Havs

I heard about this last night while at work. This was apparently near the Interstate 94 and Hwy K on ramp, on the east side of the Interstate. The bike rider would have been S/B on the frontage rode; the on ramp crosses the S/B lane, and the on ramp traffic has the right-of-way (biker would have had to stop at stop sign).

From today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinal online:

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 30, 2006, 10 a.m.
By Sheila B. Lalwani

Yorkville man killed on bike identified
Caledonia - A 69-year-old man who was killed when he was struck by a car while riding his bicycle along East Frontage Road has been identified, authorities said today.

James F. Payne of Yorkville was pronounced dead the scene, Lt. John Hanrahan of the Racine County Sheriff's Department said this morning.

Authorities say Payne was southbound on East Frontage Road and did not stop at a stop sign. The car that struck him was headed northbound.

Authorities were called to the scene at 2:11 p.m. Tuesday. Alcohol is not considered to be a factor, Hanrahan said.

Caledonia police officers, Caledonia Rescue personnel and State Patrol troopers assisted at the scene.

The case remains under investigation.


I've ridden past this exact spot dozens of times, what a shock...man, lets be careful out there and remember those traffic signs and signals.

spiderbike

That terrible but I would like to know if he was riding for fitness/racing or a bum riding around on beater...

I mean he is 69yrs old...

John Wilke

Those are tricky on ramps with, really, no room for error for either party. Will try to grab a pic of one of those today and post.

Tragic still.

jw

velorapide

Does it matter? Either way, someone lost their life.

merlinextraligh

It comes across as callous, but it's human nature. Whether you admit it or not, if its a street person on a beater bike, we distance ourselves psychologically. If it's a guy on $3000 road bike in full kit, it strikes closer to home.


In this case perhaps the better way to give yourself psychological comfort, is to say that would never happen to me because I stop at stop signs (and then actually stop at stop signs). Then the tradegy has at least come to some good.

jtree

yes. it's hard to believe that if you run a stop sign a car could hit you. incomprehenisble really.

Havs

here is a bit more detail on the crash, from today's Racine Journal Times online:


Yorkville bicyclist killed in accident

By Paul Sloth
Caledonia - A 69-year-old Yorkville man was killed Tuesday afternoon after he was struck by a car while riding his bicycle along East Frontage Road, north of Highway K near Interstate 94.

Around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, James F. Payne's crumpled bicycle still lay underneath the Nissan Maxima that hit him earlier as the driver of the car turned onto the I-94 on-ramp.

Sgt. Jim Stratman of the Racine County Sheriff's Department said Payne regularly rode his bicycle in the area.

Tuesday afternoon Payne was riding southbound on East Frontage Road. The car was headed northbound.

Witnesses at the scene said Payne did not stop at a stop sign near the westbound on-ramp. It's a dangerous spot, according to sheriff's deputies, and the site of numerous car accidents.

The driver made a left turn, heading onto the interstate, and collided with Payne, throwing him from his bicycle. Payne hit the car, shattering the windshield, and landed on the shoulder of the road.

The car left a trail of long, black skid marks.

The initial call to the Sheriff's Department came in as a car versus pedestrian accident. Once authorities arrived on the scene they found Payne dead and called for the Racine County medical examiner.

A sheriff's deputy was taping off the scene of the accident shortly before 3 p.m. as authorities were investigating.

Officers from the Caledonia Police Department, Caledonia Rescue and State Patrol troopers assisted at the scene.

Medical Examiner Tom Terry said Payne died from severe head and chest injuries. He most likely died before hitting the ground, Terry said. Payne was wearing a helmet.

Authorities issued no citations as of Tuesday night. The speed limit on East Frontage Road is 55 mph and Stratman said he figures the driver of the Nissan Maxima was probably driving anywhere from 45 to 50 mph.

He said alcohol was not a factor in the accident, which is still under investigation.

Authorities met with Payne's family Tuesday night. He was a father and grandfather.

Stratman said both parties involved in the accident were negligent. Bicyclists are required to follow traffic rules. Investigators are not sure whether the driver did not see Payne.

"There is a question of whether there will be citations issued," Stratman said. "Both people were in the wrong."

