Bob FineÂ
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Bob Fine was a cantankerous old coot — and one of the giants of our sport. I considered him a friend despite our disagreements. He truly was a founding father of our niche. So when he was struck and killed during an early morning run in Reno a year ago, it was a stunning shock to fellow delegates at the USATF annual meeting. Gary Snyder, our national chair, recalled how he had just seen Bob on the Tuesday night before his Wednesday death. The traffic accident was a short news blip, and gave sketchy information: He was out running. He was struck by a lady driver who didn’t see him. End of story. The coverage bothered me, and not just because it didn’t relate the importance of the victim. None of the reports dealt with the complexity of the incident or the driver’s reaction. So last month, I sent away for the official accident report, a public record of the Reno Police Department. It came last week — a 12-page photocopy costing me $9 — and it completes an account of Bob’s death that deserves to be known.
Driver’s statement to Reno police just hours after the accident December 3, 2008.
For the sake of masters track history and a genuine record of a great man’s death, I offer this summary. Anyone who wants the complete report can write me for a digital copy.
Theresia E. Martin, a 50-year-old Reno resident, told police she was driving alone to work at Sally Beauty Supply about 5:45 a.m. and was turning from McCarran to North Virginia when “all of the sudden I saw this man right in front of my car.”
She continued in her written statement:
I didn’t have time to stop or avoid him. I pulled over and called 911. It was so dark I couldn’t see him. All I could see was him falling over my windshield. It looked like he was coming from the west side of the road, but I’m not sure. Everything went so fast. I am so sorry.
Further, according to Accident Number RPD-08-41119, the light conditions were “dark — No roadway lighting,” the weather conditions were “clear” and highway/environmental factors were “darkness, curve in roadway.”Â
Reno police Detective Shawn McMenomy and Sgt. Wes Myers were the first officers to arrive at the scene and did the initial investigation.Â
They noted that Martin had been driving a 2000-model black Pontiac Bonneville, which had to be towed after the accident with damage to its windshield and top. Although alcohol or drugs weren’t involved in the accident, a blood test was done of Martin. Test results were given as “0.”
Martin was driving the speed limit of 45 mph at the time and her car traveled 221 feet after impact, the report said.
Bob Fine was pronounced dead at the scene. His body was taken to the Reno Coroner’s Office at 10 Kirman Avenue, where a blood test was done. Drugs or alcohol in Bob’s system were “not involved,” said the report.Â
Under “Non-Motorist Factors” in the accident, Bob’s were “improper crossing” and “not visible.” His location prior to impact: “In Roadway.”Â
One of the first people on the scene, however was a Washoe County sheriff’s deputy — Kelle Seely, who provided this written statement:
At approximately 0545 hours I was driving N/B on Old Virginia when I saw two vehicles stopped in the N/B lanes and a body laying in the street. I pulled up on the south side of the body, parked and got out of my vehicle. I walked over to the two people and the lady said something to the effect of she had hit the guy laying on the road.
The man was calling 911, so I checked the victim for a pulse. I checked for a carotid pulse for at least one full minute but was unable to find one. I also looked for signs of breathing but did not see any. Shortly after that REMSA arrived and took care of the victim.
Another witness was Teddie Boyd, a 52-year-old schoolbus driver, who wrote:
I turned north onto Virginia St. from McCarren Blvd and saw body in the street in front of Deputy Seely’s SUV, which was already stopped. I stopped on the left lane next to her to block traffic and got out of my car to see if they needed help. I saw the woman who hit the body crying and walking back to the body, already on fone to 911 or someone.
A minute or so later, an officer responded and asked me to move my car forward out of the lane it was in and I did. Deputy Seely could not find a pulse so we did not start CPR, but I tried to get a response and got none. Minutes later paramedics and Fire Dept responded. I was asked to keep my car in the position it’s in at the crime scene and also to write a report.Â
The only other thing I did was to try and help comfort the lady who hit the man.
The accident report included a “diagram ledger,” which noted pieces of broken eyeglasses scattered 24 feet apart, “piece of human body tissue” 119 feet south of the R/P (reporting party) and 12 feet west of the east road edge.Â
“The start of the body scuff that leads to the point of rest of the pedestrian,” said the ledger, was “83 feet south of the R/P and 12.5 feet west of the east road edge. The body tumbled along the roadway approximately 32 feet to point of rest.”
The “area of impact” was 149 feet south of the R/P. “This was located by a scuff in the roadway.”
These are grim figures, indicating the vicious severity of the impact.  But the statements by the lady sheriff’s deputy and the lady bus driver indicate every effort was made to save Bob’s life even before police and paramedics arrived.Â
Driver Martin’s grief is documented, too. She was a victim of this accident as well.  No police action was taken against Martin, and she deserves our prayers.
