2012 Chicago fatality stats*:
Pedestrian: 22 (10 have been hit-and-run crashes)
Pedalcyclist: 6 (1 is a hit-and-run crash)
Transit: 8 (our last update listed 7)
Skateboard: 1 (1 is a hit-and-run crash)
A person riding a bike on westbound Augusta Boulevard was killed this morning when a driver of a truck traveling in the same direction turned right onto northbound Ashland Avenue. The crash happened at “about 10 AM”. The Chicago Tribune reports:
The Cook County medical examiner’s office said the man was in his 50s and was pronounced dead at 10:35 a.m.
The driver of the truck, Danny Darling, 47, of Michigan City, Ind., remained at the scene and was ticketed for making an improper right turn, Mirabelli said.
There is a discussion about this on EveryBlock, with details from apparent witnesses. In 2011, 7 bicyclists died in traffic. An improper right turn is another name for “right hook”, which is regulated by Municipal Code of Chicago 9-16-020. In this case it carries a fine of $500.
View Ashland & Augusta in a larger map. This is one of those intersections where the bike lane ends very prematurely before the intersection, in this case ~190 feet before the westbound Augusta stop bar.
* The information is only accurate as of this post’s publishing time. View previous Fatality Tracker posts.
Most right hooks occur across a bike lane. There isn’t one here. Did the truck driver turn right from the thru lane?
I don’t know the size of the truck in this accident, but most trucks make wide right turns due to their length. It’s likely that the truck turned right from the middle lane.
This is so sad. I used to ride down Augusta daily, and I considered it to be one of the safer bicycling routes in the city. I just hope this tragedy encourages the city planners to do something to make walking and cycling safer.