DogBoy

For those not familiar with the area, this is the type of onramps that are common in the area. (I flip flopped NB and SB on the frontage rd text boxes...sorry to cause confusion)

John Wilke

Here's two pics from 3:30 in the afternoon.

Driver's view:



Cyclist's view:




There is no stop sign for the cars.

There is a memorial at the roadside. I took a pic, but the sun washed it out.

I'd guess that if you're a driver accelerating to get on a busy freeway (speeds here are typically 75+), you'd expect the cyclist to stop. Why he didn't stop at such a busy intersection is questionable.

RIP

jw

Hipcycler

TWO stop signs facing the cyclist's direction too.

Just talked at length about this on the radio show.
Pictures very timely....thanks.

the beef

Sad to hear. No matter who was at fault, someone lost their life, and they were a cyclist. RIP

Hipcycler

Amen to that.

SimiCyclist

So, he's dead and they're thinking about issuing him a citation. Wow. They're strict!

dekalbSTEEL

I'm a little perplexed by this qoute from the police sargeant:


How could the driver be in the wrong when he had the right of way, and may not have seen the cyclist?

DogBoy

negligent <> citation. I think the police officer may just be saying that the driver might have been able to do something differently that would have avoided the collision. Without further information all we could do is speculate about what that might have been.

CyLowe97

I hate those kinds of on ramps. There are tons of them along I-270 in north Saint Louis County in Missouri where I grew up. It's like chicken at times. Thanks for the pics, JW.

ALWAYS assume that car doesn't see you and can't stop.

Sorry for this tragedy. It's always sobering to get this kind of reminder.

C_Heath

Theres an Older Gentlemen in my county whom I meet every morning, he wears bright orange and rides a FG bike, really old. hes around 70, just peddlin around. I hope no one hits him. Hes doing it for fitness. I hope I even make to his age, much less take a spin on a fixed gear bike at 70+

Godspeed to the fallen

SDRider

I'm curious, I wonder if the driver of the Maxima had their turn signal on. If not, I can see how the cyclist would not have anticipated a car moving at the speed the Maxima was going crossing over into him.

Tragic. I don't know that him stopping at the stop sign would have prevented this though.

Looks like a really really poorly designed entrance to a freeway.

timmhaan

that on ramp thing looks kinda sketchy to me. that's for providing the pic.

[edit] i meant to say "thanks for providing the pic". long day today...

SDRider

That looks REALLY sketchy. I can't believe the person driving the maxima was doing 45-50mph across there.

cydewaze

Assuming he even saw the cyclist.


I would have, probably, because he would have presumably waited until the coast was clear to proceed. The interesting question would be whether the cyclist would've still been hit if he'd had the right-of-way. Perhaps the car was more concerned with getting up to speed then watching where he was going, and it just so happened to be the cyclist's fault in this particular instance.

SDRider

That's why I was wondering if the motorist had his turn signal on. As a cyclist, there is no way I'd ever enter that intersection if I saw the car coming with his/her turn signal on. I'm guessing the motorist didn't simply judging by the actions of the cyclist.

That's why I am not so sure that stopping at the stop sign would have prevented this accident. Think about it, if he had stopped and he saw the car coming but the driver didn't have his/her turn signal on he would have entered the intersection anyway, assuming that the car was not turning.

It's very clear to me that the motorist didn't see the cyclist.

John Wilke

One of the TV stations had an overhead chopper shot of the bike under the car ... they were stopped some 10 to 15 feet into the on ramp, so well off the frontage road. It looked like perhaps the cyclist pulled out at the last moment, leaving no chance for the car to stop. There were some long skid marks, both air bags were deployed, and the bike was square under the front bumper.

Ouch.

jw

H1449-6

Why does that matter? Do you care more about non-bums? Or the other way around?

John Wilke

Follow this link to discussion on this from the general public's view of cyclists on the road:

https://www.journaltimes.com/nucleus/...hp?itemid=7705

Pretty scary to read what people are thinking.

"Keep your toys in the yard and this kind of thing won't happen. Those busy roads are for automobiles, not toys. That goes for jogger-creeps too."

Ohhhhh boy.

jw