Beware, Fresno-area cyclists & pedestrians: Your lives are worth only a misdemeanor | Opinion
The message to careless drivers in the Fresno area from local law enforcement and our legal system is clear enough.
Killing a cyclist or pedestrian by running them over while you’re behind the wheel isn’t that big a deal. Even if you’re completely at fault.
In fact, as long as you’re not driving drunk or high on drugs and don’t flee the scene, you’ll likely get off with a slap on the wrist.
The region’s systemic tolerance for drivers responsible for the deaths of people on bike or on foot was on display again recently in Fresno Superior Court. Where Johnson Chang pleaded not guilty to three misdemeanors, 15 months after the Clovis man, according to the California Highway Patrol, steered his Acura NSX onto the wrong side of Watts Valley Road and plowed head on into cyclist Adela Santana-Mullooly.
The 51-year-old Fresno State anthropology lecturer, wife and mother of five was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to a civil suit filed by Santana-Mullooly’s family, Chang and the drivers of four other performance sports cars — two Porsche 911s, a Lamborghini and a Ferrari — were engaged in “a motor vehicle speed contest, each racing their vehicle against the others” on the narrow, curvy road.
“We have evidence this wasn’t a one-time thing,” Los Angeles attorney Brian Panish said. “Apparently, it’s an area where there has been previous activity like this before.”
The most serious charge against Chang — misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter with ordinary negligence — carries a maximum sentence of up to one year in county jail. But since the 47-year-old has a clean record, wasn’t observed to be intoxicated and cooperated with authorities, he’ll probably receive probation.
While Chang gets off outrageously light, others in his situation dodged any legal consequences.
The driver of the lifted pickup that killed cyclist Paul Moore in January 2022 outside Woodward Park while the 61-year-old retired teacher crossed the intersection under a green light didn’t face any charges.
Neither did the truck driver that struck and killed Josh Brown, slamming into him from behind, while the 32-year-old restaurant employee pedaled in the bike lane along Bullard Avenue in October of that same year.
The misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter charge against Chang is identical to the one faced by Fresno Police Detective Benito Soto, who hit and killed 51-year-old pedestrian Jose Pulido in a downtown crosswalk in September 2020. An investigation revealed Soto was responding to a text at the time of the collision.
It’s the same story over and over. Cyclists and pedestrians get killed by careless, inattentive drivers, who then get off light or escape criminal punishment altogether. Only the names and circumstances change.
Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, a socialite named Rebecca Grossman is on trial for second-degree murder for killing two boys in a crosswalk while driving her Mercedes SUV at speeds upwards of 70 mph.
So I guess some places take these sorts of fatalities seriously. Just not here.
CHP investigation lacking
How fast was Chang driving when his car collided with Santana-Mullooly?
The CHP report concludes the Acura NSX was traveling “at a stated speed of approximately 55 to 65 miles per hour.”
Who stated? Chang himself. That’s what Chang told the investigating officer, who evidently took him at his word. None of the other drivers were interviewed.
Chang also told investigators that he observed Santana-Mullooly riding “on or near the center solid double yellow line” and that he swerved to avoid striking her.
That proved to be false. The CHP report states Chang “allowed” his vehicle to cross the double yellow line and into the opposite lane. Investigators based their conclusion on physical evidence and the account of one witness, a cyclist riding about 200 feet behind Santana-Mullooly when the fatal collision occurred Oct. 2, 2022.
The CHP report contains no mention of racing. Investigators were apparently satisfied that the drivers of five performance sports cars, each capable of speeds in excess of 150 mph, got together for a mellow Sunday morning drive through the foothills. I’m sure they took all those curves nice and slow.
Some of the cars, according to Santana-Mullooly’s friends and legal counsel, had license plates associated with Oxotic Fresno, an outfit that rents performance cars and whose website depicts those vehicles driving on both sides of Watts Valley Road in photographs.
The 20-page CHP report is mum on that subject as well. Nor did the agency’s Fresno-area spokesperson return my messages Friday.
Panish, whose firm represents the Santana-Mullooly family, said that evidence will be presented during the upcoming civic trial that shows Chang and the other drivers were racing before and at the time of the fatal crash. Which should provide some solace for her loved ones, as well as restitution for five kids who tragically lost their mom.
Meanwhile, the message from the criminal branch of our local legal system to cyclists and pedestrians remains loud and clear: Your lives aren’t worth more than a misdemeanor, if that.
