The mother and best friend of bicyclist Bryce Lewis, killed in a collision with a dump truck in Seattle, are suing the driver and truck owner.
Lewis, 19, died instantly when a dump truck made a right turn in front of him and his friend, Caleb Hall, 20, as they headed north on Eastlake Avenue East in September. They were dragged for 25 feet before bystanders freed them.
While the fatality sparked condemnation of motorists who make right turns without checking for cyclists in bike lanes, it also highlighted the poor traffic design that enables traffic to turn right in front of bicycle lanes that are carrying through-traffic.
Memorial ride
Last month, about 70 bicyclists participated in a memorial bike ride to remember Lewis.
The attorney for the family and friends of Lewis told the Seattle Times that the truck driver “failed to yield to them when they had the right of way.”
He told the P-I that vehicles have hit cyclists four times and pedestrians twice in the past three years at the Eastlake-Furhman avenue intersection.
Conflicting versions
Don Nelson, owner of the Nelson & Sons construction company that owns the truck, told the P-I that he understands that the cyclists hit the side of the truck.
Police are conducting an investigation, which will be forwarded to prosecutors to determine if charges should be filed.
Both the P-I story “Dump truck driver, company sued” and the Seattle Times story “Family sues driver, firm in cyclist's death” report that neither cyclist was wearing a helmet, which is curious as helmet-use really isn't a factor when you're hit by a dump truck.
Portland tragedy
The month after Lewis death, two bicyclists were killed in Portland in similar accidents in which trucks made a right turns into the paths of the cyclists.
Those fatalities also pointed out the problems with intersections where vehicles can make right turns across bicycle lanes. There's talk of employing a California law that requires motorists to merge into the bike lane before a turn. That's discussed at this bike advocacy law website.
Riding in traffic
As for riding in traffic, one of the best and easiest to understand tutorials is BicycleSafe.com, “How Not to Get Hit by Cars.”
It lists 10 common collisions between motor vehicles and bicycles and how best to avoid them. Number 4 is the “Right Hook,” in which a car passes then makes a right turn just ahead of or right into the cyclist.
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