Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Aurora Firefighter on His Bike Killed by Sunblind Driver


Reported by the Denver Post on March 16

An Aurora firefighter died today after his bicycle was hit by a pickup truck this morning.

Firefighter Jason Murphy was riding his bicycle to work at 7:30 a.m. when he was struck in the 18200 block of East Quincy Avenue.

According to a news release from Aurora Police, witnesses saw Murphy using the marked crosswalk and signal lights at the intersection near Summit Elementary School.

Witnesses also reported the pickup truck was not speeding, traveling about 30 mph in the 40 mph roadway.

The driver of the Dodge Ram pickup that struck Murphy, William Nale, 49, said he was blinded by the morning sunlight and did not see Murphy or the traffic signal.

Aurora Fire crews responded, treated Murphy on the scene and transported him to the hospital with serious injuries.
Murphy passed away later in the emergency room.

CSU student Michael Mcnulty produced a video this week addressing this issue.  It's worth a viewing.









Train-the-trainer bike safety program

 
Teach Bicycling 123 Youth Skills in our schools!  The Bike Co-op is building a corps of experts to help teach safety to kindergarten through 8th graders.  If you are 14 or older JOIN US!

Saturdays, 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. -  March 24 and 31; April 7, 14, 21; May 12 and 19