CUPERTINO, Calif. (KCBS) -- The California Highway Patrol said Monday it couldn't verify claims from witnesses who reported that Santa Clara County Sheriff's Deputy James Council said he was asleep when he hit three bicyclists near Cupertino Sunday, killing two.
The Sheriff's Department says James Council was patrolling on Stevens Creek Road near Montobello road around 10:30 Sunday morning, when his car crossed over the centerline and hit the cyclists. The 27-year-old Council has been on the job for about 18 months.
Council was just over four hours into his shift when the accident occurred.
The deputy was not responding to a call nor speeding at the time of the crash. He's been placed on paid administrative leave while the CHP investigates the accident
The victims were 29-year-old Matt Peterson, of San Francisco, who died at the scene, while 31-year-old Kristy Gough of Oakland died at Stanford Medical Center. The third, whose name has not been released, is listed in critical condition at Stanford.
”We just lost a couple of phenomenal human beings. The fact that they were tremendous athletes is really beyond the point as well, although they both were. Kristy was on her way to the Olympic trials, and Matt was a phenomenal rider. It’s very distressing,” said Gerhardt Ebenhouek, who was riding just behind the two cyclists who died.
A makeshift memorial, including bouquets of flowers, has been set up at the road marker where the bikers were killed.
”I drive this road everyday. This road can’t handle big trucks, cars, pedestrians and bicycles at the same time, so it was just a matter of time before something like this happened,” said one local resident, a cyclist himself.
East Bay Cycle Coalition www.ebbc.org
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KCBS' Mike Colgan reports
