Bicyclist is killed in collision with SUV - Chicago

Triathlon Forum
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Bicyclist is killed in collision with SUV
Tribune staff report
***February 25, 2008 *********
NORTH SIDE - A Chicago man who rode his bicycle through a busy North Side intersection died Sunday morning when he was struck by an SUV that had a green light, police said.

The crash that killed a 29-year-old bicyclist, whose address was listed in the 1400 block of West Lill Avenue, happened in the 4000 block of North Lincoln Avenue around 9:15 a.m. Sunday. The victim was part of a group of about 40 bicyclists, Chicago Police Officer JoAnn Taylor said. He was pronounced dead at 9:47 a.m. at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center.

“It looks like the bicyclist may have disregarded some traffic signals,” said Taylor, adding that charges are not expected against the driver of the Chevrolet Suburban, which was eastbound on Irving Park Road.

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That sucks. I was always extremely careful about running lights when I lived in Chicago for this very reason. It sounds like he was probably bringing up the rear of the pack and just didn’t make it through the light in time. Very sad indeed and only 29yo.

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Very sad. It sounds like he ran a red light and paid with his life.

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I have scene small groups and big groups of cyclists blow thru red lights many times.Rider vs. 2 ton automobile we know the outcome.

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When i was out riding earlier, I saw a guy who had been hit pretty good by a car while cycling, the paramedics had him on a board with a neck brace thing on and he wasnt moving. There were also a bunch of roadies standing around, im guessing they were riding together or they stopped. I see this stuff so much that i hardly even look twice anymore, thats the sad part. Groups of cyclists around this area pull some pretty ballsy moves almost every single time im out riding, it doesnt really suprise me the number of collisions that happen.

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really sad it was part of an alleycat race the tour da Chicago. Guy was married and leaves behind a young wife. Chicago is full of horrible drivers and irresponsible riders. I was riding in boulder all weekend and may have lost my nerve for Chicago aggression. I really don’t mind stopping at lights and signs in the car or on the bike. Gotta say you boulder peeps got it going on.

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Thought about doing the Tour da Chicago and this is one of the reasons I decided not to. It’s a real shame, but by all accounts I’ve read, putting the blame on the driver seems misplaced here—though I’m certainly not excusing the driving of most Chicagoans. I bike commute to work most days and Chicago drivers are often reckless and almost always oblivious. This terrible event will, no doubt, deeply affect the lives of many—from the cyclist’s family to witnesses to the driver—and I hope we can all learn a lot from this tragedy. We all take risks when riding our bikes through the city (some avoidable, some not). Fortunately, the consequences of our risky behavior (I am guilty of it too) are rarely so dire.

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The intersection this happened at is a huge intersection and is very dangerous for cyclists WITH the light in their favor as cars could turn in front of you for one of the angled off-shoots of this intersection. This is a serious tradgedy no matter how you slice it but I will venture to put some blame on the driver…even if the cyclist was being reckless, you just saw 40 other cyclists go through the intersection, how could you not look for one more? It’s like seeing two deer run in front of your car, knowing they are pack animals and not slowing down in case there is a third or fourth deer.

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The intersection this happened at is a huge intersection and is very dangerous for cyclists WITH the light in their favor as cars could turn in front of you for one of the angled off-shoots of this intersection. This is a serious tradgedy no matter how you slice it but I will venture to put some blame on the driver…even if the cyclist was being reckless, you just saw 40 other cyclists go through the intersection, how could you not look for one more? It’s like seeing two deer run in front of your car, knowing they are pack animals and not slowing down in case there is a third or fourth deer.
I agree whole heartedly. If we make a mistake on a bike, we pay the price. If they make a mistake while driveng, we still pay the price. The burden of being extra careful around cyclists, runners, and pedestrians needs to fall on the drivers. It is madness to allow untold numbers of lives to be taken without any type of change in the way drivers are educated and laws of the road (and basic courtesy) are enforced. How many must die before someone des something to change the way drivers think/act?

