Virginia Murray, 25 Was Killed Riding a Divvy After Being Hit By a Truck 07/01/16


On Streetsblog:

A female bike rider was critically injured by a truck driver this morning at about 9:10 a.m. at Belmont Avenue and Sacramento Avenue in Avondale, according to Officer José Estrada from Police News Affairs. The cyclist was taken to Illinois Masonic Hospital, Estrada said.

According to an employee of a nearby business, the bike rider had been using a Divvy bike-share vehicle.

This appears to be the second case of a bike-share rider being critically injured in Chicago. In November 2014, medical student Travis Persaud was struck by two different drivers while riding a Divvy bike on Sunday, November 22, at 2:50 a.m. on Lake Shore Drive. He suffered a broken leg and a dislocated shoulder, and was placed in a medically induced coma. Family members believed he had been trying to cross Lake Shore Drive on his way home. Persaud’s current medical condition is unknown.

Full Article: http://chi.streetsblog.org/2016/07/01/police-divvy-rider-critically...

Update on Chicago Tribune: 

A 20-year-old woman riding a Divvy bike who was killed Friday morning in a crash involving a flat-bed truck in the city's Avondale neighborhood is believed to be the first person killed riding a bike-sharing bicycle in the United States.

The crash happened about 9 a.m. near Sacramento and Belmont avenues, said Officer Jose Estrada, a police spokesman, citing preliminary information. The truck and the woman were both going north on Sacramento, when they both turned east at Belmont and collided, Estrada said.

Initially, the woman was taken in critical condition to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center but later was pronounced dead, Estrada said.

Full Story: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-female-bicycli...

Our thoughts are with Virginia Murray's family and friends. 

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jon Cunningham on July 4, 2016 at 12:55pm

Three points about the video, and some stills that I have seen. 1. The front wheels or cab hit the cyclist, not some part of the truck near the back wheels. Some have mentioned back wheel tracking being the problem. While that often can be true, it was not in this case. She was already hit by the time the back of the truck got to her. 2. The cab of the truck has gigantic windows on the front and sides. Almost a glass cab! The driver had plenty of opportunity to see the cyclist, but hit her anyway. 3. An experienced cyclist would not likely have come up alongside the truck in the first place, instead remaining behind it. But not every Divvy rider is an experienced cyclist, and an infrastructure that uses bike lanes as a guide can easily mislead the inexperienced into unsafe situations.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on July 2, 2016 at 12:33am

My sympathy to the family and friends of Virginia Murray.

Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on July 2, 2016 at 5:47am

One of our sponsors, Michael Keating has a follow up about the crash: 

http://www.illinoisbicyclelaw.com/2016/07/update-video-details-emer...

Permalink Reply by Jon Cunningham on July 4, 2016 at 1:27pm

I would have waited behind the truck as well. But Divvy riders come with a wide range of cycling savvy. Maybe they should put some kind of "riding tips" brochures at the rental racks.

Permalink Reply by Tom A.K. on July 4, 2016 at 1:57pm
Watching the video over again, (part of this video is in slow motion, I've seen the real time video somewhere?) she seems to be in a great rush to get to her destination promptly (common for all in the morning rush) and either figures she can beat the truck by getting ahead of it (on a slow Divvy) and doesn't realize (or doesn't see any right turn signal) that he's turning right and can't see her.
Permalink Reply by Mike Keating on July 2, 2016 at 12:09pm

This is the correct link.

http://www.illinoisbicyclelaw.com/2016/07/video-details-emerge-that...

Very sad. Virginia Murray worked for BCBS which is the sponsor of Divvy. I've heard she was also a St. Ignatius grad as well. 

Permalink Reply by Tom A.K. on July 2, 2016 at 9:03am
It would be nice if Virginia Murray's picture could be visible in this thread. View attachment below.

The personal story for Virginia was that up until just a few weeks ago she was working as a Marketing Communications Consultant for (Divvy sponsor) Blue Cross and Blue Shield.
Attachments:
Permalink Reply by Shawn Evans on July 2, 2016 at 1:02pm

You have to look ahead and figure out the timing of the light.

If I have enough time, I'll ride up ahead of traffic and go when the light is green.

If there isn't time to do that, I'll hang back and watch to see what the cars ahead are doing.

The trickiest place is approaching Grand, because some cars turn and others go straight. The mirror helps a lot with that situation.

Permalink Reply by Paul Lazzaro on July 2, 2016 at 4:01pm

This terrible incident reminds me to share the best advice for cyclists I've found.  This sums up what I've learned in 5 decades of riding.  http://bicyclesafe.com/

Permalink Reply by Peter on July 6, 2016 at 4:51am

Something all need to read. An article on RKP in the past month reacting to the Michigan crash also talked about how the author was much more willing to be behind cars than race in front of them. It's just too hard to react in those situations--keeping things in front of you gives you the best chance.

