Local Cyclist, NOAH CARDAMON, 23, killed early monday.

Yo Brian this is some bad fucking news, I'm sorry it's you who's had to bring it to my attention. I remember those MLC days like it was yesterday, skipping to go to up Balch Creek. Life itself was the real teacher, of lessons joyful and painful.

As this shows, it still is. Stay strong, - B

Thanks for posting something, Bryan ( I remember you). After reading of Noah's death in the Oregonian, I wanted to hear voices of those who knew him. I want to know if there's a memorial. I know this passing will not go unnoticed. I remember McClea park, and sliding down hills in the twilight with Noah. He had a magical connection with the world. I wish so much love and strength to his family. MLC: What up. I miss all you guys.

My wife and I, long time PDX riders, were saddened to here about this accident.

Also troubling is the lack of understanding from a few riders that we see in town that helmets DO prevent head injuries.

Please , Please, try to remember your helmets!

Love K&R

To everyone that knew Noah I appologize for your loss. I however would like to bring an attention to two more lives that could be lossed. the two girls in the car. I have heard that the driver is being brought up on charges of neglagent homocide. These girls made a terrible mistake, one that they will have to live with forever. They should not be put in prison. I Did not know Noah but from what was said about him he sounds like a real good guy. And Im guessing a real good guy that would not want more lives to ge ruined. Does anyone have more info on the Girls and whats happening to them? Or what we can do for them?

The girls lied and tried to cover up. They got drunk, got in their car, and rearended a man riding in plain sight right in front of them. Totally senseless. "Negligent homicide" is a perfectly accurate description of their actions. Noah could just as well have been any one of us. People who aren't mature enough to be held accountable for their actions behind the wheel shouldn't be given driver's licenses.

I don't believe in the prison system as a sound means of either punishment or reform, but for lack of anything else in this society, it's where they will hopefully end up. Personally, I'd prefer lifetime bans on driving motor vehicles for these girls, backed up by the threat of long prison sentences if caught unauthorized behind the wheel. But unfortunately I've never heard of such a punishment being imposed. Probably General Motors would complain.

What the girls involved did was terrible, and they do need to face some sort of punishment, but we can't forget that this was an accident. While it can be argued, justly, that they made the decision to drink and drive and are therefore very responsible, this could have happened to anyone. We must remember that an eye for an eye is not always the best option.
i would argue that they should lose their licenses,possibly for life, and be forced to educate other young people on what they did, and the dangers that drinking and driving can cause.
As someone who knew Noah, i of course had immediate feelings of anger towards these girls, but then I had to think of what they must be going through on their own. Taking another person's life, regardless of how intoxicated they were and how hazy the experience must seem to them, is not something easily forgotten.
While we, as a community of friends, cyclists and Portlanders mourn this terrible tragedy, we must also try to feel some empathy for these girls. Their lives will never be the same.

Does anyone have any information regarding a memorial for Noah?

if you know anything, please let me know. Thanks.

Love,
Brian Auker

Let's be clear about "what could have happened to anyone." Anyone of us could have been killed by these girls. Not anyone of us could have done the killing, because many of us either can't or choose not to drive cars.

I don't feel a lot of sympathy. I realize they will suffer a great deal for their horribly mistake, jail or not. Unfortunately, the "justice" system doesn't offer a lot of alternatives. Just telling them they can't drive again won't cut it, unless there is already a law in place allowing hard prison time if they violate their injunction. Maybe the judge can impose parole terms that would allow for this. A 5 or 10 year suspended sentence, say, provided that they never set out behind the wheel. The trouble is making this permanent. A simple ban on driving for five years is hardly adequate protection to society represented by the hazard of people like this getting behind the wheel. In my opinion it really has to be lifetime, or at least several decades. And for that, I think you would certainly need something statutory. A judge's parole orders only last for as long as the parole period.

If it comes down to it, and the law doesn't provide such an alternative, I'd sooner see them locked up rotting in jail than driving in five years.

