Sad news out of Hutchinson, Kansas, where HutchNews.com reports that a bicyclist was struck and killed by a garbage truck on Monday, February 13th:
A Hutchinson bicyclist was killed Monday afternoon when he was struck by a refuse truck.
Police did not immediately release the man’s name.
The Stutzman Refuse truck had just come westbound out of the alley just south of Fourth Avenue onto Adams Street, and then immediately turned eastbound on Fourth Avenue when accident happened.
“He never saw the bicycle,” Assistant Police Chief Troy Hoover said of the truck driver. “He pulled around the corner and felt something hit. He looked in his rearview and saw the bicycle and stopped.”
The cyclist had apparently been northbound on Adams when the truck turned into his path. The man, who was not wearing a helmet, was pronounced dead at the scene.
From the description, it’s not clear how the collision occurred.
Will update as soon as more details are released.
Update: 2012-02-13, 6:30pm: Hutchinson Police have identified the bicyclist as Julian Olea Tomas, age 36, of Hutchinson. The Hutchinson Police Traffic Bureau continues to investigate, but say that “Tomas was northbound on the sidewalk on the east side of Adams when he collided with the truck, according to a report by Police Traffic Sgt Brian Hirt. Tomas fell from his bike and the truck ran him over.”
Post tags: Hutchinson
Sad day in Hutchinson. A ghost bike has been left for Julian.
Peace
The family of Julian Tomas Olea has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Stutzman Refuse Disposal Inc., claiming that the company is liable for the negligence of its truck driver. The lawsuit seeks damages in excess of $75,000 for Olea’s family members, including his two daughters, and also requests a jury trial.
The lawsuit claims the truck driver failed to yield to the right of way of the bicyclist, who had the flashing pedestrian signal to proceed through the intersection; the driver failed to maintain a proper lookout; and the driver failed to use a turn signal.
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