Update
SANTA ROSA BEACH – No charges will be filed against the driver whose vehicle struck and killed an Atlanta cyclist on U.S. Highway 98 last summer.
The media release issued by the Florida Highway Patrol had listed charges as pending. But homicide investigators could not determine where Frankel’s bicycle was when the collision occurred.
There were no witnesses to the actual collision except for Alford, whose initial statement indicated that he had swerved out in front of her Mercedes Benz, according to Lt. Steve Preston, spokesman for the Florida Highway Patrol.
She refused to submit to a follow-up interview with the homicide investigator.
“She has a constitutional right not to submit to the interview and she chose not to,” Preston said. “During the course of the investigation it was determined she was not talking on her cell phone and she was not texting.”
Alcohol was not a factor in the crash, he said.
Preston said that neither independent witnesses nor the debris field gave investigators clear information about where the collision had occurred. There were no gouges or scuff marks on the pavement, either.
“We were unable to determine the point of the crash,” Preston said.
Florida law requires cyclist to ride as close to the righthand side of the lane as possible. They are not required to ride in the shoulder, Preston said.
Three motorists reported seeing Frankel riding in the middle of the through lane prior to the accident. One motorist told troopers he had yelled out the window, urging Frankel to move over.
Preston said his agency took their findings to the state attorney’s office, which agreed with the decision not to charge Alford.