Brian, while I commend your good will towards others, especially the girls involved in the crash, your insistence on calling this an "accident" is misguided. An "accident" can't be avoided. This could have easily been avoided.

As you said, they did make the choice to drive while drunk. At that point, anything that happens on the road is not an accident, but an incident they could (and should) have avoided by not driving.

Also, the drivers, drunk or not, should have been paying attention to the road in front of them. Failing to do so is negligence, thus "criminally negligent homicide" is a good description, and if found guilty, they deserve whatever punishment is determined.

They killed Noah, and they could have avoided it.

As a person in recovery from alcohol who spent many years behind the wheel intoxicated, I have to agree that these girls should be punished adequately for their "mistake." Some mistakes are more serious than others, and this one cannot be shrugged off. Going to prison could be just the kick in the ass they need to wake up to the reality of their decisions.

What's more, I think it would be socially irresponsible to let anyone off the hook for driving while intoxicated. When we as a society choose to look the other way, it sends a clear message, especially to young people, that drinking and driving is ok as long as you don't get caught and you don't hurt anyone. I wish that someone would have intervened on me when I got behind the wheel, but sadly no one did. It seems to me that not doing anything is what we call enabling, and on this level, it would be disatrous.

I also feel very sad for these girls, and I hope that they can turn this tragic event in their lives into a productive future. I think that is the best we as a society have to offer them at this point, the chance to turn their lives in a different direction.

I wonder if anyone would be interested in having a bike memorial for Noah, to show his family the solidarity he inspires among cyclists?

I have very little sympathy for these girls. Whomever was driving KILLED a fellow bike rider and they both conspired to cover it up. I have little faith in the "justice system" but there must be some sort of very severe penalty this kind of behavior.
What if these two girls had been drumk and "accidentially" shot and killed a cyclist? The public outcry would be much greater; somehow people accept killing via automobile as much less of a crime...
Everyone who drives should realize that every time they get behind the wheel they are using a tool that is just as much a weapon as a loaded gun, and is responsible for over 40,000 deaths a year in the US alone.

Every time i learn of a beyond-sad story like this, i wonder about the parents of the accused. I'd wager that all four of the mommies & daddies involved are exactly the kind who would raise the two darlin's who caused this loss. Why do such parents always get away with their crimes, turning monsters loose on society. Like, exactly whose car was that. And were the darlin's graduates, drop-outs, or still in school & out so late. Where did they get drunk. The guilt related to Noah's death goes beyond the two drunken darlin's. God, i feel so bad, & i don't even know Noah. Peace be to his friends & family.

This "could have happened to anyone"?! Spoken like one of you motherfuckers who REGULARLY DRINKS AND DRIVES. I know you fuckers are out there. I see you leaving the bars wobbly-walking and getting into your cars. I CALL THE COPS ON YOU. If you're going to a bar to get drunk, you know your judgement is going to be impaired, DON'T BRING YOUR FUCKING CAR. This is reckless, negligent behaviour. I don't care if you think this makes me an asshole, if you think driving drunk is something that "just happens" and "could have happened to anyone", then YOU ARE THE BIGGER ASSHOLE, by far.

You may be able to make it home tonight without hurting anyone, but it's only a matter of fucking time. I think there's this big disconnect because everyone knows that hundreds of people make it home safely while drunk every night. But, to steal an metaphor from above, what if the game was to get a gun, load it with a single bullet, aim it at someone and shoot (russian roulette but with someone else's life). If you knew someone who did that, wouldn't you think that person was a FUCKING ASSHOLE? I know I would.

I admit, though, I have friends who I know drink and drive. Why are they still my friends? I dunno, I guess even I still think it's more socially acceptible. If someone I knew was doing the gun thing mentioned above, I'd never fucking talk to them again. Why do I still talk to people who drive drunk? I dunno.

Brian,

I'm sure this debate was unintended and even rings to be a bit harsh on the ears of people looking to hear the voices of Noah's friends, myself included but these are obviously serious questions we are asking about the fates of these girls and society's role in policing drunk driving in general. I think it's good that these issues are faced.

