Chelsea Norman commuted by bike between her home in the Montrose area of Houston and the Whole Foods market where she worked. On 01 Dec 2013, she was struck from behind while riding home from work by a hit and run driver. She died of her injuries a few days later.
As the months passed, Chelsea was not forgotten. The city and Houston bicycling community continued a long-needed dialogue seeking to improve bicycling infrastructure and raise awareness about the importance of sharing the road with bicyclists.
From the Houston Chronicle: (
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Death of cyclist galvanizes biking community
by Dane Schiller
December 10, 2013 | Updated: December 11, 2013 11:34pm
They call it the "ghost bike." It is painted completely white, even the tires, and chained to a street post in Montrose.
The shrine near West Gray and Waugh marks where cyclist Chelsea Norman was hit 10 days ago by a motorist and later died of her injuries.
There are no known witnesses. The driver fled. Exactly what happened remains a mystery that police and Norman's family continue to probe.
The bike is flanked by candles and flowers to honor the 24-year-old who was riding home at about 10:25 p.m. from her job a few blocks away at Whole Foods Market.
The spot has quickly become sacred ground. Tears are shed. Memories are shared. It is also a rallying point for cyclists calling for more safety among their own ranks as well as denouncing motorists who they say drive with impunity from the law and disdain for sharing the road.
Hundreds of riders are expected to converge on the area at 7 p.m. Wednesday to remind Houston of the Dec. 1 incident and pressure authorities to reduce the chances of it happening again by enforcing laws and enhancing bike paths.
Among the riders who vows to be there is Fred Zapalac, co-owner of the Blue Line Bike Lab bike shops.
"I would say the cycling community is by and large very angry," he said. "This beautiful 24-year-old girl that was struck down and killed has really lit a fire under people. I think anybody that knows anybody who rides a bike in this city would be very concerned about this - and anybody who has a heart."
Cycling groups acknowledge riders need to be safer, but say police are not enforcing an ordinance that went into effect in May and requires cars to stay at least 3 feet from cyclists and pedestrians, and trucks 6 feet away.
A review of municipal court records, conducted at the request of the Houston Chronicle, found that no citations have been issued under the ordinance.
Houston Police Department Assistant Chief Mark Eisenman said in a statement that HPD takes concerns of bicyclists seriously and has ongoing discussions with cycling groups.
'Doing the job of the police'
"The goal is to protect and educate bicyclists and motorists on rules of the road and sharing the road," Eisenman said. "Citations for riding too close to a bicyclist are very difficult to issue because an officer has to observe the violation while not en route to another call for service."
He added that in many instances an officer may inform a motorist he or she is riding too closely to a bicyclist, but not issue a citation.
Norman's father, Randy Norman, said police meanwhile were not doing enough to find who hit his daughter.
He said an investigator told him after the accident that there were no surveillance recordings of the crash.
But Norman said he went to businesses along Chelsea's route and found footage that shows his daughter peddling along Waugh that quiet Sunday night. It also captured a few cars behind her.
"The victim's family is doing the job of the police," he said.
Chelsea was riding on or beside an official bike path. She was not wearing a helmet. It is unclear how well her bike was lit. After Chelsea was hit, she landed on a curb beside the bike lane.
'A possible suspect'
It was there that she was spotted by passerby Allison Eck, 25, who leapt from a car.
She said she did all she could to ensure the stranger, who reminded her of her own younger sister, did not die alone.
"I could not stop kissing her cheek and constantly begging for her to squeeze my hand if she could feel me or hear me, and praying that she would somehow make it out of this," Eck recalled. "I think that God knew that she had to have someone by her side."
Eck, who works at a dental office, said she did not see the accident. Chelsea was put on life support, but days later died of "multiple blunt force" injuries.
Houston police Sgt. Mark Cross said he met with Chelsea's father and sought to address his concerns.
