Bend,OR : Police identify bicyclist in fatal collision with FedEx truck on November, Monday 20th 2017

The bicyclist who was killed Monday after being struck by a FedEx truck in northwest Bend has been identified as 31-year-old Bend resident Jonathan Chase Adams, according to Bend Police.

The FedEx truck, driven by Trenton Derek Sage, 51, Terrebonne, was traveling north on Northwest Wall Street at about 11:20 a.m. and turned east onto Northwest Olney Avenue when it collided with Adams in the intersection, police said.

Adams died at the scene, according to police, who have not confirmed if he was wearing a helmet.

Police said they are continuing to investigate the crash and determine if either person involved was at fault.

It has been six years since a bicyclist was struck and killed in Bend, according to Oregon Department of Transportation records. In July 2011, a 16-year-old bicyclist was hit and killed by a pickup truck on Southwest Reed Market Road.

Bend led the state in fatal bicycle crashes in 2008, when two of the seven crashes that year happened in the city.

Vehicle crashes are relatively rare at the intersection of Wall Street and Olney Avenue. According to Oregon Department of Transportation, four crashes were recorded at the intersection from 2012 to 2016, but only one of them involved injuries.

Nick Arnis, Bend growth management department director, said the intersection is a critical connection to the downtown area, but has not been the focus of any safety improvement projects.

“Nothing around that intersection has come up for a safety project at this time,” Arnis said.

The city installed a temporary bike lane along Wall Street, including the Olney Avenue intersection, in June 2016 for the Bend Livability Project. The four-day project — hosted by the nonprofit Bend 2030 — informed the community about growth, transportation and urban development.

The city is encouraging bicyclists to use side roads and stay off main arterials if they can, Arnis said. The biggest risk for bicyclists and pedestrians is crossing busy, multiple lane roads such as Third Street, Reed Market Road and Greenwood Avenue, he said.

Those main routes are the highest priority for safety improvements, according to the city.

But as more details are released from Monday’s crash, that information will be considered in future planning, Arnis said.

“We try to see if it was something wrong with the roadway and see what we can do,” he said.

Jeff Monson, executive director of Commute Options, a Bend-based nonprofit that promotes bicycling and other alternative transportation, said he has walked and bicycled at the Wall Street and Olney Avenue intersection many times and has not experienced any safety problems.

“I have not heard any particular issues with that intersection,” Monson said. “I think it’s configured appropriately for safety purposes.”

Source :
Police identify bicyclist in fatal collision with FedEx truck