Friday, November 27, 2015

News from the Post's Julius Whigham II on the bicyclist killed in Lake Worth

It's always sad to hear news such as this. Lake Worth is a very bikeable City but there are areas you have to be particularly careful and 10th Ave North is one of them, any time of day or night. Others are 6th Ave South and the entire length of Dixie Hwy. through the City, for example.

Someone driving on Dixie Hwy. or, in this case, 10th Ave. North isn't expecting a bike to cross their path. They're more focused on the car's lights in front of them, the next traffic signal, or checking the mirror. The driver of the vehicle that killed the bicyclist earlier this month likely never had a chance to avoid this crash and the reporter correctly didn't use the word "accident" to describe this terrible event as you'll read below in these two short excerpts:
     According to a sheriff’s crash report, [Howard] Baez was riding his bicycle late the night of Nov. 13 when he attempted to cross 10th Avenue North from south to north. He was struck by a westbound Mazda and died at the scene.
[and. . .]
     Baez’s black bicycle had no lights, and he was wearing dark, non-reflective clothing, the sheriff’s office said. He was not wearing a helmet.