Article published by the Austin American Statesman.
Runner Scott Birk killed in crash
By Patrick George and Pam LeBlanc
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
A renowned member of Austin's running community died Monday morning after being struck by a car in West Austin. Police did not release the runner's name Monday, but friends identified the man as 48-year-old Scott Birk, a stay-at-home dad and prolific competitor in marathons and other races who regularly placed at the top of his age group.
According to police, a Dodge Durango was traveling south on RM 2222 at River Place Boulevard about 9 a.m. when it struck a man who was attempting to cross FM 2222. The Dodge had the green light when the pedestrian ran out in front of it and was struck, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver, who has not been identified, stopped to offer aid, police said. No charges are expected to be filed, they said.
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They said Birk would get his son ready for school and then train in his neighborhood. He ran the same hilly route along River Place Boulevard nearly every day, logging about 100 miles a week. Neighbors plan to hang yellow ribbons along the road in remembrance of him.
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Rogue Running coach Paul Salazar said Birk was a fixture at the Austin Marathon, the 3M Half Marathon and all the races in the local Distance Challenge series. Other runners often made the assumption that because Birk was tall, well over 6 feet, that he was slow.
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John Conley, race director of the LiveStrong Austin Marathon and Half Marathon, said Birk ran the Austin Marathon in 3 hours, 16 minutes in 2010. "I just think one of the truly great guys in the running community is gone, and he'll be missed," Conley said.
Leaders in the running community said that in order to stay safe while training, runners should wear brightly colored, high-visibility clothing, always assume the driver of a motor vehicle is distracted, and avoid crossing against traffic lights at intersections and jaywalking. They should run on a sidewalk if possible and run against traffic in order to see what's coming.
Reference: Transportation for America, Dangerous by Design (PDF)
Runner Scott Birk killed in crash
By Patrick George and Pam LeBlanc
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
A renowned member of Austin's running community died Monday morning after being struck by a car in West Austin. Police did not release the runner's name Monday, but friends identified the man as 48-year-old Scott Birk, a stay-at-home dad and prolific competitor in marathons and other races who regularly placed at the top of his age group.
According to police, a Dodge Durango was traveling south on RM 2222 at River Place Boulevard about 9 a.m. when it struck a man who was attempting to cross FM 2222. The Dodge had the green light when the pedestrian ran out in front of it and was struck, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver, who has not been identified, stopped to offer aid, police said. No charges are expected to be filed, they said.
...
They said Birk would get his son ready for school and then train in his neighborhood. He ran the same hilly route along River Place Boulevard nearly every day, logging about 100 miles a week. Neighbors plan to hang yellow ribbons along the road in remembrance of him.
...
Rogue Running coach Paul Salazar said Birk was a fixture at the Austin Marathon, the 3M Half Marathon and all the races in the local Distance Challenge series. Other runners often made the assumption that because Birk was tall, well over 6 feet, that he was slow.
...
John Conley, race director of the LiveStrong Austin Marathon and Half Marathon, said Birk ran the Austin Marathon in 3 hours, 16 minutes in 2010. "I just think one of the truly great guys in the running community is gone, and he'll be missed," Conley said.
Leaders in the running community said that in order to stay safe while training, runners should wear brightly colored, high-visibility clothing, always assume the driver of a motor vehicle is distracted, and avoid crossing against traffic lights at intersections and jaywalking. They should run on a sidewalk if possible and run against traffic in order to see what's coming.
Monday's was the 25th traffic fatality of 2011. At this time last year, there were 20, police said.
In May, pedestrian Courtney Griffin was killed in her Tarrytown neighborhood when she was struck by a driver who fled the scene. Gabrielle Nestande has been charged with failing to stop and render aid in that case. Police said they suspect alcohol was involved in the case, which remains under investigation.
A recent study by Transportation for America, a Washington-based policy institute, ranked the Austin-Round Rock area as the 18th most dangerous in America for pedestrians. The study ranked the country's largest metropolitan areas according to their relative risk to walkers. Austin had 231 pedestrian fatalities between 2000 and 2009, according to the study. The Houston and Dallas metro areas ranked ninth and 10th on the list, respectively.
pgeorge@statesman.com; 445-3548Reference: Transportation for America, Dangerous by Design (PDF)
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