A man from Columbia, Missouri, was tragically killed as he rode his bicycle in the westbound shoulder of I-70 and was hit by a truck. The truck accident happened at approximately 4 a.m., close to the Lake of the Woods exit.
Some details of the accident are still not clear, including why it took around eight hours before the dead man’s body was discovered or approximately another two hours, or ten hours after the accident, until investigators finally shut down the highway so that a proper gathering of forensic evidence could commence.
The dead man was praised by family as hard working, and he was said to frequently be engaged in two or three handyman-type jobs. He often rode his bike most places as he lacked a driver’s license. I-70 was reportedly his quickest route to his home.
The state highway patrol received a phone call around the time of the accident from a trucker who said he may have hit a deer. Later, Columbia police investigators suspected that this trucker may have been the one who hit the man, and DNA tests were conducted which may confirm that suspicion.
Truck accidents frequently result in serious injury or death because of the great weight of the vehicles. Frequent factors in truck accidents are abuse of drugs or alcohol, driving while fatigued, distracted driving from texting or cellphone use and speeding.
Victims in such truck accidents are frequently bike riders, pedestrians, and motorists in private cars. Victims and their families can pursue personal injury or wrongful death lawsuits against reckless truckers, and also, in many instances, against their employers. Such lawsuits both compensate the victims and their families and help to deter the kinds of behavior that leads to such accidents.
Source: Columbia Daily Tribune, “Friends rue Columbia bicyclist’s tragic death” Alan Burdziak, Nov. 02, 2013