That being said, I was sitting in the 21st bar and grill yesterday, less than a block from where we went to high-school and I was reading an article about the death of one of our best friends in high-school, really somebody I looked up to, somebody we all thought was really cool. Noah was truly an original, I've never met anybody like him. I was glad to hear the comments of a couple other M.L.C. people and Brian, let me know of any memorial information.

Drinking and driving is a stupid mistake with huge consequences. Call a cab or call Meteor. I read about Meteor in a brewing mag. They send out someone on a little fold-up scooter. When they arrive at your location, they fold up the scooter, stick it in your trunk and drive you home in your car. They charge $10 for the service. Their number is 503-238-7625.

it takes a village to raise a child, friends. the death of noah and the fucked up justice system that will be processing those two reprehensibly irresponsible girls are parts of the same completely fucked up story - the story of a society gone drastically wrong. there are a lot of things to talk about here... about the importance of educating people about alcohol, about the importance of helping kids to find meaning in their lives that doesn't come out of a bottle about the importance of deemphasizing vehicles in our society about the importance of wearing helmets and always being on the defensive when you are in a weaker position (i.e. on a bicycle) - but let's not: (a) blame the victim <he's dead because he didn't wear his helmet!>, (b) blame the goddamned parents for the love of all that is holy, or (c) let ourselves get so worked up about the issues around noah's death that we don't take a minute to think about the fact that the world has lost another good human being.

It is tragic, and an institutionally based context for death by automobile...the girls drinking and driving is not a trifle, but in my view sending them to prison is going to scar them further. Granted, Noah is dead and that must be taken seriously...but I would hope the parents, or anyone pressing charges, would consider some kind of more generalized rehabiliative correction rather than the 'punishment' some of you are calling for. Perhaps probation, being forced to teach classes on the problem of drinking and driving, suspended license for an undetermined amount of time, and other things that could be worked out.
This is not to sound callous, but compassionate for all concerned. I understand that those who knew Noah are pissed, but consider that the sadness and anger will not necessarily be soothed by turning those girls into victims themselves.

Eric, it is very possible to "take a minute" to mourn, & to seek justice, & to work for preclusion of similar incidents, all at the same time. Yes, the world has lost another good human being. But yes, the world will lose more, unless questions are asked, & answered. Again, where did those girls get drunk! And whose car was that. And where were the parents. Those are questions that can & should be asked, & answered, even while mourning the loss of Noah. I did not know Noah, but the love people evidence for him here makes me love him, too. I have lost friends in comparable circumstances, & despite my tears, i raged.

I agree that it should be investigated where these girls were drinking, at least if they were drinking in a bar. I swear that one of the news stories I read said they hit Noah "after leaving a bar." But the Oregonian story doesn't seem to say that. . . maybe I'm imagining it. I'm not sure if I think that looking for the people who supplied the girls with alcohol is missing the point, though, at least if it's an individual. Ultimately, they are adults and they made those choices that led them to this end. It would be even more interesting to know if there was someone who knew that the girls were about to drive home intoxicated and didn't speak up. This is a big problem in our culture. . . To the poster who said he's still friends with his buddies who drink and drive, maybe it's time to stand up--maybe you could prevent this from happening to someone else. . . We've probably all been complicit in allowing ourselves or others to drink and drive at some point. This is an unfortunate wake up call, but I hope that people can at least start to look more seriously at the devastating affects that drinking has on our society. In reality, people that are willing to drink and drive often also have problem-drinking behaviors and/or alcoholism, yet we look the other way and don't acknowledge it. It seems like it's not our problem. Well, I think it is our problem, and we should try to remember Noah, and also the cyclists killed by a drunk driver in June 2003 very near where this happened, when we don't speak up to folks who engage in destructive behaviors as a result of their drinking and drug use, especially when it comes to operating a motor vehicle.

