ABC 13 Las Vegas: High numbers of accidents involving cars & bicyclists
Updated: Feb 22, 2010 05:55 PM
Las Vegas Metro Police are releasing alarming numbers on accidents involving bicycle riders and motorists, as they search for a hit and run driver who left a man lying in the road.
Metro reports 365 accidents involved vehicles and cyclists in 2009. Five of them were fatal. One of the first cyclists hurt this year is Jeffrey Edwards. A driver mowed him down near Alta and Foothills Thursday at about 5 am . His family and friends are passing out fliers looking for the driver of a black BMW with a missing passenger side mirror. Fellow cyclists like Johnathan Edwards say they feel like targets.
“You can see it by their actions. They’ll cut you off intentionally. They’ll honk at you for holding them up. They’ll even push you to the side of the road,” said Edwards.
Erin Breen, the director of the Community Safe Partnership Program at UNLV, is calling for more public awareness and cooperation. She says distracted drivers may not realize bikes have the same right to roadways as vehicles, and may not realize bike lanes are not turn lanes.
If you have any information about the accident involving Jeffrey Edwards, call Crime Stoppers at 702 – 385 – 5555.
