CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. (SNN TV) — A Port Charlotte woman is dead after being hit by a car while riding her bike on Sunday morning.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the 28-year-old was riding her bike toward the intersection of Chancellor Boulevard and Eppinger Drive. After not stopping at a stop sign, she collided with a car and was pronounced dead at the scene. It was unfortunately what Eric Barnhill saw when he stepped outside his home Sunday morning.
“There was a body laying in the street and a smashed up front end of a car. Her bicycle was broken clean in half,” said Barnhill.
“It was a gruesome sight. It’s something that nobody would want to see,” Barnhill added, holding back tears.
He says it isn’t uncommon to see drivers speeding down Chancellor Boulevard.
“As soon as people come out of that curve, they step on it and people just keep running down Chancellor till they get to the curve,” said Barnhill. “Now if we had a simple speed bump it could prevent all of that.”
The FHP says drivers should be aware of what they call “vulnerable users of the roadway.”
“It’s just that good observational attention that we all must have when we’re behind the wheel, looking out for the cyclists and the runners,” said Trooper Kenn Watson.
At the time of the crash, the woman hit was wearing a helmet, but Trooper Watson wants to remind bicyclists that just because you’re wearing a helmet, doesn’t mean tragedy can’t happen.
“If you come into contact with a 3,500-pound vehicle, the helmet is not going to do much good. When you’re on a bicycle and you’re coming up to a stop sign, you too must stop,” said Trooper Watson.
Following the rules of the road is just as important for bicyclists as it is for drivers.
“Just because there’s a bike lane there and you are a bicyclist, that doesn’t mean you can ignore the traffic control devices. Just as we do in vehicles, we also do so on those bicycles,” said Trooper Watson.
