Theodore Hintze

From the Daily Journal

‘Ghost bike' appears on overpass

January 10, 2012, 05:00 AM By Bill Silverfarb Daily Journal staff

Bill Silverfarb/Daily Journal
A ghost bike memorial has been placed on the Hillsdale Boulevard overpass at Highway 101 in San Mateo.

A "ghost bike" has appeared on the Hillsdale Boulevard overpass
at Highway 101 in San Mateo that has caught the eye of passersby
curious as to why it is there.
The bicycle, painted all in white, is
locked to a sign post just west of the highway on Hillsdale Boulevard
and has no markings or signs on it to indicate why it is there.
Ghost
bikes are memorials for bicyclists who are killed or hit on the street.
A bicycle is painted all white and locked to a street sign near the
crash site, typically accompanied by a small plaque. They serve as
reminders of the tragedy that took place and as statements in support of
cyclists' right to safe travel, according to the website
ghostbikes.org.
The first ghost bikes were created in St. Louis, Mo.
in 2003 and there are more than 470 ghost bikes that have since appeared
in more than 175 locations throughout the world, according to the
website.
San Mateo police Sgt. Dave Norris said he had never heard
of ghost bike memorials but suggested it could be related to a fatal
bicycle accident on the overpass back in 2009.
On Dec. 18, 2009, a
bicyclist was struck and killed in the early morning hours by a Caltrans
employee driving a Caltrans vehicle on the overpass.
A month later,
the San Mateo County Coroner's Office finally identified the victim as
Theodore Hintze, 68, a resident of Palo Alto. The office delayed
releasing his name because Hintze's next of kin was never found after
his death.
The Caltrans driver was never charged in Hintze's death to the dismay of many local bicycle advocates.
Mark
Eliot, a bicycle advocate who lives in San Mateo, guesses the memorial
is related to Hintze's death but wants to know who actually set up the
memorial.
"I was really surprised riding across the bridge when I saw the bike so I checked into it," Eliot said.
He had never seen a ghost bike before and wanted to know the purpose of it.
"That
bridge is not the most comfortable to travel across for a bicyclist,"
Eliot said. "I think that memorial is a nice touch to serve as a
reminder."
About a year ago, a bicycle was locked at the exact same
spot where the current ghost bike sits on the Hillsdale overpass,
according to the San Mateo Police Department.
That bike, however, was not painted all in white.
San Mateo police will put a notice on the ghost bike to notify whoever set up the memorial that it will soon be removed.
A
ghost bike memorial was last seen locally in Palo Alto back in 2010 to
honor Lauren Ward, who was struck and killed by a big-rig driver on
Alpine Road near Interstate 280.
The crash was allegedly the third fatal collision for the big rig's driver but he was not charged with any crime.

Bill Silverfarb can be reached by email: silverfarb@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 106.