But sometimes all that you do can't even help you. My fiance and I were almost hit at the Wells/lincoln/clark bike lane the other day near the Hotel Lincoln. We were in the bike lane and stopped for the red light (for reference the bike lane is in between the right turn lane and the left lane which is meant to go straight on Lincoln). At the light I looked directly at the driver to my left, made eye contact, saw he didn't have a signal on. Despite all of these factors, he still pulled in front of me and made an illegal right turn and almost hit the two of us. I genuinely don't get it sometimes.

Permalink Reply by Josh L. on July 3, 2016 at 2:01am

My comments below are about the overall issue of biking in the right at intersections. I have no insights into who was at fault in this accident. My heart goes out to Virginia Murray's family.

I bike to work in River North every day from Uptown and also do all my personal transportation via bike (no car). So I end up to the right of cars/trucks at intersections quite often.  Here's my personal approach to biking on the right side next to cars/trucks

In general I bike in the far right at intersections as I believe it's safer than being in the right hand traffic lane. I don't want to slow drivers down and I'm worried about getting hit from the left or being in someone's blind spot.

As I approach an intersection I will look at the car in the right lane (to my left) and see if the turn signal is on.  If it is when I pull up parallel I will look at the driver and make sure I am seen.  Most drivers preparing to turn have their eyes to the right. If the person doesn't see me I will pull back so they can clear the intersection before I move ahead.  Or I will move up a bit so they definitely see me. 99% of the time I am able to make eye contact with the drivers.

If I am approaching the intersection and the turn signal is not on I'll still look at the car's orientation. My experience is that most cars preparing to turn will have slightly turned the vehicle/tires to the right a definite tell. Again I will look at the driver to try and make eye contact with them just in case.  And I'll ride in the crosswalk quite often as an added safety step (staying clear of pedestrians but I'm always well into the intersection before them).

With busss and trucks I am especially careful. I know the bus routes enough to know whether the bus turns to the right.  With trucks - I don't think it's happened many times - I'll be ready to move quickly.  I will "never" pass these vehicles on the left as I think that's where you get squeezed between them and the left lane of cars.  I see a lot of bikers threading that space and to me it looks dangerous.  

On the right I follow all the procedures described above.  Worst case If trucks/buses start to turn I have enough time to get out of their way . When trucks are stopped at an intersection my experience is they are careful about turning, particularly with the risk of hitting a pedestrian. Again biking the crosswalk gives me added protection.  

All the procedures above are for stopped cars/buses/trucks at intersections.  If the vehicles are moving, I probably would make a judgement based on the vehicle's speed/size to see if I can easily clear it if it decides to turn.  I would probably not pass on the right large buses/trucks at intersections while they are moving.  

Permalink Reply by Paul Lazzaro on July 3, 2016 at 3:29am

Per state law, I ride as far to the right as practicable - when I am going slower than the other traffic.  Approaching a stop signal, I'm not going slower than the other traffic, so I take the lane and take my place in line with vehicle drivers.  After I get far enough through the intersection that I won't be right-hooked, I move to the right again.

I only ride in the right-turn lane if I intend a right turn, and then I take that lane.  The only problem I have doing this comes from other cyclists; even though I am in a turn lane, and I am signalling a right turn, they often pass me on the right to go straight through the intersection.  But I know enough to watch out for this.

I keep to the left of bus stops, so that bus drivers aren't tempted to play leapfrog with me.

I signal obsessively!  And I watch obsessively for signals from drivers.  If they are courteous enough to give me a signal, I try to help them make their maneuver.  For example, if a driver signals a right turn to pull into a parking spot, I move left behind them rather than making them wait for me to pass on the right.

I stop for pedestrians (always) and motion to drivers behind me to do the same (usually a few blow by me before one finally decides to stop).  I almost always get a smile and a 'thank you' from the pedestrian.

I don't ride on sidewalks or in crosswalks.  Drivers don't expect to see something moving at bicycle speed entering the street from a sidewalk or going through a crosswalk.  To avoid annoying pedestrians you need to ride quite slowly anyway, so I just get off and walk in those rare occasions that I want to use a crosswalk.

I rarely see other cyclists riding as I do (typically they hug the curb all the time, as I suppose someone taught them to do), but as I've been riding in traffic for a few decades without incident, I feel that I must not be too misguided in my approach.

It's a sad commentary on the state of transportation cycling in the US that even people like us, who ride all the time and want to be safe and responsible, don't necessarily agree on what exactly constitutes best cycling practice! 

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