ClickCease SEPARATE BIKE ACCIDENTS LEAVE ONE CYCLIST DEAD ANOTHER INJURED

SEPARATE BIKE ACCIDENTS LEAVE ONE CYCLIST DEAD ANOTHER INJURED

We speak often on this blog about bicycle safety in San Francisco, which is a passion at our firm. A pair of recent crashes shows that the city has a long way to go to be a safe place to ride.

The incidents took place within half an hour of each other on Oct. 11, with one rider sustaining fatal injuries and another being taken to the hospital. Both involved large vehicles that dwarfed the victims’ bicycles.

In the first crash, the victim was riding a mountain bike when he became caught between two Muni buses in a “high injury corridor” intersection, as the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition describes it. He fell off his bike and was run over by one of the buses. He died at the scene; he was 47 and a resident of Berkeley, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Next, a 46-year-old woman riding her bike was hit by a truck hauling a horse trailer. No more details about this second crash were available in the Chronicle. The woman was taken to San Francisco General Hospital, and her condition was not known.

The SFBC statement said these incidents show that San Francisco officials need to “redouble their efforts” to improve bicycle safety.

Someday, terrible incidents like these will be a rarity in San Francisco. Until then, bicycle riders need to remain alert and continue their advocacy for safer streets. We join them in that effort.