This is still in development, but the Critical Mass for June (June 24th) will most likely be a "Memorial" Mass. The ride will likely visit the 40th & Belmont site of Orion & Angela's deaths, Noah's site at SE 49th & Stark, and maybe even the Memorial Lifehouse intersection at SE 37th & Taylor where Matt was run over and killed.

Does anyone know one of the Cardamon family? Would any in the family like to speak at this event?

Stay tuned.

Critical Mass Portland email list:
 http://lists.riseup.net/www/info/pdxcriticalmass

Critical Mass Portland website:
 http://www.rosecitycriticalmass.org/

We are proud to welcome all of Noah's friends to his funeral and wake.

The funeral will be at St. Stephens church at SE 41st and Taylor this Saturday, June 4th at 1:00 pm.

Noah's employer, Biddie Mc Graws will be hosting a wake at 5:30 pm on Sunday the
5th of June.

Peace and love from Noah's family

I have been living and riding in PDX for six years and have been in two serious accidents and if not for pro bike skills might be a fatality myself. We as a peddling community need to be more aggressive in bring awareness to the dangers involved even when drivers are not drinking. Holding drivers accountable for not only for Noahs passing but for the road rage weapon in my hands mentality of PDX's sub-urban drivers. A report system with criminal penalties needs to be available for cyclists to call and report these attempts at murder, not negligence that happen on a daily basis.

Thank you to everyone for your comments - it helps us in our time of grief. Noahs' death has devastated our family but especially my brother for whom Noah was his only son and for whom he had the greatest emotional connection to. This is the second death our family has experienced due to drunk driving. The only thing there is to say is please, whatever you do don't drink and drive. I also belive there need to be harsher penalties in place for those individuals who choose to drink and then get in a car and drive - much harsher. Thanks again for your hearfelt words.

Lisa Weber
 webertl@comcast.net

Luciano, I totally agree! Report dangerous drivers at EVERY opportunity. Cell phones are a huge asset in this regard.

Here is some info I found this week talking to an Information Officer at Portland Police Bureau:

- I was encouraged to use 911 when reporting urgent situations such as an
erratic driver or one who has used their vehicle to menace someone.

- Situations that are not urgent, such as when the driver has already
parked and isn't likely to drive right away, are better called in to the
Portland Police non-emergency number or number for appropriate police
agency, depending on where you are geographically. Number for Portland,
Fairview, Gresham, Maywood Park, Troutdale, Wood Village, Sellwood (any
Multnomah County neighborhood, I think): 503-823-3333 Number for Lake
Oswego: 503-635-0238 Number for Beaverton, Tigard, Hillsboro (any
Washington County neighborhood): 503-629-0111 Number for Tualatin:
503-691-4800

- Illegal parking should be called in to parking enforcement (503-823-5195)
during operation hours (M-F 8A-5P) or to the police non-emergency number at
other times. I plan to start reporting everyone who parks in a bike lane.

- The information officer I talked to said that it is indeed possible to
get a driver cited for illegal parking even when a police or parking
enforcement officer does not see the vehicle parked illegally, provided
photo documentation is provided and someone is willing to go to court to
testify that the vehicle was indeed parked illegally. This could also I'm
sure apply to drivers who are driving dangerously or using their vehicles
to intimidate, which can get them put in the slammer for assault.

I plan to do something about the hotels on SW Broadway constantly leaving
vehicles in the bike lane. Is there anyone who would like to spend a rush-
hour or two with me on SW Broadway, with a digital camera? If you have
ideas for other locations for "parking behavior reform", post about that,
too!

Portland Police Bureau:
 http://www.portlandonline.com/police/

Parking Enforcement:
 http://www.portlandtransportation.org/parking/enforcement/default.htm
503-823-5195, option 3
8A-5P, M-F

Noah's death has made my daily, lovely bike commute to work a much more somber occasion, as it happened on the same route I take to and from work every day. It's haunting to ride on the same ground where someone died doing exactly the same thing, and especially so recently. Seeing the small pile of flowers there every day this week has brought me to tears more than once for a person I didn't know except in briefest passing.

