IT’S LIBERTY’S TIME: Eagles end baseball misery vs. Fauquier. Page 19
April 3, 2019
Our 202nd year | Vol. 202, No. 14 | www.Fauquier.com | $1.50
Sharing the road: Cyclist dies after collision with car By James Ivancic Times Staff Writer
Bicyclists and motor vehicle drivers often share the road in Fauquier County; when they collide, bicyclists take the brunt of the damage. Fourteen fatal accidents involving bicyclists have occurred in Virginia in 2017, according to state records. In The Plains last weekend, a 77-year-old bicyclist was struck by a car on Halfway Road, according to a Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office spokesman. Peter Slavin, 77, of Oakton, was flown to INOVA Fairfax Hospital Sunday evening after suffering significant brain injury when his bicycle and a 1998 Volvo collided,
“People can get furious if they have to wait less than 30 seconds. I’ve even seen drivers willing to stop and argue with a cyclist about access to the road.” JARED NIETERS
Sgt. James Hartman said. Slavin died March 29 at INOVA Fairfax Hospital, he reported. The driver, Babette Alliger, 59, of Culpeper and Middleburg, faces a misdemeanor charge of reckless driving. She was attempting to pass the bicyclist when she hit him and knocked him
to the ground. Hartman emphasized that according to the law, bicyclists have the same rights and responsibilities as a motorized driver. For their part, drivers need to pass at a reasonable speed and keep a distance of at least 3 feet to the left of the bicyclist, said Hartman. On Fauquier’s winding roads that often don’t have shoulders, drivers sometimes have to follow slowly behind bikers while waiting for a safe place to pass them. While cyclists and drivers share a duty to use the road responsibly, there are steps cyclists can take to protect themselves on the road.
See CYCLIST, Page 6
Warrenton police officer is acquitted in assault
By James Ivancic Times Staff Writer
The Warrenton police officer charged with misdemeanor assault after a woman sustained a broken nose during an encounter at a bar last September has been found not guilty. Judge J. Gregory Ashwell’s ruling issued on Monday followed testimony by defendant Carl M. Ferguson; the injured woman, Kristen Abshire, and others during a hearing last Friday in Fauquier General District Court. An April 18 court date had been set to give Ashwell time to review testimony, but his verdict was filed Monday.
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Reclaiming history Page 4 TIMES STAFF PHOTO/ROBIN EARL Restored and looking brand-spanking new (except for the interior), a replica of the Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office first squad car, a 1966 Ford Galaxie, is almost ready to fulfill its next job.
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