Category: Bicycle Accidents

Bicycle accident injuries are often serious in nature.  Many of these injuries can become life-threatening in nature.  As seen in the Cook County  bicycle accidents that have been summarized on this site, a variety of bicycle accident injuries have resulted from such crashes.

As discussed on the “Chicago Bicycle Accidents” and “Bicycle Accident Injuries” and “Bicycling Accidents In Cook County” pages, there are many reasons as to why bicycle accidents can happen, and a broad range of injuries can result from such accidents.   As well, the severity of such accident injuries can vary widely.

Due to many reasons, cyclists who are injured during a crash that is not their fault often seek compensation for their accident injuries through the filing of a personal injury lawsuit.  These lawsuits can seek various types of compensation, depending upon such factors as the type and severity of the injuries as well as the hardships caused by these injuries.

Recently there was a notable bicycle accident in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood, near the Avondale neighborhood.  The accident involved a 3-year-old female bicyclist who was hit by a driver who allegedly was driving a stolen car.  This accident is discussed in the September 14, 2018 Block Club Chicago article titled “Cyclist Hit By Driver Of Stolen Car At Logan Square/Avondale Border Faces Long Recovery.”  As seen in the article, the cyclist was hit by a driver who was allegedly driving the wrong direction.   The cyclist was seriously injured, and her injuries include spinal fractures, a fractured shoulder, a collapsed lung and various lacerations.  The cyclist can’t walk without assistance at this time, and a long recovery period that will involved rehabilitation appears likely.

Additional details regarding bicycle accidents and the resulting bicycle accident injuries can be seen in the sources mentioned above.

There are many Cook County bicycle accidents that happen each year.  As discussed on the “Chicago Bicycle Accidents” and “Bicycle Accident Injuries” and “Bicycling Accidents In Cook County” pages, there are many reasons as to why bicycle accidents can happen, and there is a broad range of injuries that can result from such accidents.   As well, the severity of such accident injuries can vary widely.  For instance, while a bicycle accident can lead to a minor concussion, it is also possible that a bicycle accident can result in a serious traumatic brain injury that can be life-threatening in nature.   Due to the potential severity of a serious brain injury, wearing a bicycle helmet is one way to potentially avoid serious head trauma.

While many bicycle accidents are caused by other parties – such as motorists – there are other crashes that are the fault of the bicyclist.

There was a bicycle accident in Arlington Heights on Friday (August 17, 2018) morning.  The bicyclist suffered various injuries after being hit by a Jeep SUV.

An excerpt from the August 17, 2018 Daily Herald article titled “Bicyclist injured after being struck by SUV in Arlington Heights“:

A bicyclist has serious injuries after he ran a red light and was struck by an SUV Friday morning in Arlington Heights, authorities said.

The 37-year-old man was riding northbound on Wilke Road at 7:05 a.m. and crossing Euclid Avenue against traffic when he was hit by a 2012 Jeep Wrangler, according to Police Sgt. Steve Hudgens.

Among the bicyclist’s injuries were a broken leg.  His injuries were considered to be non-life-threatening in nature.

Additional details regarding Cook County bicycle accidents and their injuries can be seen in the sources mentioned above.

There was a fatal Chicago West Loop bicycle accident Thursday (August 9, 2018) morning.

According to Chicago Police, the accident occurred at approximately 7:10 a.m. as the bicyclist, a 39-year-old woman, was riding north on Halsted.  At Madison, she was struck by a dump truck that was making a right-hand turn.

The bicyclist was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.  She was later identified as Angela Park, 39, of Chicago.

This fatal Chicago West Loop bicycle accident remains under investigation.

Additional details and possible updates can be seen in a variety of media sources, including the August 9, 2018 Chicago Sun-Times article titled “Cyclist dies after being hit by truck in West Loop” as well as the August 9 NBC Chicago article titled “Cyclist Dies After Being Hit by Truck in West Loop:  Police.”

Bicycling accidents have often been discussed on this site, as they often lead to a range of serious if not life-threatening accident injuries.  Some bicycle accidents lead to the death of the bicyclist, either at the accident scene or afterward.