Sometimes it's scary enough to be on the road, in the thick of traffic, knowing that things like this are only a fraction of a second away at any given time. Changing the radio station, talking on the phone, dropping your coffee cup in your lap -- all of these things can be just as distracting and deadly to a cyclist who is sharing the road with a driver, and these are all things that are completely accepted culturally.

This is wishful thinking, but it would be a remarkable turn of fate if the consequences of this saw the girls involved being somehow mandated to become year-round cyclists. People who handle the responsibility of driving cars so gingerly have probably not spent any time on a bike in recent years. I hear people misguidedly bitch and moan about the way cyclists use the roads in Portland, and I always offer up to them the idea that they should ride their bike to work, even just once, to see how that effects how they see others on bikes, and -- more importantly -- how that would change the way they look at the way people in cars treat people on bikes. Take away the licenses of these two girls and mandate their enrollment in a cycling and cycling safety course. Make part of their sentence speaking with and taking questions and comments from groups like the BTA or other pro-cycling organizations. Make them talk to an assembly of Noah's friends and family, and not just in the courtroom. Hell, I wish it were somehow feasible to make them help Noah's family clean out his apartment and pack up his stuff. They need to experience this tragedy not only in regard to how it sadly affects THEIR lives, but also from the perspective of owning up to what their stupidity cost the rest of the world -- the life and impact of a sweet young man who was just getting started.

I'd like to say that I think they're probably already suffering enough, but their initial actions (covering up the incident, etc.) suggest they were definitely thinking only about themselves at the time this happened. That's shameful. Put those two on bikes, headed home from work in heavy traffic (or say, early in the morning, on dark, wet streets) and subject them to the same stress the rest of us feel as we bike through our lives every day. Maybe that would add something positive to this.

To Noah's family, your loss is felt by many. Noah was a really sweet kid, and he had friends all over this city. We share your heartbreak.

So we are to report motorists to the police.
The very people who pull motorists out of their car shoot them or tazer them. Use racial profiling. We are meant to trust them?
And these are the very 'people' who target critical mass!
I even read in todays Oregonian that they ticketed a man for spitting on the ground (offensive littering!)- page 5 of the inportland section.

So, bonnie'n'clyde, you're complaining about how useless you think it is to involve the police but don't offer any suggestions. What do you suggest as an alternative?

I have had calls to police that were met with a professional, positive response, and others that were bungled or the officer was totally unhelpful and indifferent. You have to try. You can always try a different officer or department when not getting proper help.

The thing about making them year round cyclists is that it turns this into a "cars vs. cyclists" problem... which I think it's not really! That's certainly a huge problem, but this was a DRUNK DRIVING problem. They could've just as easily killed a pedestrian or someone in another car.

Being a cyclist is scary sometimes, but it seems to me that's another issue altogether.

My deepest sympathy to Noah's family and community and to the lousy worthless little girls famlies who are going to have to know what pieces of useless crap they raised.

I think that the last opinion is totally ghetto. Why blame the parents of the girls who were driving. I am speaking out for the girls because think of what they are going through. Yeah, they were drinking and they decided to get behind the wheel, they need to suffer the consequences, like anyone else who does it, but quit being assholes and talking shit about them because you don't know them. But, if you think about it, what normal 18 and 19 year old wouldn't want to go out and have a drink? Obviously not any of you since you aren't empathyzing with the other side. And know your facts before making assumptions. The 'concealing' they did was throwing away the cups that they had drank the wine in. If you don't know the family, then don't talk about them. I feel sorry for the family of the boy, but am I talking crap about why their son wasn't wearing a helmet? No, because I know that wearing a helmet isn't considered 'cool'. Just remember that life is always in God's hands. Things happen for a reason, people. Maybe his role in life was showing people that they need to wear a helmet, or that people shouldn't be drinking and driving. I know that this is going to cause another uproar, but sympathize with both sides everyone. Think of everyone involved before making assumptions.

