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Politics & Government

Family of Cyclist Sues Website after Fatal Accident

Strava.com encouraged the man to take a Tilden Park hill faster than was safe, suit alleges.

Strava.com invites cyclists to beat personal records and "compare your performance against friends, locals, pros." Its website posts the times of the week's achievers and charts the mean performances of members for the last month.

The family of a man who was killed while speeding down a hill in Tilden Park two years ago say the San Francisco-based website is responsible for his death, and sued Strava for negligence Monday in the city.

The complaint alleges that Strava encouraged him to speed, according to KGO-TV.

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William Flint was doing at least 10 miles above the 30-mph limit on the Berkeley hill when he braked to avoid a car, flipping his bike. The 41-year-old Oakland man allegedly discovered another cyclist on the Strava site had clocked a faster time.

A spokesman for Strava, Mark Riedy, told KGO Flint's death was tragic but that the suit is without merit.

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