During a bicycle accident, the bicyclist can be subject to very strong and unnatural forces during the collision.  Individual Chicago area bicycle accidents are summarized in posts found under the “Bicycling Accidents” category.  Additional discussion of bicycle accidents – including types of bicycle accidents as well as medical and legal considerations – can be found on the “Bicycling Accidents In Cook County” and “Bicycle Accident Injuries” pages.  As discussed on those pages, there are many types of bicycle accidents, including those that are the fault of the bicyclist as well as those that are the fault of a motorist or other person.   As mentioned on those pages, it is highly recommended that someone who has been injured during a bicycle accident receive proper medical care and attend to legal issues as soon as possible after the accident.

There was a fatal bicycle accident Wednesday (June 13, 2018) night in the West Town neighborhood.  Details on the accident are somewhat limited; the circumstances surrounding the bicycle accident does not appear to be publicly disclosed at this time.

According to Chicago Police, the collision involved a bicycle and a car (a Lexus) in the 600 block of North Ogden.  At the time of the crash the Lexus was turning north onto Ogden Avenue from Erie.

The bicyclist, identified as a 41-year-old man, was declared dead after being taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

According to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office, a subsequent autopsy indicated that he died from multiple injuries resulting from the accident.

An excerpt from the June 14, 2018 Chicago Sun-Times article titled “West Town crash kills bicyclist on Ogden“:

The 40-year-old man driving the Lexus was issued a citation for failure to exercise due care, police said.

Additional discussion concerning Chicago bicycle accidents can be seen in the sources mentioned above.

There was a fatal bicycle accident Wednesday night (January 11, 2017) in Humboldt Park neighborhood on Chicago’s West Side.

Details on the accident are limited at this time.  The cause and the fault of the accident do not appear to be be publicly disclosed at this time.

According to Chicago Police, the accident happened at 10:38 p.m., as a man riding a bicycle west on Division was struck by a Chevrolet Cruze that was northbound on Sacramento.

The bicyclist was taken to Stroger Hospital, and was pronounced dead.

The driver of the Cruze, a 36-year-old man, was not injured.

At this time no citations have been issued with regard to the fatal collision.

The crash is being investigated by the Chicago Police Major Accidents Investigation Unit.

Additional details and possible updates concerning this fatal Chicago bicycle accident can be seen in a variety of media sources, including the January 12, 2017 dnainfo.com article titled “Bicyclist Dies After Getting Hit By Car in Humboldt Park” as well as the January 12 CBS Chicago article titled “Police:  Bicyclist Fatally Struck By Car In Humboldt Park.”

There are many bicycle accidents that happen in Chicago on an ongoing basis.  In the last few months, several high-profile fatal Chicago bicycle accidents have occurred, which has heightened recognition of the issue of Chicago bicycling safety.

On this site, many Chicago and Chicago area bicycle accidents have been summarized.  As well, additional discussion concerning various facets of bicycle accidents is seen on the following three pages:

Chicago Bicycle Accidents

Bicycling Accidents In Cook County

Bicycle Accident Injuries

The dnainfo.com article of October 24, 2016, titled “Cyclist Thrown Into Pickup Truck After Yet Another Crash On Milwaukee Avenue” discusses two recent Chicago bicycle accidents.  The first happened on Milwaukee Avenue on October 7, and involved a bicyclist colliding with a pedestrian.  The bicyclist was taken to a hospital for treatment of accident injuries that included a shoulder and leg injury.

Another previous bicycle accident – that also happened on Milwaukee Avenue near Milwaukee and Sacramento Avenues in the Logan Square neighborhood – is also mentioned.  In that car-bicycle collision, the bicyclist was thrown onto the hood of the car.

Additional details can be seen in the sources mentioned above.

A man has died following a bicycle accident that happened on September 20, 2016 in Evergreen Park.  The man, Danny Carbol, 56, of Mount Greenwood, was a Chicago Fire Department lieutenant.  He died from accident injuries on Monday (October 10, 2016) night.

The bicycle accident happened as Carbol was riding his bicycle home from work.

An excerpt from the October 12, 2016 Chicago Tribune article titled “Chicago fire lieutenant is 12th bicycle death in Cook County this year“:

A witness told police that the Jeep Grand Cherokee that hit Carbol had stopped at a four-way stop while heading east on 93rd Street, then started through the intersection, while Carbol had failed to stop at a stop sign while heading south on Central Park Avenue, according to the police report. The 33-year-old Chicago woman who was driving the Jeep told police she hadn’t seen Carbol and was in the intersection when he hit the side of her SUV.

