Two tragic bicycle accidents occurred on the same day in the Bay Area. In both accidents, automobiles struck bicyclists and the bicyclists were killed.
At around 8 a.m. on December 14th, a bicyclist was riding in San Jose near the intersection of Chynoweth Avenue and Duesenberg Drive. This location is near a park and is very popular with cyclists. The driver of a pick-up truck struck the female bicyclist, killing her. The driver of the truck tried to revive the rider with CPR, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police say that the truck was not speeding at the time of the collision, and it appears to just have been a tragic accident. This accident is San Jose’s fourth fatal bicycle accident, which doubles San Jose’s last year’s total of two fatal bicycle accidents. Police have not said anything about what may have led to the accident, but they have said that in previous San Jose fatal accidents, the bicyclist often rode on the wrong side of the road or on the sidewalk.
At around 10:15 a.m. on the same day, a 26 year old San Francisco man struck a 63 year old male cyclist in San Francisco’s Portola neighborhood. The man was allegedly driving his car on the wrong side of the road and was speeding. The man was arrested on suspicion of felony vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.
The accident occurred at the intersection of Goettingen and Woolsey streets. Investigators believe that the automobile driver is at fault. Surveillance video shows a cyclist, who was wearing a helmet and reflective gear, travelling north on Goettingen Street shortly before 10:15 a.m., when he was struck head-on by a gold four-door sedan. The automobile driver stopped and tried to help the victim, but he died at the scene. Police do not believe that drugs or alcohol were a factor in the crash.
Both San Jose and San Francisco have claimed they are working to reduce bicyclist fatalities in their cities. San Jose city officials have allegedly been adding bike lines with more separation from traffic, but they say that more education is needed. Officials say that bicyclists have to follow the rules of the road and that automobile drivers must safely operate their vehicles next to bicyclists on the roads.
San Francisco has announced a new initiative called Vision Zero, which aims to completely eliminate pedestrian and bicycle fatalities. The initiative has focused on education, improving city streets, and enforcement of the city’s traffic laws.
If you are injured in a bicycle accident in the Bay Area, it’s important that you stand up for your legal rights. You have the right to compensation, if another driver was at fault for the accident. The driver can be forced to pay for your medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, rehabilitation expenses, and more.
If you have been injured in a bicycle accident, call the San Francisco bicycle accident attorneys at Liberty Law. At Liberty Law, Micha Star Liberty and Seth I. Rosenberg believe that any injured bicyclist who is hurt by a driver’s negligence should fight for all the compensation to which he or she is entitled.
Call Micha Star Liberty and Seth I. Rosenberg at 415-896-1000 or 510-645-1000 to schedule a free consultation on your accident case. Our attorneys work with accident victims throughout the Bay area, including Hayward, Tracy, Oakland, Fairfield, San Jose, Sacramento, Berkeley, and the surrounding areas. Call today to learn more.
