John Myslin

From Indybay:
On August 7th, John Myslin, a history teacher and advisor at Pacific Collegiate School (PCS), was run over and killed by a semi-truck at the intersection of Bay Street and Mission Street (Highway 1) in Santa Cruz while riding his bicycle. Community members held a vigil that evening for someone whose identity was unknown to them. Students at PCS and more community members soon learned that Mr. Myslin had passed away and held a memorial vigil on the evening of August 8th, adding flowers to the intersection of Bay and Mission along with candles and loving messages. One of the items left at the memorial was a collection of photographs and an autobiography which is transcribed below.
About Me:
I was born in the snowy Austrian Alps in the village of Vocklabruck a long time ago after my parents fled to the former communist bloc country of Czechoslovakia, a country that no longer exists. We immigrated to sunny San Diego during the early 1980s and later we moved to Oregon (apparently my father thought it would be nice there). We never made it but rather stopped for the night in picturesque Victorian city of Eureka, a charming place flanked by the Pacific Ocean and coastal redwoods. What started out as a brief stop to get our bearings resulted in staying for the past 18 years. I grew up a curious youth, often getting good grades (though not always) and spending a lot of time riding my fleet of bikes. I went through the K-12 system (Go Loggers!) and went off to UC Davis (Go Aggies!) during the late 1990s and earned a degree in history, my most favorite subject. I completed my teaching credentials at the UC Davis School of Education, did my student teaching in Vacaville and Woodland. I then went on to complete my Master's in Education degree in 2005 while substitute teaching in Eureka, CA. In March 2005, I was hired as a Correctional Officer with the Humboldt County Sheriff's Department, where I now work.
I'm not wearing sunglasses inside the computer lab because I am blind but because there isn't a convenient place to put them and I have had bad luck with all my sunglasses in the past (one pair broken, one stolen, one pair evaporated when I left them out in the sun... or were they stolen too??)
My car, a 1990 Ford Crown Victoria, equipped with a nice 5.0L V8. I am trying and keep the car in glossy condition, but it's a very time consuming job. Because I have been struck with abject poverty, the 18-gallon tank is usually empty. And for those of you who think this car is uncool (yes you, second
The writing cuts off here.
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/08/07/18439346.php
John's family filed a complaint about dangerous road conditions at the site of the crash:
On or about August 7,2007, at approximately 8: 10 a.m., claimant’s decedent, John Myslin, was a bicyclist riding his bicycle westbound on Mission Street near its intersection with Bay Street in the city of Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz County, California. At said time and place, claimant’s decedent was struck and killed by a semi-tractor trailer being operated by Gabriel Manzur Vera in the course and scope of his employment with Randazzo Enterprises, Inc. The Vera vehicle was traveling westbound on Mission Street and struck claimant’s decedent in the crosswalk as it made a right turn onto Bay Street.
In addition to the negligence of the Vera vehicle and Randazzo Enterprises, Inc., one of the causes of the collision causing the death of claimants’ decedent was the dangerous and defective condition of the roadway in the area of this intersection: the roadway did not have an adequate bicycle lane, riders were not permitted to ride on the sidewalks, and there was no safe place for bicyclists to operate their vehicles. The County of Santa Cruz negligently and carelessly failed to provide a safe place for cyclists to ride; failed to properly regulate traffic at said intersection; failed to properly regulate the speed of traffic in said area; failed to provide safe alternative routing for bicycle traffic; failed to prohibit bicycle traffic on Mission Street in said area; failed to provide proper signage to warn drivers of the existence and proximity of bicyclists in the area and the danger to them; designed, constructed and failed to eliminate sight obstructions that prevented drivers along Mission St. from seeing bicycle traffic; and failed to properly divert traffic from said intersection, despite the fact that the County of Santa Cruz knew, or should have known, of the danger in sufficient time to have remedied said conditions and corrected said danger. Claimants are informed and believe and thereon allege, that Mission Street, in the area of the subject accident, was the subject of redesign and extensive construction in order to widen it within a couple of years of the subject accident. Despite having knowledge of the existence and prevalence of bicycle traffic in the area, the County of Santa Cruz failed to provide adequate and safe areas for bicycle traffic.
http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:-mwDQYmxwp8J:sccounty01.co.santa-cr...
http://www.metrosantacruz.com/metro-santa-cruz/03.05.08/nuz-0810.html
http://www.californiainjuryblog.com/2008/05/parents_of_man_who_died_in_s...
According to the last article, police assigned blame in this crash to the cyclist, despite the fact that he was right-hooked by the truck.

A wrongful death suit was settled against the driver in 2007.

Tragically, w in November 2010 that the same truck driver killed another cyclist, Lauren Ward.