PORT ANGELES — An experienced bicyclist who died Sept. 11 after being struck by a car had veered into the path of the vehicle while both were traveling east on state Highway 112, the State Patrol has concluded.
The rear bicycle tire of Marian M. Byse, 65, of Port Angeles was hit by the front bumper of Marylan A. Thayer, 65, also of Port Angeles, at about 2 p.m. Sept. 11, State Patrol spokesman Russ Winger said Friday.
Thayer will not face charges, he said.
“That case has been concluded,” Winger said.
Thayer was moving alongside Byse on a curvy stretch of two-lane Highway 112 at Elwha River Road when Thayer saw Byse move toward the centerline and turn into the car lane, Winger said.
“The bicyclist at that point was trying to cross the roadway and turned directly into the path of the vehicle, and the driver attempted to correct by turning right and miss her,” Winger said.
State Patrol Trooper Keith Nestor said Byse, who was wearing a helmet, had a bright green safety jacket wrapped around her waist.
But Thayer’s ability to see Byse was not an issue, Nestor said.
Thayer made the right decision by steering right, he said.
“If [Thayer] would have gone over the centerline, she would have struck a motorcyclist going westbound,” Nestor said.
The motorcyclist told the State Patrol that he saw Byse veer once into Thayer’s lane.
“He thought that the bicyclist was actually going to turn in front of him, and it stayed on the shoulder, and he went by,” Winger said.
“Immediately after he went by, it turned, and he looked in the rearview mirror and saw she had already been hit.”
Winger said Byse was an experienced bicyclist who owned several different bikes.
She was a co-commissioner of the Peninsula Senior Games, a 10-year volunteer for the Port Angeles Parks and Recreation Department, and rode her bike to the Clallam County Family YMCA, where she taught classes and regularly worked out.
At the time of her death, Byse was recovering from injuries suffered when she was hit by a car two years earlier, Port Angeles city events coordinator Dan Estes said in an earlier interview.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-417-3536 or at paul.gottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
