Site of the accident on S. Foothill Blvd where 11-year old Mahi Kothari was killed and three other children seriously injured. Photo credit: TubeSock0 on Reddit r/Cupertino.
On April 27th 2024, at 6:14pm, two families’ lives changed forever. Mahi Kothari, a bright and happy 11-year old, her younger sibling Jiya Kothari, and two other young children, Meher and Sabya Doshi were walking home on S. Foothill Boulevard after playing at Monta Vista Park. They were walking in the unprotected bike lane painted on the road, because that portion of S. Foothill Boulevard has no sidewalk.
Adam Chien Wu had a history of substance abuse and DUIs which had caused his driving license to be revoked. He was employed to do handyman work for his family’s real estate and property management business. Despite knowing his issues, his family allowed him to drive a work truck, pulling a work trailer, and carrying equipment and supplies, to run an errand as part of his employment responsibilities.
That day, an intoxicated Adam Chien Wu swerved into the unprotected bike lane, hitting the four children with his work truck. Mahi Kothari experienced massive injuries, severe pain and suffering, and died from her injuries. Meher Doshi also sustained massive injuries including multiple spine fractures, traumatic brain injury, and an arm fracture. Sabhya Doshi sustained a ruptured spleen and other injuries. Jiya Kothari sustained trauma to her legs and other injuries. All three surviving children also suffered severe emotional anguish and lifelong trauma.
We can talk about the need for better support for people dealing with addiction and mental health issues. We can also talk about better law enforcement for people with DUIs and revoked licenses. These are all valid.
We can do better
There is a solution that is cheaper and more effective than all of that and only requires a one-time investment instead of ongoing funding – a sidewalk and a bike lane protected with a low concrete barrier could have saved Mahi Kothari’s life that day and prevented the horrific injuries to the other children.
Why is there no sidewalk there?
Many suburbs in California built between the 1970s-2000s did not include sidewalks. The builders were trying to invoke a more rural feel and walkability was not a consideration. Times have changed.
Traffic has become dramatically more dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists in the past 20 years, because of the steep increase in the number of vehicles, the larger size of the vehicles, and their speed. As a result a collision today is far more deadly than it would have been 20 years ago with a slower moving, lower to the ground and lighter vehicle.
We are seeing the impact of this. There has been a shockingly rapid increase in the number of pedestrian injuries and deaths in the US over the past fifteen years.
The city cannot build a sidewalk without agreement from the homeowners to cede a portion of their front yards for that purpose. Few homeowners agree willingly. The city could invoke eminent domain and purchase the land at fair market value from the homeowners to convert it into a sidewalk, but generally they don’t do that, due to resident opposition. Instead, cities usually require adding a sidewalk if a property renovates or rebuilds. Eventually – often after decades – a continuous sidewalk is built. In the meantime, pedestrians walk unprotected on the road with cars. This is what is happening on S. Foothill Boulevard, where the sidewalk starts and stops intermittently causing a tragic safety issue.
There are ten homeowners on S. Foothill Boulevard, between Monta Vista Park and Stevens Creek Boulevard. A few already have sidewalks, many don’t. If these remaining homeowners all agree, the city could build a continuous sidewalk along that whole length and make the street safer for future children walking home.
Why is there no protected bike lane?
Paint on the ground is cheap. It’s the easiest and fastest way to fulfill requirements of making the street “safe” for cyclists. It is also preferred by many car drivers because even if the driving lane width is the same, the road feels narrower when there are bollards or low concrete berms to protect the cyclists in the bike lane.
The reality is that most car drivers don’t drive carefully and many will drive over the painted strip of the bike lane or hit the protective barriers, when present. Just look at concrete bike lane protectors on a street near you and you’ll see countless tire marks and missing chips from cars hitting them or driving over them. Anything that makes drivers have to slow down and drive more carefully is often met with vocal opposition. Given the higher costs and loud resident objections, cities often just paint a bike lane and call it good enough.
Studies and real-world Cupertino examples show that paint does not protect cyclists. In 2014, a child died on McClellan Rd while biking to school in the painted bike lane. He was doing everything right, but a truck drove by too closely and another young life was lost in a senseless tragedy. McClellan Rd now has low concrete barriers protecting the bike lanes, scuffed and chipped from being hit and driven over by thousands of car tires. There have also been continuous complaints from residents for the past five years about having to drive more slowly and pay more attention on that street.
McClellan Rd protected bike lane
So what now?
The solutions are simple, quick, and relatively inexpensive. Build a continuous sidewalk. Add concrete barriers to protect the bike lane. The complicated part is getting residents and neighbors to support adding this infrastructure.
Mahi Kothari, 11-years old. Died April 27, 2024.
When Mahi Kothari’s parents ask why their daughter died, and Meher Doshi’s parents ask why their child will be dealing with severe trauma for the rest of his life, we all need to look in the mirror and acknowledge our part in this tragic accident.
If the children had been walking on a sidewalk and if the bike lane had been protected with a low concrete barrier, it would have created two layers of protection.
This would have at a minimum slowed down the truck and reduced the extent of the injuries. It might even have been enough to stop the truck from hitting them. We’ll never know.
Will the homeowners agree to let the city build a sidewalk on a portion of their property? Will neighbors support adding a protective barrier to the bike lane on Foothill Blvd? Will the city council and staff prioritize funding these improvements? Will Cupertino residents stay silent because they don’t think it impacts them, complain about having to slow down and drive more carefully, or will they speak up for the safety of other residents?
All of us have a role in this story. We need to choose whether we are part of the problem or part of the solution.
The information in this article is solely the opinion of the author and Walk Bike Cupertino and does not reflect the opinions of any other organization or entity. For more information, contact WBC at info@walkbikecupertino.org.