There is no doubt that an accident between a vehicle and a bicyclist is devastating for the cyclist. After all, there is nothing to protect the rider from the impact of the collision.
When that vehicle happens to be a large and heavy commercial truck, the injuries suffered by the rider could very well prove to be fatal.
Such was the case last month for a 62-year-old Fort Collins University music professor. KUSA reports that the cyclist died on August 20 after crashing into the side of a commercial truck. The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) announced that the fatal accident occurred in Berthoud around noon.
The bicyclist was traveling south near Bunyan Avenue on Berthoud Parkway in the same direction as the Fort Morgan truck driver, who was 71 years old. For unknown reasons, he struck the side of the moving truck.
A doctor at McKee Medical Center performed a forensic autopsy the following day. The professor died from multiple blunt force trauma injuries.
The driver of the semitruck was not believed to have been impaired or speeding at the time of the wreck. He was not injured in the crash that claimed the cyclist’s life.
Often, in similar crashes where no criminal charges arise after a death, the families of the victims may still be able to pursue justice by filing wrongful death claims against the drivers involved in the accidents that claimed their loved ones’ lives.
Since the burden of proof is lower for plaintiffs to prevail in civil court than it is for prosecutors in criminal proceedings, survivors often choose to seek closure in this manner.
A civil settlement or jury award can help replace lost income that would otherwise be earned by the person who died in the collision.