(Update: Jury finds motorist guilty)
The 67-year-old woman accused of colliding with a bicyclist riding at the edge of a canyon road is expected to cite health issues in her defense.
The trial of Elizabeth Deseelhorst started Tuesday in a Utah courtroom. She's charged with negligent homicide in the death of Josie Johnson, left.
The 25-year-old cyclist's death sparked a public outcry that led to a state law passed earlier this year (House Bill 49) requiring motorists to give cyclists a wide margin — 3 feet of clearance when allowable — when passing.
According to trial coverage in the Salt Lake Tribune, Deseelhorst's attorney told the jury that the woman had a “minor stroke” just before the collision and reasoned there's no crime if her client was suffering a medical emergency. Deseelhorst had suffered a stroke in 1991 and a mild epileptic event in 1994, according to the newspaper's report of the trial.
A Sheriff's Department investigator testified Tuesday that Deseelhorst's vehicle was straddling the fog line at the right of the road when it struck Johnson, who died at the scene.
In addition to prompting legislation, Johnson's death has led to an annual bicycling awareness ride, the “Josie Johnson Memorial Ride” sponsored by the Salt Lake County Bicycle Advisory Committee.
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