Bicycle Hits, Kills Pedestrian in DC

A tragic crash occurred over the weekend,

A man was struck by a bicycle and killed yesterday while trying to cross the street in Northwest Washington, D.C. The cyclist, who was in his late 50s, was taken to a hospital for treatment of a head injury.

They don't provide many details about the incident itself

The man was hit about 5:30 p.m. while walking across New Hampshire Avenue in the Petworth area.

A [witness] said it appeared that a dark-colored mountain bike was coming toward the intersection "pretty fast." [and that] the pedestrian was walking toward some nearby stores and might have passed behind a car that was halted near New Hampshire Avenue and Farragut Street.

It's unclear if the bike was speeding (though I doubt it), if the pedestrian was in a crosswalk or not (sounds like not?), if the cyclist had a light on his bike or was wearing a helmet. It's also unclear if the cyclist was "riding right," where a collision such as this is most likely to occur. So it's hard to make any determination about what the potential causes were. I will say that speeding is a bad idea and lights are a good one. You'll have to make your own decision about helmets (though I wear one). The article also included this:

About one traffic fatality in five in the region involves a pedestrian death, but, according to authorities, few of the victims are hit by bicycles. In 2005, it was reported that about 90 pedestrians or bicyclists are killed each year in the Washington area.

Today the Post released the pedestrian's name, Gary Scott Phillips, and said the police have not charged the cyclist with anything.

Anyway this should be a reminder of how important it is to be aware and be visible (not that I'm saying the cyclists wasn't).

Comments

[Chris]

Since no charges were filed, there were either circumstances that made this a freak accident or there was no indication that the cyclist was specifically at fault (note - not indication doesn't mean he was or wasn't at fault). I think we've all been in situations where a pedestrian has appeared out from behind a parked car or run across the street right in front of us -- I could easily imagine that happening here. Still, it's surprising and horrible that this guy got killed! And, as you say, a good reminder in favor of caution.