I have no idea whether Bob Fine made a habit of jogging in the dark, and crossing the street with no lights. It was a horrible mistake, and we are all the poorer for it.Â
As masters delegates met at this month’s USATF annual meeting in Indianapolis, I watched from afar and wondered what Bob would have said about the records mess, bylaws changes and other matters of interest. Be assured: He would have had a strong opinion. And voiced it.
I miss Bob, and his devotion to our sport
17 Responses
I sure hope his family does not read your blog. I am not sure if I would want to read about my loved ones eye glasses and human tissue being spread about the road.
Other than to satisfy your desire for gory details and looking for blame, the point of posting this was…?
Police reports and meeting reports from “moles”; not what comes to mind when I think of responsible journalism.
Steve Vaitones
Well, its your blog Ken, so clearly you can post what you want to.
But, seriously? Is this a benevolent, thoughtful or considerate way to remember Mr. Fine’s life?
Mr. Fine once did a fine and rational thing in my presence. I was running in the USATF Florida champs and happened to win the 100m. The second place chap took exception that I hailed from Texas, and launched himself into a mighty whining that resembled an angry Florida rainstorm.
Mr. Fine settled it by giving the second place man a gold medal for winning the ‘Florida’ championship. Then he turned to me and gave me a gold medal for beating the Florida champ. He accompanied the medal with a huge exaggerated wink and smile – letting me in on the 2 way joke.
It’s rare to find this rational common sense most days. I’m sure this is one needle in a haystack of the fine things the man accomplished over his lifetime.
Every runner/jogger who takes to shoulders of highways and interacts with vehicles can benefit from reading the unpleasant details reported by Ken.
I jogged the intersection in question over a five year period while living off McCarren in Reno. North McCarren is an open highway with hills and often has snow, rain and even black ice at times.
Ken is a reporter. Facts need to be reported. Hopefully all runners, bikers, walkers are aware of the hazards when out on highways where the vehicles are zooming by, especially during darkness.
I met Bob Fine over the years. We all miss him. I am sure that Ken’s intentions are to hope that we do not lose any other of our track friends in such accidents.
Ken, I hope you are already working on removing or recalling much of the “information” contained in your blog regarding Bob Fine.
I had a number of occasions to talk with Bob Fine by phone and at meets in the southeast over the past several years. I could not help liking this man who had a firm opinion on every subject, especially matters involving track. As a Southerner, I appreciated his strong New York accent and his way of making his point. He was a difficult man to argue with. I will miss him. He was a certainly a legend here in Florida track and field, but it is hard to think of many others nationally who did as much as he has done for our sport.
Anniversary reactions can have a powerful impact. Considering that the anniversary is near the holidays adds to reactions we may have.
In this case, as the anniversary approached, a jogger’s friend desired to know the facts.
But what we discover is that the driver is a primary victim. The choices made by the jogger put her into that position. While the driver survives she will forever experience within her memory an ongoing ‘video’ replay of the impact – and while time may eventually slow the replaying – she will always be reminded when she passes that spot or the anniversary date approaches, or ‘press’ decide to bring it up.
She had to endure the investigative process that followed – was there something wrong with her – was she intoxicated, etc.
We know she was not at fault – there’s that dreaded ‘f’ word. In fact she was put in harm’s way. She too could have been killed – the auto she controlled could have hit another … and the could ofs, should ofs, would ofs, go on and on.
Two people’s paths crossed – one survived.
We don’t often have control on how our lives end – but the manner and circumstances of our death becomes the subject of conversation among the living. And when it is our friend who made the wrong choices – it is hard to reconcile. We want to rewrite the ending. The report confirms – jogging on the road, in the dark, and an improper crossing lead to his passing and that is what will continue to be remembered unless a tribute more fitting to the accomplishments of the individual can be crafted.
Perhaps the driver can now be allowed her privacy – for another choice is upon the jogger’s friends. To continue to remember how the jogger died or refocus on what made this jogger a friend. The second anniversary is less than a year away.
This an extremely insensitive posting.
Thanks Ken for keeping the memory of one of our own alive.
I liked Bob Fine a lot. We were regional coordinators at the same time. He once said we were kindred spirits, I think because we tended to question things more than others.
I always wondered about the circumstances of his tragic accident, and I am glad to know that he was not a victim of some crazed driver.
I hope Bob’s family and the driver’s family can find peace.
I don’t have a problem with Ken’s posting. We all know an accident such as that was violent.
Ken,
Would you happen to have any accident scene photos showing Bob’s mangled body or better yet autopsy photos to go along with this post? After all, people have a right to know and you’re just reporting the news.
