A Santa Cruz bicyclist suffered major injuries in an accident on a remote stretch of Highway 1 Wednesday morning. The California Highway Patrol says the 58-year-old man was struck by a Toyota Tacoma just before 8:30 a.m.
After the bicycle accident, emergency responders closed both lanes of the highway for roughly an hour while crews treated the accident victim at the scene, prior to placing him on a helicopter. The bike rider was transported by air to Stanford Medical Center for further treatment after the tragic crash.
The CHP says it appears the Tacoma and the bicyclist were traveling in the same direction on the highway when the accident occurred. A 65-year-old man reportedly was driving the Tacoma at the time of the accident. The CHP says the vehicle driver stopped after the accident. Law enforcement says drugs and alcohol were not a factor. CHP officers say the weather conditions included fog Wednesday morning.
Other witnesses to the accident stopped along Highway 1 and waited for police and emergency responders to respond to the bike accident scene. The CHP opened an investigation into the accident; that investigation continues.
The bike accident victim reportedly suffered major injuries in the accident. The CHP says the bicycle was equipped with reflectors and the bicyclist was wearing a bicycle helmet. The man was riding a Giant bicycle, a hybrid mix of a road bike and a mountain bike. It remains unclear whether the bicyclist was in the bike lane or the traffic lane before the accident. No charges have been filed related to the incident.
Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel via San Jose Mercury News, “Bicyclist severely injured in crash with pickup near Bonny Doon,” Stephen Baxter, Sept. 21, 2011
