Updated: Mon May. 17 2010 4:38:02 PM
ctvottawa.ca
A 16-year-old cyclist killed in a crash with a motorcycle has been identified as Robin Freeman, a student at Sir Guy Carleton Secondary School.
Ottawa police say speed was a factor in the collision, which also left the motorcyclist in critical condition. Charges are pending.
Freeman was performing tricks with his BMX bike at about 10:30 p.m. Sunday when he was hit at Carling and Woodroffe Avenues in west Ottawa, according to witnesses.
“He was on just the edge of the road and the motorcycle basically came down Carling at at least 120 (kilometres per hour) and basically the bicycle went flying and then the kid went straight up in the air and hit the ground,” said Alex Bonenfant, who witnessed the collision.
Freeman was found unconscious at the scene. He was pronounced dead a short time later at hospital.
Another witness told CTV Ottawa his bike was found about 180 metres from the point of impact.
A 26-year-old motorcyclist was also found unconscious. He suffered severe head injuries and is now being treated in hospital. Paramedics say the collision threw him forward about 30 feet.
A 19-year-old female passenger on the motorcycle is also in hospital in serious, but stable condition.
‘Fly-by’ Zone
Area residents and store-owners say drivers constantly speed down the stretch of Carling Avenue where Freeman was hit.
“People just fly by and it’s not only motorcycles. It’s cars, trucks, everything,” said Warren Greene, owner of the bike shop Award Cycle, which sits across the street from the crash site.
Years ago, Carling Avenue used to be a hotbed for drag racing. City crews used to water the street every night to deter racers from the area.
Carling at Woodroffe reopened to traffic early Monday morning after being closed all night.
With a report from CTV Ottawa’s Joanne Schnurr