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how could you not look for one more?

If you weren’t a cyclist, and thereby knew just how irresponsible cyclists can be, why *would *you look for one more?

It is a reasonable assumption that deer do not understand roadways and traffic lights.

It is a reasonable assumption (unfortunately sometimes proved wrong) that cyclists understand and obey traffic lights.

I am among the first to call for stiff penalties against drivers who kill and injure cyclist, runners, and pedestrians.

In this case, and from the facts presented, I feel sorry for the driver of the SUV, and the family of the reckless cyclist who caused this tragedy.

The cyclist? - nominated himself for a Darwin Award. May others learn from stupid acts, rather than repeating them.

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…but I will venture to put some blame on the driver…even if the cyclist was being reckless, …

I’m suprised it took 7 replies for someone to blame the driver for a (apparently) reckless cyclist. We’re accountable to follow the rules of the road. Why doesn’t any one rant and rave that every cyclist who runs a red light or stop sign should be ticketed so they would learn how to behave? Nope, can’t do that. Everyone else should be held to tough standards to protect our silly asses when we run red lights. Had this been a car vs car accident, would we want to place blame on the driver who proceeded legally through a green light? No. Make it a cyclist and many of us demand revenge.

Put yourself in the place of a driver who has a cyclist, alone or in a group, bounce off your hood after pulling out in front of you illegally. I’ll go out on a limb and guess you won’t sign your house over to the family and ask a judge to put you in jail for the maximum sentence.

I agree that education should be increased. I think your intended audience is a bit narrow, however.

My heart goes out to both families.

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I agree that education should be increased.
Huh? Light Red - STOP. Pretty easy…sometimes cyclists think that they are a funeral and just keep rolling…now, they roll to a funeral. Tragic. Not sure what education would do as pertaining to a red light for an adult.

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I’m with you, the guy ran a red light (if the reports are correct). Red lights are to stop us so that traffic that has right of way can process through the junction without hitting conflicting traffic.

I feel sorry for the driver who will have to live with the experience for the rest of his life and for the family of the cyclist, I bet they wish he stopped and got dropped from the ride rather than died.

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The rider was in the lead… the news reports this morning says that he was also the lead for the orange jersey… the report also says that the rider ran the red light…

Mike outside Chicago( in the 'burbs)
www.sohmar.com

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You can’t blame the driver of the car. All 40 cyclists were in an illegal street race where they were all blasting through red lights and stop signs. The police aren’t filing any charges against the driver, as is correct. And, it is a miracle more of those fools on the bikes aren’t dead.

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I agree
.

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At least it made the front page today of the Chicago Tribune…that’s a start…

Bicyclist killed by SUV was participant in ‘Tour Da Chicago’ ‘Tour da Chicago’ is unofficial competition By Karoun Demirjian | TRIBUNE REPORTER February 26, 2008 Article tools

A race to the finish resulted in an untimely end for a cyclist who was killed during a street race Sunday morning when he was hit by a sport-utility vehicle.

Witnesses say the accident took place when a large group of riders competing in Chicago’s “Tour Da Chicago” street race attempted to ride through an intersection against a red light.

Matthew Manger-Lynch, 29, of the 1400 block of West Lill Avenue in Chicago was near the front of the pack of about 40 riders, police said. The group was traveling southeast along Lincoln Avenue, when they attempted to cross Irving Park Road at about 9:15 a.m.

Related links Comments: ‘What about the driver’s trauma?’

But the stoplight was red, and Manger-Lynch was killed when an SUV traveling east along Irving Park struck him. He was pronounced dead in Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center at 9:47 a.m. Police said they do not expect charges will be filed against the driver.

The Tour Da Chicago is an annual, unofficial street race that takes place in stages scheduled at various points throughout the winter. The race’s name harks back the Tour de France, long known as the top competition in the sport of cycling.

