A cement truck with a trailer apparently ran over a bicyclist at the intersection of Mission and Bay streets in Santa Cruz about 12:30 p.m. causing fatal injuries to the bicyclist.
Authorities are looking for the semi and the trailer, which kept driving and may not have realized the accident occurred.
Police say the cement truck clipped and ran over the bicyclist.
The bicyclist was pronounced dead at the scene.
This is the second fatal accident at the intersection in eight months. A Pacific Collegiate teacher riding a bike died on Aug. 7 at the same intersection. Four days earlier a female bicyclist was suffered major injuries when she was hit by a gravel truck at the same intersection.
The intersection at Mission and Bay is closed as of 1:30 p.m., Tuesday and traffic is backed up for blocks. Police are asking Bayview Elementary students to take another route home. Parents are being asked to be aware of the traffic issues.
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9 responses so far ↓
People Power // Apr 8, 2008 at 10:34 pm
Please join Santa Cruz bicyclists on Wednesday, April 9, as we honor another cyclist killed in a tragic accident and assert our rights by riding Mission Street. We will meet at the downtown Santa Cruz clock tower (at Mission and Pacific) at 5:00 PM, then ride along Mission Street together, to the intersection at Bay Street. Wear black if possible.
See the People Power web site for details:
http://peoplepowersc.org/
Xanthippe // Apr 9, 2008 at 6:19 am
Please don’t join this ride – set to take place at the height of traffic. It will make the surrounding neighborhoods unsafe for our kids, as people trying to get home from work will be trying to find ways around the clog up this will cause on Mission.
It’s a nice idea, but really, a better time would be early on a weekday morning.
Mark // Apr 9, 2008 at 10:41 am
This really is sad. What are the details, particularly with respect to the conclusion (in a separate email announcement by ‘Elaine’) that the “incident” was “violence against cyclists”? Did someone purposefully try to harm the cyclist or was it another tragic accident where the cyclist was not seen by a vehicle operator?
Without those details, the announcement seems inflammatory and distinctly devoid of facts. My position on these unfortunate events has been based on a life of experience riding bicycles and developing a philosophy of self-preservation through car avoidance rather than car defiance. I avoid Mission Street like the plague and encourage other cyclists to do the same. It always concerns me when I see helmet-less riders skirting down the gutter between the curb and cars going 40mph. There are so many alternatives to using Mission that it seems to me simply not worth it, regardless of cyclists’ rights to that road.
Yes, put the ghost bike at the intersection as a statement to both drivers and riders to be more aware of each other and respect each method of transportation for what its positive and negative potential is. Please try not to incite malcontent through incendiary statements that breed non-cooperation rather than awareness of each others realities on the road.
On another note, does trying and put bike lanes and get Caltrans cooperation on Mission Street compete with the effort needed for making King Street a bike avenue? Is mission street really going to get that much safer, even with bike lanes? Perhaps we should pick our battles.
Derek // Apr 9, 2008 at 1:19 pm
I agree with Mark. How safe will Mission Street ever be? It is after all, Highway 1 through town.
Maybe a better way to help prevent more incidents on Mission would be to post sighs for cyclists to use King or California as thoroughfares instead of risking injury on Mission.
It is sad that another person, not just cyclist, was killed.
brxnt // Apr 9, 2008 at 8:25 pm
People power says that Caltrans refuses to post signs that inform motorists that a bike may take an entire lane for safety. I’d like to see King st. become cycle exclusive and/or bike lanes on Mission st. It really irks me that we keep coming back to this issue because large trucks keep running
over bicyclists. When will we actually do something about this? Oh yes, I forgot that we as a country are responsible for killing over 1 million Iraqis and seemingly could care less.
Linda Anderson // Apr 9, 2008 at 11:06 pm
Chris Rock was my neighbor in the Pacific Shores Apt. He was a very friendly person. I think it’s very sad his life was taken. His death and the teacher’s death and another cyclist’s accident in the same intersection this year should be enough to tell the powers that be, something needs to be done! The speed limit is 25 and everyone drives 45 on Mission, we need more patrol cars on Mission.
Linda
Erik // Apr 10, 2008 at 9:25 am
That cyclists keep dying in this same spot is a completely avoidable tragedy. There is absolutely no reason why there can’t be signage to help protect cyclists. It won’t solve all the problems but its a step in the right direction. I’d think this most recent death opens up Santa Cruz to a wrongful death lawsuit because the city has been aware of the problem and done nothing to address it.
PISSED OFF LOCAL // Apr 12, 2008 at 7:57 am
OK LOOK!!! you know what, I feel bad for the damn truck driver who didn’t even realize he hit the poor guy. Look riding your bike on mission st. regardless of the law (which i olny found out about yesterday) is DUMB…and if you say there arent other ways around your in need of a map… 4 real though two dead people at one intersection in eight months…Whatever, See you out there today
safe bike riders // Apr 14, 2008 at 8:27 am
Rabid bike riders are giving all riders a black eye , I really hope that when Cris Rock’s Family files Their law suits that Micah is also named and ordered by the court to shut up,
To Me the real question here is not if bike riders can “take the lane” but is it the safe thing to do, isn’t it smarter and safer to ride on the sidewalk, ride on king st., seaside and california streets.
Ride Smart Ride Safe
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