"I told him that this investigation will be intensively investigated, and we won't stop until we find the perpetrator," Cross said Tuesday, adding that officers were planning to ask stores along Chelsea's route for video.
Cross said new tips to Crime Stoppers may lead to an arrest in the case.
"We have some viable tips we are working on, and some very good information on a possible suspect," he said.
Tensions between cyclists and motorists are increasing. Even with the recent expansion of bike paths, there are still more people and cars on the road together as the city's population grows. . . . "
From the Houston Chronicle, a series of photos about the ghost bike installation and memorial (still there as of Feb 2014) at the spot where Chelsea Norman was left gravely injured: (
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"As Houston police investigate a hit-and-run accident that claimed a bicyclist's life, an impromptu memorial to the young woman has appeared in Montrose where a driver left her mortally injured in the street."
From the Houston Chronicle website, the beginning of the next chapter for the driver, and maybe some changes to improve safety in the future: (
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"Feb 5, 2014
Police arrested a Houston woman Wednesday on a charge of hit and run stemming from what authorities say was a night of drinking and driving that led to her striking and killing a local cyclist.
Chelsea Norman's death early December on her way home from work galvanized the city's bike riding community and spurred calls for justice and answers. Wednesday, cyclists applauded the police work, but some said they were disappointed a more severe charge was not applied.
In a document filed by the Harris County District Attorney's Office, Margaret Renee Mayer, 35, is accused of intentionally not stopping her car after hitting Norman, who was riding home at about 10:20 p.m. from Whole Foods Market in Montrose.
Victor Senties, spokesman for Houston Police, confirmed Mayer's arrest.
Norman, 24, was gravely injured but alive when she was found sprawled on the curb along Waugh and at the base of a bike lane sign. She died days later at a Houston hospital.
With the charge, authorities do not contend Mayer broke the law by hitting Norman, but by failing to stop afterward and render aid.
Mayer has a prior conviction in 2002 for drunken driving. The latest charge is a felony and carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison because it involved a death.
Mayor Annise Parker, who after Norman's death called for better safety awareness by drivers and cyclists, called the tragedy a senseless loss of life and praised police.
"There was a suspect identified early on and we have been confident from the beginning this case would be solved," Parker said in a statement. "It may have seemed as if it was taking longer than it should have. Detectives wanted to nail down all the forensic evidence to to avoid issues with prosecution."
'Very intoxicated'
Authorities allege in the affidavit they have built a case against Mayer in part with the statements of people who spoke with her before and after the crash.
Investigators also took DNA swabs from her car, according to the affidavit, but it does not note the results of any testing.
A neighbor supposedly told authorities that the morning after the crash that Mayer's car was damaged and that there was a piece of denim material stuck to it.
It is unclear whether Norman was riding in the middle of Waugh or in the bike lane, as well as how well her bike may have been lighted.
The affidavit signed by an assistant district attorney describes how the investigation of Norman's death unfolded behind the scenes as cyclists held public gatherings in which they mourned Norman's death and called on police to do more to find whoever hit her.
Anonymous tips to Crime Stoppers led authorities to a woman who said she had been drinking with Mayer the night of the accident, but left her at a bar.
She got a call from Mayer the next day.
"The defendant contacted her, and told her that she was very intoxicated the previous night and that she had gotten lost somewhere on Waugh Drive," the affidavit notes, "... defendant told her that she thought she hit someone because her window was shatter (sic), but she could not remember what happened."
Among the other evidence authorities said they have compiled is a recording of a telephone conversation three days after the crash between Mayer's brother and her mother while he was in the Harris County jail on unrelated charges.
"They can be heard talking about the crash," according to the affidavit. "In the calls, they referenced the defendant as 'Auntie M' and that she wrecked her car while she was drunk and hit a bike."
No additional charges
Cyclists questioned why more charges were not filed.
"She should also be charged with failure to comply with the safe passing ordinance," said Michael Payne, executive director of Bike Houston, who also wondered why a manslaughter charge wasn't applied.
