Bicyclist killed in collision with AC Transit bus

Oakland, CA—An unfortunate collision between an Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) bus and a bicyclist resulted in one fatality. The deadly bus-cyclist accident occurred in Oakland, California on Wednesday, May 19, 2010, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle. Statistics provided by the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) Encyclopedia indicated there were 90 bicyclist fatalities reported throughout the nation in 2008. Of those, 10 were killed in the state of California. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) created the FARS Encyclopedia as a means of providing vital highway safety data to the public.

According to AC Transit spokesperson Clarence Johnson, a motor vehicle accident involving a bus and cyclist occurred just after 4:30 p.m. The scene of the fatal collision was located on MacArthur Boulevard, in close proximity to Patterson Avenue in Oakland. The bicyclist and AC Transit bus were reportedly traveling in the same direction when something went horribly wrong. The cyclist allegedly attempted to veer away from a car as the driver began to open the door, but failed to do so in time. He consequently slammed into the door, causing him to fall into the roadway. As a result, a bus traveling on the NX line ran him over, stated Oakland Police Department (OPD) spokesman Jeff Thomason.

The unidentified bus driver on the other hand, alleged she did not notice the fact that she had become involved in a collision. After hitting the cyclist, the bus driver continued forward for nearly a block before she was informed that an accident had indeed occurred. Emergency medical personnel responded to the scene of the tragic wreck to transport the severely injured bicyclist to an area hospital. The cyclist, identified by the Alameda County Medical Examiner’s Office as 35-year-old Oakland resident Erik Fitzpatrick, succumbed to his traumatic injuries at the hospital. While drug and alcohol tests are pending, which is protocol for all AC Transit bus drivers; Thomason noted that such factors are not suspected to have caused the bus-bicyclist collision. Investigations were expected to be underway.