A 48-year-old Point Pleasant man was killed in Brick Wednesday morning after his bicycle collided with a tractor-trailer on Route 88, police said.
The crash occurred at 8:58 a.m. near the intersection of Route 88 and Coolidge Drive, across from Midstreams Road, leaving the state highway and some adjacent streets closed for about four hours.
The victim's name was not released pending notification of next-of-kin, police said.
Sgt. David Bedrosian said the tractor-trailer had been stopped for the red traffic light on Route 88 westbound at the intersection with Coolidge Drive. The bicyclist, he said, was also traveling westbound on the right edge of the roadway.
As the traffic light turned green for westbound traffic, the tractor-trailer began to make a right turn onto Coolidge, Bedrosian said. As the tractor trailer maneuvered its turn, the bicyclist continued westbound on the edge of the roadway, and the two collided.
The bicyclist initially made contact with the right side cab area of the tractor trailer, Bedrosian said. That impact resulted in the bicyclist being knocked down onto the roadway, and then being struck by the trailer’s right rear wheels.
The driver of the tractor trailer, James J. Southrey, 47, of Sewwll, along with an unidentified firefighter immediately began to administer CPR to the struck bicyclist. Core Care, a passing private ambulance service, also rendered assistance and began treating the bicyclist until other medical services arrived on scene, Bedrosian said.
Brick Police EMS as well as MONOC paramedics also responded to take the bicyclist to Ocean Medical Center. He was pronounced dead upon arrival there.
The crash is stil under investigation, though police said the bicyclist was not wearing a helmet.
Brick Township Police officers Brenden Barnes and Glenn Turner were the initial responding officers to the scene, Bedrosian said. Officer Jay Lampiasi and Officer Scott Dierking of the Traffic Safety Unit responded and are conducting the investigation.
Detective David Margentino and Michael Proto of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Vehicular Homicide Unit also responded, in addition to detectives Michael Senger and Anthony Giardina from the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department Criminal Investigation Unit. The New Jersey State Police Commercial Carrier South Inspection Unit also responded to assist with the investigation.
Title 39:4-10.1 In New Jersey, anyone under 17 years of age that rides a bicycle or is a passenger on a bicycle, or is towed as a passenger by a bicycle must wear a safety helmet. 39:4-14.1 Rights and Duties of Persons on Bicycles. Every person riding a bicycle on a roadway is granted all the rights and subject to all of the duties of the motor vehicle driver. 39:4-14.2, 39:4-10.11 Operating Regulations. Every person riding a bicycle on a roadway shall ride as near to the right roadside as practicable exercising due care when passing a standing vehicle or one proceeding in the same direction.
that's the beauty of riding a bike, when the cars are stopped, you can keep going. just because traffic is stopped does not mean a person on bike,riding on the shoulder has to stop also...even thought they may be passing on the right. if a person on a bike gets to an intersection and a car is turning left and traffic is backed up behind the turning car, the bicyclist can still proceed, he doesn't need to stop because traffic cannot continue. he should proceed w/ caution so he doesn't get smacked by a car turning left from the opposite way,but he has right of way and may continue. how this guy got ran over at an intersection,if both were stopped for the light is beyone me. a tractor trailer needs to drive deep into a right turn so his trailer's wheels have clearance on the curb. The truck driver probably started forward from the stop light, drove deep into the intersection and started his right turn and at the same time the guy on the bike just started riding and rode right into the path of the truck. I driven past there thousands of times, if the tractor trailer was stopped for the light, he couldn't have been going more than 10mph while making that turn,how doesn't a 48 yr old man notice the truck is beginning his turn?
Source: avid cyclist, rides local roads frequently
1) he is moving with the flow of traffic 2) observes the traffic signals and rules of the road just as motor vehicles. so if a bicyclist is traveling with the flow of traffic,arrives at an intersection with a green light and proceeds through,he has the right of way to any person making a turn (provided the bicyclist arrives at the intersection first or is entering the intersection) whether it is a motor vehicle making left from the opposite direction or a right from the same direction the bicyclist is traveling. it is NOT illegal for a bicyclist to pass stopped traffic on the right. What you are saying is that if traffic is backed up XXX # of cars or miles and a bicyclist gets to the traffic jam,he is not allowed to pass the traffic, that is not correct. Motor vehicles are (suppose to be) prohibited from passing on shoulders. Mopeds,bicycles,tricycles,unicycles,skateboards are all suppose to utilize the shoulder of the road (moving with the flow of traffic) if they cannot keep up with the posted speed limit unless there is no designated shoulder or not enough room to ride safely,then they may use the road but may not impede traffic and motor vehicles must give way or yield to slower traffic caused by mopeds,bicycles,tricycles,unicycles,skateboards until they can safely navigate around past them.
I would never stand in the travel lane, in traffic, waiting to get smushed between two cars. Traveling through neighborhoods is one thing to ride in the street but again with the flow of traffic not meandering any which way,traveling on a State Highway is a totally different animal.
Yes, Sandy and Suresh are the same person. He was a friend of mine through the gas station and through church. If you have any questions about the accident, the Brick Police Department in Brick, NJ can help you. Their phone number is 732-477-8300
The State DOT should look at this intersection for bicycle and pedestrian improvements such as moving the stop bars back and painting the crosswalks (so the vehicles do not block the crosswalk area and can see a bicyclist waiting at the light).