Friends remember bicyclist fatally struck in Marin County

(KRON) — A community in Marin County is coming together after a bicycle coach was hit and killed by a car while cycling over the weekend.

They’re rallying behind the family during this difficult time and calling for safety improvements to the intersection where it happened.

John Cheetham is still processing the loss of his friend, Chris Brignetti. He says Brignetti was riding his bike Saturday afternoon when a car crashed into him at the intersection of Lea Drive and Freitas Parkway in San Rafael.

Cheetham is the head coach for the Terra Linda mountain bike team. He says Brignetti worked with them for many years, teaching high school and middle school students how to cycle. Cheetham and his wife, Sarah Roth, were also close with Brignetti’s wife and two daughters.

A GoFundMe page has been set up for the family. Within 48 hours, it raised more than $50,000.
Tarrell Kullaway is the executive director of the Marin County Bicycle Coalition, as well as the mayor of San Anselmo. She says this intersection has a history of crashes and safety improvements have been a long time coming.

“Right now the median is so overgrown that cars can’t see when people are going down the hill,” says Kullaway. “The landscaping could be removed. One of the ways you could slow down traffic in that area is to make that turn a 90 degree angle rather than a soft turn that encourages people to speed you’d have to go at a 90 degree angle which forces you to slow down. And look up the hill. If that had been done, Chris would be here today.”

“This was not a novice rider so if something could happen to him, it can really happen to any of us,” says Cheetham.

Members of the bicycle coalition plan to attend the San Rafael City Council meeting on July 21 to speak out about the intersection, demanding immediate action to make it safer.

KRON4 reached out to police for more information on the crash but did not hear back in time for this report.