Authorities have said such criminal cases are difficult to win in court because there are often no witnesses, and typically both the motorists and the cyclist are partially at fault.
Cyclists countered penalties and enforcement need to be clear to convince people to drive and ride safely.
"Fatalities happen when people fail to comply with laws, whether it is speeding, DUI, or running a red light, the consequences are always greater for cyclists than they are for motorists," Payne said. "Vulnerability is the reason why we have increased penalties for speeding in construction zones, or passing too close to a police officer on the side of the road."
Police have said there were no witnesses to the crash that killed Norman.
It is rare in Houston for motorists to be charged with crimes in connection with deaths of cyclists, which in the past has spurred cyclists to accuse officials of treating bicycle accidents as a low priority, and bike and pedestrian safety as second-class to free-flowing vehicle traffic.
A Houston Chronicle review going back to 2009 showed that prior to Mayer, just four motorists were charged out of 23 car crashes in which cyclists were killed.
In three of those cases the defendants were not sent to prison.
Charges remain pending in the fourth case in which a law school student is accused of failing to stop after fatally hitting a man riding a bicycle in the early morning hours on Richmond in October.
Enforcement lacking
Houston's cycling community united behind a push for better biking safety following Norman's death, with many riders detailing their own close calls and concerns to city officials.
Their goal, they said, was to increase awareness among drivers and cyclists, and press for more attention from state and local officials.
"Penalties need to be tougher for collisions with cyclists and pedestrians," Payne said. "We don't have a culture of respect for these users. ... Our society has the capacity to manage this issue, we simply need civic leaders to step up and set the tone."
City officials, notably Parker, have stressed everyone needs to respect the rights of others on the road. Parker last month blamed impaired and distracted drivers and cyclists riding at night without proper lights as the causes of most fatal crashes.
Many riders believe lax enforcement of safety laws and poor street design puts them in harm's way and is leading to some of the wrecks.
A check of municipal court records conducted at the request of the Chronicle found that not one citation had been issued to a motorist during the first six months of a new ordinance, which began in May and required cars to stay at least three feet from bikes and pedestrians, and trucks six feet away.
"It used to be the people who had ridden smartly were not getting hit," rider Dan Morgan told the city council last week. "They were not part of the statistics, they are part of the statistics now."
Drivers and some cyclists, meanwhile, counter that riders need to clean up their act as well.
Cyclists running red lights is a frequent complaint in some neighborhoods, where motorists said the call for greater safety is undermined by the often aggressive pose some riders strike when they hit the streets.
"I guarantee you I am not going to run a red light in my car, because I'm afraid I'll get hit," Montrose resident Tom Clementine said. "But these guys will just fly by, not a care in the world."
Personal Safety
Cyclists acknowledge their own situational awareness and decisions can improve safety. Many rides are organized specifically so riders are in groups, as opposed to riding alone, because there is safety in numbers. Within the cycling community, riders often police themselves for proper equipment like helmets and nighttime lights.
"I have to admit I have ridden without lights and recently I have seen how important it is and so I got lights," said Hecort Garcia, a local cyclist active in some of the city's group rides, including the controversial Critical Mass rides at the end of each month. "We definitely need to be more aware and ride safe at night."
Police are working on an educational campaign for cyclists and drivers, and talking to local cyclists about other programs.
Council members meanwhile are debating other changes, such as registration for bicycles in the city to encourage not only better safety awareness, but also to raise money for bike infrastructure improvements.
Though the city is spending millions on new trails and bayou improvements – many that benefit cyclists via off-street routes – investment in street improvements for cyclists has lagged.
Many of the bike lane lines painted on city streets are faded, and they hug gutters that can be littered with debris. Those deficient facilities play a role in overall bike safety because it forces cyclists who otherwise would stay as far right as possible further into the interior of the street.
"Have you been to where this accident happened," Garcia said, referring to Norman's fatal crash. "It is jacked up right there, the street is crooked."