Another cycling fatality occurred yesterday near the corner of Northwest Expressway and MacArthur:
Anthony Guzman, 14, was riding a 20-inch BMX bicycle in the 5700 block of Northwest Expressway when he tried to cross from south to north and was hit by an eastbound car.
Guzman was dead at the scene, said police Maj. Hugh Osborn. He lived in the area, Osborn said.
via Name of boy killed on bicycle in Warr Acres released | NewsOK.com.
The incident occurred at 8:15 PM but there is no information about whether the cyclist had lights on his bike. However, the driver was not cited for any traffic violations, so there is ancillary evidence that the bicyclist was found to be at fault.
As most urban cyclists know, Northwest Expressway is particularly difficult to cross. This is the second cyclist fatality in two years on Northwest Expressway. With very few safe lights and constant traffic it is hard to find a gap. The intersection that I am forced to use for my commute (Independence and Northwest Expressway) is impossible to trigger by bicycle and has no crosswalk buttons to push on either side of the street. So I’m often forced to wait for long periods for the light to be triggered. Unfortunately, I consider it one of the best places to cross the road.
Without any information about how this accident occurred, I won’t blame the road for the accident, but it is certainly a dividing line for the city with no good means for crossing it. If Mayor Cornett really wants to make OKC cyclist friendly, providing good crossings across this dangerous bit of roadway would go a long way towards that goal and hopefully could help prevent tragedies such as this one.