Oregon Cycling Magazine

by Mark Lansing

Roberto Maranghi was riding his bike home from work on September 26, 2008, when a car nailed him.

Maranghi was approaching a busy road from a side street, preparing to turn right.  Coming exactly the opposite direction, a car turned left onto the side street, cutting the corner. Into Maranghi’s lane.  Front bumper met front tire.  Maranghi tumbled onto then off of the car’s hood before smacking the pavement.

The car briefly stopped fifteen feet behind.  The passenger yelled, “Go, go, go!” The driver accelerated away as Maranghi sprawled in the road, watching in disbelief.

He called an attorney, who had been the victim of a similar, car-bike, hit-run collision one mile away in 2002.  The lawyer offered a reward for information leading to identification of the driver.  Local newspapers and a television station took an interest and publicized the story.

That story then took an interesting turn of its own.  As told by Jeff Duewel of The Grants Pass Daily Courier, the finale went like this:

The bicyclist who was hit by a car that left the scene on Sept. 26 in Rogue River decided not to press charges when the driver turned himself in.

“I basically told him I was a Christian, I believe in forgiveness and I forgive you,” said Maranghi, who was struck by a gold Hyundai at the corner of Foothill Boulevard and Bergland Street.
Maranghi hit the turning car head-on and flipped over the top.  He suffered a sprained shoulder, bruises and scrapes.  The car kept going.

Following mention in newspapers and on television news and a reward offer from a cycling advocate, the driver called the Rogue River police.  Maranghi said he told police not to press charges.
“The guy said he was sorry,” Maranghi said.  “I told him the worst part was him driving away.  That hurt worse than my injuries.”

The culprit also offered to pay restitution for damage to the bike, but Maranghi declined.

Though most cyclists would have handled this differently, can they really say their way is better?  A criminal charge for hit-and-run (or a traffic ticket for careless driving) would not prevent forgiveness of the bad actor.  And one must wonder whether someone who saw the publicity (as opposed to the driver’s conscience) pressured him into coming forward.  But still, he did come forward, and the simple elegance of Maranghi’s approach is hard to overlook.

YHIHF may be emailed at lansingatlaw@rvi.net. If you are ever planning a trip to Southern Oregon in the fall (as you should), drop us a line in advance and we will try to let you know when the salmon have arrived at the spawning beds directly below the bicycle bridge in Grants Pass.  During this ten-day annual window, as many as 100 salmon have been observed from the bridge, thrashing around in the shallow water near the river bank, trying to make a place to lay their eggs before they die. Epic.  Mark our words, and your calendar.

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