As in the Tour de France, cyclists in the Tour Da Chicago compete in stages for top prizes, which include a signature jersey for the winner, yellow in the Tour de France, orange in the Tour Da Chicago.

But for the most part, the similarities end there.

Chicago’s race takes place in six stages, beginning with a preview race in January and ending with a rugged “Stairmaster” challenge – a course that includes riding on several of the city’s most treacherous staircases – in March, according to participants.

Sunday’s race, which was Stage 3, began at 8 a.m., and featured a course that wound through Chicago, starting in the West Loop, heading to the Rogers Park neighborhood, into the northwestern parts of the city and finishing in the West Loop. About 50 cyclists participated, by one rider’s estimate.

But the race did not finish after Sunday’s accident.

“It was a shock to every one of us,” said Morgan Lee, who participated in the race. “It could have been any one of us that were out there. And it’s just tragic.”

Roads are not blocked off for the Tour Da Chicago, known as an “alleycat” race. In such a race, cyclists compete with city traffic as they attempt to outpace each other to complete the course.

“It’s an event inherently designed to have people break rules and break laws,” said Rob Sadowsky, executive director of the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, which advocates city bicycling and promotes bicycling safety. “It provides a competitive incentive, almost, for people to run red lights.”

For Manger-Lynch, the incentive may have been a great one, because after the first few stages, he had managed to become one of the top few cyclists. He was within reach of the coveted orange jersey in just his second season.

“He was very excited about it,” said Elizabeth Lynch, Manger-Lynch’s wife. “It was organized fun, and he got to be a little competitive.”

Manger-Lynch was an experienced cyclist, having grown up in Milwaukee in a family of avid mountain-bikers.

According to his brother, Luke Manger-Lynch, 32, Matthew began to take up road-biking when he moved to Paris in 2003 to study culinary arts at the famed Le Cordon Bleu institute in Paris.

Manger-Lynch moved back to Chicago with his wife in 2004, and after a series of restaurant chef positions, decided to open up a catering company, Mandolin Catering.

He was planning to open a charcuterie and wine shop to feature his two culinary specialties: fine wine and processed meats.

It’s an image that doesn’t necessarily correspond to the face of road-biking in Chicago, which observers such as Sadowsky have called an “extreme sport.”

But Manger-Lynch never became part of this “messenger culture,” according to his family. He just loved to ride.

Manger-Lynch decided to try road biking competitively in 2004.

Manger-Lynch was very responsible about safety, Lynch said, and was planning on graduating from “alleycat” races such as the Tour Da Chicago to official, closed course races. He had recently obtained a cyclist’s license for such competitions from USA Cycling.

“Everything he did, he jumped in with both feet,” Luke Manger-Lynch said.

kdemirjian@tribune.com

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Very sad for all involved.

It’s a wake up call for the rest of us.

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Totally agree - I had already posted on my tri club message board, so didn’t post the same sentiments here, but these were my initial thoughts: “Not only was he not obeying the lights, but no one in his group was either - they were doing the “Tour Da Chicago” - a bike RACE through the streets of Chicago. Yes, a bike race. Where there’s a pre-determined route and the object is to get to the end as quickly as possible. It’s amazing more of these fools don’t get themselves killed every time they engage in this stupidity.”

I live very close to that particular intersection, and it’s a nutty 6-corner one where going through a red light, especially on a bike, is a death wish. I also have to say that all the silly irresponsible cyclists who do stuff like this and piss people off certainly don’t make it any easier/better for the rest of us, who actually DO follow traffic rules. Yesterday there were people on the radio talking about how they’d be happy to take pipes and stick them in the wheels of cyclists going by - yeah, there’s a great idea. Do we think they’ll distinguish between good cyclists and rule-ignoring ones, or just lump us all together? Hmm, I think I know the answer to that one. Sad, but true.

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Do we think they’ll distinguish between good cyclists and rule-ignoring ones, or just lump us all together?

Excellent point. Its better to ride safely not just for you, but for the next cyclist a motorist encounters.