate Alice was at fault despite proceeding straight in a bike lane with a green light.
Ghost bike at Fairfax crash site
Friday, May 28, 2010
According to DC Indymedia a white ghost bike has appeared at the site of the fatal bike crash at the corner of Forum Dr and Lee Hwy/Rt 29 just south of the Fairfax County Government Center, where 18-year old Abdelouahid “Abdul” Chadli was killed. A ghost bike “is a bicycle set up in a place where a cyclist has been hurt or killed by a motor vehicle, as a roadside memorial.”
Several items have already been placed at the site as you can see in the background of the photo. When I stopped by there on Tuesday a small crowd was gathered and we’ve heard there have been people visiting the site daily.
On Sunday members of the Fairfax High School wrestling team gathered at the site to mourn Chadli’s death.