The witness, who was in a car behind the Jeep, said “it appeared he was assuming that the (Jeep) was going to stop for him,” according to the report. Instead, the bicycle hit the side of the Jeep, Carbol flew off the bike, hit the Jeep’s hood and fell to the ground.

Another excerpt regarding the car-bicycle collision, as seen in the abc7chicago.com article of October 11, 2016 titled “Danny Carbol, Chicago Fire Department lieutenant, dies after bicycle crash“:

He collided with a vehicle and braked hard, going over the bike and hitting the vehicle head-first, Langford said. The exact time and address of the crash was not immediately known.
“Despite the best efforts to save him, the brain damage was irreversible,” Langford said.

An autopsy indicated that Carbol died of multiple injuries.

Additional details and possible updates concerning this fatal Cook County bicycle accident can be seen in a variety of media sources, including the Chicago Tribune and abc7chicago.com articles mentioned above.  The dnainfo.com article of October 11, titled “Bicyclist Killed In Crash Was A Chicago Fire Department Lieutenant” also contains remembrances and funeral information.

There was a fatal bicycle accident Monday morning (September 26, 2016) at Damen Avenue near Addison Street in Chicago’s North Center neighborhood.

According to Chicago Police, the accident happened at 7:50 a.m. as a bicyclist (a woman thought to be in her 30s) was riding northbound on Damen Avenue.  At that same time, a flatbed truck (slightly shorter than a semi truck) was also traveling northbound on Damen Avenue.  As the truck attempted to turn east onto Addison Street, the truck struck the bicyclist. [i.e. it appears to be a “right-hook” accident.]

The bicyclist died at the accident scene.

The accident is being investigated by the Chicago Police Major Accidents Investigation Unit.  There might have been witnesses given that people were nearby waiting for a bus.

As of Monday morning the truck driver has not been cited in the accident.

Additional details and possible updates concerning this fatal Chicago bicycle accident can be seen in a variety of media sources, including the September 26, 2016 dnainfo.com article titled “Cyclist Killed In Crash With Truck At Damen And Addison” as well as the September 26 Fox32Chicago.com article titled “Police:  Bicyclist fatally struck by truck in North Center.”

There was a fatal bicycle accident Thursday evening (September 22, 2016) in Evanston.

According to authorities, the accident happened in the 2000 block of Sheridan Road (near Sheridan Road and Northwestern Place) as a cement truck was traveling northbound on Sheridan Road between Garrett Place and Library Place with the green light.  At approximately 5:00 p.m., the truck struck the bicyclist as she was riding out of a lot.  The force of the impact knocked the bicyclist off the bike and she went under the truck.

An excerpt from the Evanston Review article (with video) of September 23, 2016 titled “First-year NU student from China struck, killed while riding bike,” quoting Evanston Police Chief Richard Eddington:

“She just misjudged the speed of the truck,” Eddington said. “Or didn’t realize how long the truck was. … A tragic accident.”

The bicyclist was identified as Chuyuan Qiu, 18.  She was taken to Evanston Northshore University Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

The cement truck’s driver was not cited in the incident.  He was identified as a 38-year-old resident of Des Plaines.

Additional details regarding this fatal bicycle accident can be seen in a variety of media sources, including the Evanston Review article mentioned above, as well as the September 22 Wilmette Patch article titled “Northwestern Student Killed While Riding Bike On Campus.”

A bicyclist was hit and critically injured by a vehicle Saturday night (August 20, 2016) in Chicago Ridge.

Details regarding this bicycle accident are limited in nature.  The accident happened sometime after 11:00 p.m. near 111th Street and Mayfield Avenue.

The bike’s rider was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center for treatment of his accident injuries.

One potential indication of the severity of the accident was that the bicycle was badly mangled during the crash.

Additional details and possible updates concerning this Cook County bicycle accident can be seen in a variety of media sources, including the August 21, 2016 CBS Chicago article (with video) titled “Cyclist Hit, Injured in South Suburban Chicago Ridge” as well as the August 22 Oak Lawn Patch article titled “Car Strikes, Critically Injured Cyclist in Chicago Ridge:  Reports.”