No charges filed against teen driver in death of State College cyclist, police say
A teenage driver will not be charged in a June crash that killed a State College cyclist who was riding along a bikeway in a residential neighborhood, borough police wrote in a statement Friday.
Neither the 16-year-old driver of a 2010 Honda Accord nor Jose Sajbin saw each other before they collided at the bikeway that crosses Edgewood Circle, police wrote. Their vision was obstructed by a legally parked vehicle on Edgewood Circle.
Neither speed, drugs nor alcohol were a factor. The driver stopped immediately, police wrote. There are stop signs on the bikeway, though police did not make clear if Sajbin stopped or continued.
Sajbin and the driver collided about 8 p.m. June 9 in the Greentree neighborhood. The 36-year-old husband and father of two died the following day at UPMC Altoona.
His death was met with sorrow by the Centre Region’s cycling community and reignited calls from advocates for safety and cycling infrastructure improvements.
State College Mayor Ezra Nanes — an avid cyclist who eschews his car for a bicycle within the borough — and several cyclists emphasized two potential solutions in June during a Borough Council meeting: elevating certain crosswalks so vehicles are forced to slow down and treat them like speed bumps, and using different colors on bikeways to increase visibility.
A GoFundMe organized by a friend of Sajbin’s family raised more than $24,000 from more than 460 donations to help pay for funeral costs and his repatriation to his native Guatemala.
Nanes wrote in a July text message to the Centre Daily Times that bike and pedestrian safety, access and efficiency “are, have been and will continue to be a top focus” for investment in the borough.
“As a bike commuter, husband of a bike commuting business owner, and parent of young people who frequently bike to Downtown, school, parks, and friends’ homes, this is a topic that I understand from experience and care about both personally and as an elected representative of our community,” Nanes wrote. “It is one of the most frequently mentioned priorities of people in our area.”
