http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-skokie-bicycl...
The car hit Robert E. McKenny near the intersection of Main Street and Skokie Highway Thursday night, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.
McKenny was pronounced dead just after 1 a.m. Friday at St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, the spokesman said. He lived in the 8600 block of Niles Court Road in Skokie.
The accident happened around 8 p.m. Skokie police were not commenting on the crash.
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Rest in peace, Mr. McKenny.
Views: 1892
I can't ride tonight, but what a beautiful idea.
At least this waste-of-space was caught today:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/suburbs/skokie/chi-emt-cha...
Nooo...
This is a depressing story but in any case I admire this man for staying on his bicycle no matter what his age or the weather. It's best to play it safe with lights, helmet, and following the rules (for your own well-being as well as others) but meh... people make their choices. I can't say I always obey the rules or that I'm as well-lit as I could be...but even if we do everything "right" there's no guarantee we won't get destroyed by some distracted driver. I'd rather enjoy my life on my bicycle and if I get taken out so be it. Any ideas on how to rally around safer cycling? Just feel so powerless sometimes...
Trib's update from this morning, with more details. Driver wasn't charged.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/suburbs/skokie/ct-met-bicy...
By Deanese Williams-Harris, Chicago Tribune reporter
November 10, 2012
Lawrence McKenney said Friday he figured something was wrong when his 68-year-old brother was several hours late in returning from his job at Northeastern Illinois University the night before.
"When I got a call from the hospital, my stomach dropped. I knew it was my brother," said McKenney, 73.
Officials at St. Francis Hospital in Evanston told McKenney that his brother had been hit by a car early Thursday evening as he rode his bicycle near Main Street and Skokie Boulevard in Skokie. Robert McKenney, 68, was thrown from the bicycle and crushed his skull, his brother said.
McKenney was pronounced dead at 1 a.m. Friday at St. Francis, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.
Robert McKenney regularly biked the four miles from his Skokie home to NEIU, where he worked in the purchasing department. "If the weather was nice, he rode his bike," his brother said.
Robert McKenney, who lived with his brother, was scheduled to work a half day at the university Thursday and was expected home about 3 p.m., Lawrence McKenney said.
The bicyclist was riding south on Skokie near Main when he was hit by a motorist, his brother said. He flipped over and struck his head.
He was a veteran who served in Korea, his brother said. "He was a cheerful guy, very religious and never missed a Mass," his brother said. "The pope should have his record."
Police said Robert McKenney was trying to cross the street when he was struck. The 30-year-old driver of the car tried to avoid McKenney and crashed into a pole, police said.
The investigation is ongoing, but the driver had not been charged, police said.
Northside Mass stopped over there (skokie Blvd& main) last night...talked with some some people working in 7-11 & dunk'n d's as well as a local man that filled in the blanks about what happened.
That's what we heard as well...that he was crossing just south of the intersection coming from the 7-11 parking lot. He was (by witness accounts) heading west across the 4 lanes and the driver,that struck him, was traveling south.
I realize there are a lot of unknowns here, but I wonder how fast the driver was going. IMO, one of the biggest reasons many streets are unsafe- especially 4 lane streets like this (or Ashland Ave, for example) is the flagrant nature with which almost all drivers violate the speed limits on these roads. A limit of 30 mph on Ashland, for example, can only be achieved during rush hour, bumper to bumper traffic. When traffic is light, Ashland is usually a 40-50 mph zone. Almost no one talks about this.
S.Presley☠ said:
That's what we heard as well...that he was crossing just south of the intersection coming from the 7-11 parking lot. He was (by witness accounts) heading west across the 4 lanes and the driver,that struck him, was traveling south.
Was the driver distracted by a mobile device? The bicyclist might have been accustomed to a riding style since before smartphone distractions, when most motorists would yield.
Thanx for posting Presley! Excellent scene of incident photos. And we got to hear at length from a local, as I'd hoped might happen. I'm a raving car hater and even I'd just guess miscalculations, and not crossing at a corner, and darkness. Probably a helmet lesson. But I shouldn't guess more. We seemed to be the first decorators there, though more than 24 hours post. I was worried that TCLer's might hate the balloon, it was a hard trade-off, possible perceived frivolity vs. ease of installation. Weird thing about taking rides to incident scenes is, they always involve streets that are PROVEN risky. I would never have gone to that nasty corner on bike otherwise. Though the drivers on Main were very tolerant. It's at the far south west corner of the garage (Main Auto Service), on Southbound Skokie Hwy/Bvd about 150 feet south of Main. R.I.P.
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