Bicyclist killed in south Sacramento
Every parent’s worst nightmare came true for a Sacramento mother this month. Her only child was killed in a bicycle accident on Freeport Boulevard near 35th Avenue on Sept. 18. The accident victim was a grown adult — age 55 — but that didn’t make the loss any easier for his mother to accept.
“It’s just me now,” the mother told the Sacramento Bee in an interview following the accident.
At this point, police have released few details about the accident, but it has been reported that the 55-year-old and a friend were biking to a recycling center in south Sacramento early on a Thursday morning when he was struck and killed by a vehicle.
A police spokesman said that the victim had been in the bike lane at the time of the accident, and his mother told reporters that her son knew all of the laws when it came to biking in the city.
The police spokesman said the driver of the vehicle who struck the bicyclist was also in his 50s and had children in his vehicle at the time of the accident. However, no one in the vehicle was injured.
The accident occurred just two days after a state law went into effect that requires drivers to give bicyclists 3 feet of space when passing. At this point, it is not clear if the motorist involved will be criminally charged for his role in the accident.
However, it is possible that the victim’s mother could pursue a personal injury lawsuit against the driver. Since the mother reported that her son cared for her as she dealt with her health problems, she may be entitled to damages for loss of consortium.
Source: Sacramento Bee, “Bicyclist killed by SUV on Freeport Boulevard in Sacramento,” Cathy Locke, Sept. 18, 2014