Parents of Divvy bike rider fatally struck by flatbed truck in Avondale, Illinois sue driver, company A&B Flooring Supplies Inc.
Sun-Times Media Wire
Updated 1 hr 36 mins ago
CHICAGO -- The parents of a 25-year-old woman fatally struck by a truck while riding a Divvy bike in July in the Northwest Side Avondale neighborhood filed a wrongful death lawsuit Monday.
Jim and Nancy Murray filed the lawsuit on behalf of the estate of 25-year-old Virginia Murray on Monday in Cook County Circuit Court against the truck driver and his employer, A&B Flooring Supplies Inc.
Murray was riding north on Sacramento and turning east onto Belmont just after 9 a.m. July 1 when she was struck by the flatbed truck, authorities said at the time. Murray, of the 1200 block of North Marion Court, was taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 9:58 a.m., authorities said.
The truck driver was issued a citation for failure to yield to a pedalcyclist in the roadway, according to Chicago police.
Her death marked the first fatality involving the Divvy system since it launched in 2013, and is the first known bike-sharing fatality nationwide.
"Asking bicyclists and motorists to peacefully coexist is a recipe for disaster. Ginny's death tragically marks the nation's first bike-sharing death. But if we cannot find a way to safely accommodate bikes on busy roadways, this will not be the last tragedy of this nature," attorney Jeffrey Kroll, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Murray family, said in a statement.
The three-count lawsuit claims the truck driver was negligent in failing to keep a proper lookout for bicyclists on the roadway and failing to yield the right of way to a bicyclist. It seeks more than $150,000 in damages.
A representative of A&B Flooring Supplies, reached by phone Monday morning, declined to comment.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire - Copyright Chicago Sun-Times 2016.)
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NEWS
Divvy bike rider killed in Avondale crash ID'd; believed to be first US bike-sharing death
Virginia Murray, 25, died after she was hit by a truck while riding a Divvy bike in the Avondale neighborhood. (WLS)
Liz Nagy
Friday, July 01, 2016
CHICAGO (WLS) -- A Divvy bike rider has died after she was hit by a truck in Avondale on Chicago's Northwest Side Friday morning. It is believed to be the first bike-sharing death in the United States.
Virginia Murray, 25, was struck near the corner of Belmont and Sacramento just after 9 a.m., authorities said. There are no bike lanes at the busy intersection.
In surveillance video, a large flatbed truck can be seen pulling up to the light at the intersection. After sitting for several seconds, Murray rides up on the right. At the moment she flanks the right side of the truck, the driver turns that direction, hitting her.
"There's been so many accidents at this intersection with or without the crossing guard," said Angela Edwards, who lives nearby. There are no marked bike lanes in the vicinity of the crash.
The driver from a nearby flooring company immediately jumped out of the truck. Baffled bystanders rushed over to help her as she lay motionless in the middle of the street.
Police said she was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash. Witnesses said rescuers performed CPR on her at the scene.
Murray was rushed to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in critical condition, where she died.
CDOT and Divvy released a joint statement expressing their condolences to the victim's family. They also said that while this was the first fatality in about 8 million Divvy rides taken in the city, they will continue to work to ensure riders' safety.