The late Edwin Gardner, formerly of Nashville, has been cleared of blame in the collision in which he was bicycling and was struck last month by an SUV in Charleston, S.C., police say. Gardner, a long-time bicycler and bicycling advocate, had been listed as the cause of the July 21 collision in the original Charleston Police Department report.
An outcry from the bicycling community had brought additional scrutiny after the wreck that resulted in his death. Police say the first report had been made with limited information and that the department’s Fatal Collision Team has now examined the scene, the vehicle and the bicycle.
Charlotte White, 21, of Sumter, S.C., the driver of the Jeep Cherokee, was re-interviewed along with an original witness. Several other witnesses were also located and talked with.
“After careful consideration of the additional evidence obtained, the facts now reveal that Mr. Gardner was in fact not a contributor to this collision,” a press release from the Charleston Police Department says.
White will be charged with “following too closely,” it says. Bicyclists in South Carolina and elsewhere have advocated for years for officials not to determine fault before interviewing the bicycler or carefully evaluating a scene in terms of a bicycler’s rights to the road.
The situation involving Gardner focused new attention on the topic.
