Bicyclist struck, killed on Second Avenue – home of Seattle’s future bike lane
Aug 29, 2014, 9:35 AM | Updated: 5:17 pm
A female cyclist was struck and killed at the intersection of Second Avenue and University Street in downtown Seattle Friday morning.
Seattle Police Detective Patrick Michaud said the collision occurred when the driver of a large box truck heading south on Second Avenue attempted a left turn onto University.
“There was a bicyclist on his left side. He ended up striking the bicyclist. She went underneath the truck and she was killed,” Michaud said.
“When police and fire finally arrived, there was nothing they could do for the female. She was clearly deceased at the scene.”
The driver, in his 40s, was contacted by police and the Traffic Collision Investigation Squad responded.
A new, protected bicycle lane is planned for the area where the woman, in her 20’s or 30’s, was killed.
Seattle Transportation Department Director Scott Kubly tells KIRO Radio the special lane will physically separate bikes from cars on Second Avenue.
“It’s running from Pike to Yesler and the reason we’re doing that is to prevent exactly the type of crash we saw today,” Kubly said.
The protected bike lane will include signal lights for cars and bikes and be ready for use on Monday, September 8.
SDOT said on its website there have been 60 collisions involving bicycles on Second Avenue over the past four years, not including Friday’s incident. And 50 percent of those crashes involved vehicles turning left at the crosswalk.
SDOT expects “adding a signalized left turn for vehicles and restricting right turns on red will improve safety by reducing left turn conflicts.”