Thanks for showing your sensitivity on the anniversary of this occasion.
Well put Anonymous. We all need a reminder about how precious life is and how a moment of carelessness or inattention can take it away.
I live in a semi-rural area where the side streets have no sidewalks. Too many runners wear dark clothing that makes them invisible to drivers especially at dusk and in the dark. In the winter it is even more dangerous as the roads are narrower because of snow. The driver cannot avoid the runner he/she cannot see.
Yesterday at dusk I was driving down one of these dark roads and saw a runner dressed in a wonderfully bright yellow jacket with much reflective tape. The first thing that came to mind was that someone loves that guy and gave him an early Christmas gift – or that he values himself enough to make such a purchase. In either case – he was very visible and he was running facing traffic. I often wonder why the manufacturers of running clothing make so much winter wear in black? Manufacturers of bike wear seem to be more aware of the need to make colorful clothing.
Too many drivers are inattentive -talking on cell phones, texting, eating, combing hair, mentally making shopping lists as it is. We all need to be pro-active in atleast making ourselves visible and watching the traffic – facing it so we can jump out of the way as they head for the side of the road ready to send us on to the next world.
Bob stepped out into a dark street where visibility was poor. In a flash his life was gone through no fault of the driver who had the misfortune to hit him. She will live with that horrible memory for the rest of her life. She is also a victim of this tragedy.
All of us who run on the roads need to be reminded that we have a responsibility to make ourselves as visible as possible when doing this. When it comes to a collision between a human and a car/truck – we lose. Too many drivers are inattentive (but not is the case of Bob’s death) – I experience that every time I go out for a run – at least once or twice during my run I will see the wheels of a car aiming at me – a driver on a cell phone, or texting, eating lunch, mentally planning the day or whatever. We need to wear reflective running clothing or bright colored hats and jackets so that we are visible – to those who are looking.
While some may be offended by Ken’s posting of the gritty details of Bob’s accident- it is not pretty – and I did not enjoy reading it, if it makes us more conscious of our own need to take precautions ourselves – Ken has done a good deed.
“the could ofs, should ofs, would ofs”
Um, could’ves, should’ves, would’ves.
Bob Fine was a wonderful gentleman and I personally liked the reminder that he was here on earth, our friend, and died a sad death. He wore hearing aids, and I wonder if that was part of the reason he did not hear the approaching vehicle and run out of its way. At least he went quickly and doing something he loved. I will miss him and valued his friendship.
There was absolutely no reason in the world to include this woman’s name, address, place of work, etc. She is not a celebrity and should not treated as such. This is a huge violation of journalist ethics and Ken, with your decades of experience, you should know better and should be decent enough to remove her information completely. It does nothing to Bob Fine’s memory including this personal information on this woman who gets to live with his memory of meeting him for a fleeting moment. I wish, Ken, you would set your moral compass a lot higher. This is masters track and you are no Bob Woodward.
I was Bob Fine roommate at Syracuse when he was a member of the Schools National Cross Country team. Bob changed very little through the years. We did have some funny times at Syracuse,and following his graduation I did not see him until I was running a road race while in my early fifties. He encouraged me to hit the track and Field circuit. My first meet was in NYC where I found Bob running the meet along with his wife Gloria. They were involved in taking care of the entire program. I learned early that Bob, was obsessed with track!!! He loved to win awards, and moved from the distance running to walking. He was Masters track in NYC. In retirement he followed the SNOW BIRDS and moved to Florida, where Track and Field became BIG under his leadership.I suspect he is missed in Florida. I know he turned many off, but they perhaps failed to understand his passion for a sport he loved.He was nearly unique and it is difficult to imagine him gone. He loved people and he loved life . He wanted to always to entertain and never refused to be of service.This great and good person will be missed
Ken, I knew Bob Fine—not well, but found him to be friendly, kind, knowledgeable and helpful. He certainly had done a yeoman’s job with Florida Athletic Club. Athletes in Fl. will sorely miss him, as will others who knew him and were aware of his passion (not unlike your own passion). Most of us Fl. athletes did not have much information about Bob’s accident-one would ask another but no one really seemed to know much. My brother is a newspaper man–still writes a column—I am fully aware that you can’t please half the public half the time. You are going to get good comments and you’re going to get bad ones. I am sure all the family is fully aware of the details as you have shared with us. I understand where your commenters are coming from on both sides. You are reporting facts as you have them without predjudice or bias. I thank you for the information.
I’m a firm believer in the KISS (keep it simple stupid) Principal and think that just a simple “In Loving Memory of Bob Fine” with perhaps a short history of his accomplishment would have been in better taste and a lot more palatable to me.
Tim Edwards
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