Every week lately, I hear of another bicyclist getting hit, this in Portland, where I feel people are aware of bikes, this is disgusting, this story brings a tears to my eye, too many drunks are killing our bike buddies, Raise awareness and always assume predominate lane exposure, never ride on the sidewalk!, the more motorists realize we are there, the more they will be aware in their day to day driving habits.

I'm sorry if I appeared some smart ****.
My suggestion?
Make all public transportation free. We pay for it by not letting the government spend billions on wars and imperialism.
Also the bars and alcohol industry should provide a taxi ride home for all people who have drunk too much.
We change society so people have a decent life, then they don't have to get drunk out of their mind.
I've never had a drink and driven. I've ridden bikes in cities a lot scarier than PDX, so I know what it is about.
In fact a kid I went to elementary school with was knocked off his bike one Sunday, very early in the morning (he was doing a paper round). He was never the same after that, suffering brain damage.
And I also had a comrade who was killed by the police after having his brain smashed with an iron bar wrapped in rubber. So damn thoughtful of the police. And no cop was ever convicted of it even though it was known who did it.
Using the police won't change stuff.
My heart really goes to the father. I have sons the same age as Noah myself. Not only do I worry them when they ride a bike, I also worry about trigger happy cops.

A month and a half ago, I was on my bicycle at the crosswalk of a busy intersection. Standing, waiting for the WALK signal to flash me the right of way, I pushed off from the sidewalk as soon as the light had changed. Suddenly, to my left, a silver car SMASHED in to a maroon car. The front tire of the maroon car was bent beneath the car's frame.
I pedaled on for a block or so, where shock took another form. The driver of the maroon car had saved my life! By some twist of fate, I was able to continue on.
I returned to the scene. An african american woman was on her cellphone, obviously overwhelmed for obvious reasons. I left to tell a friend what had happened, and then returned again to the scene.
The woman was standing, mouth agape, looking at the mess that had been her transportation. I said to her, "Lady, how are you doing? Do you know that you just SAVED my LIFE? Do you smoke? Do you want a cigarette?" She said, "oh, no, I'm fine, I have cigarettes in my car. But, why don't you tell those officers over there what you just told me?" I replied: "Lady, I'll tell the District Attorney if I have to."

I soon found out that the woman was without a driver's license, registration or insurance, and she was on her way to work. This was brought to my attention after an officer approached the woman and offered to forget about the three offenses if she would only take care of them before her hearing (i.e. get her driver's license, registration and insurance.) This is significant, people. The officers were caucasian. I don't want to turn this point in to a centerpiece or anything, but after the recent history of pointed racial hostilities in portland between officers and minorities, witnessing this act was like icing on the cake.

i am very sad to hear about the tragedy that has recently occured in our town. it is good to know that people have ideas about justice that teach responsibility and compassion rather than enforcing anger or hatred blindly. i can't imagine what those girls are going through. my only hope for them is that they actually work on understanding this cause-and-effect system that's governing us all, and that they learn to value their roles in the world as intentional human beings.

peace be with you who are grieving. may you reach out to form strong ties with one another. may you embrace your own lives. may you be strong together, and strong individually, and may you love your lives, and sharing your lives with eachother.

I want to remind everyone to come to the critical mass on Friday June 24th at 5:30 PM. It starts at the North Park Blocks, NW Park and Couch, by the elephant.
Noah Cardamon was a very close friend of mine and an avid cyclist. He was murdered while riding his bicycle. He used his bicycle as his main form of transportation for years. He knew the rules of the road and he followed them. He obeyed the traffic laws and he was in the right of way when he was hit and killed by two drunk teenage girls.
Noah was a great man and this is a terrible tragedy, so please come and pay your respects. Repesent the cycling community, it is what he would have wanted.

Thank You, I hope to see you there

R.I.P. Noah, you will always be in our hearts.