Bicycle Fatal Follow-Up, June 6

An adult male bicyclist died Wednesday following an afternoon collision between a pickup and his bicycle near Elmira in Lane County. Oregon State Police (OSP), with the assistance of Lane County Sheriff’s Office, is continuing the investigation.  On June 4, 2014 at approximately 2:00 p.m., a 1996 Chevrolet pickup pulling a horse trailer driven by SANDRA L. FAULHABER, age 63, from Elmira, was eastbound on Warthen Road west of Territorial Road when an eastbound bicyclist traveling on the eastbound shoulder attempted to turn left across the travel lanes to enter a private driveway. FAULHABER attempted to avoid the bicyclist but struck him from behind near the center of Warthen Road.  The 57-year old bicyclist, JAMES THOMAS MOODY from Elmira, was transported by air ambulance to Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend where he died later from his injuries. He was wearing a bicycle helmet.  OSP troopers and a collision reconstructionist from the Springfield Area Command office are continuing the investigation.  OSP was assisted at the scene by Lane County Sheriff’s Office and Lane Rural Fire/Rescue.  According to ODOT’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), this is the second bicyclist to die this year in a traffic crash involving a motor vehicle in Oregon. A third bicyclist also died earlier this month after riding over a 2×4 board on a highway shoulder and crashing. That fatality is not included in official reporting statistics because it did not involve a motor vehicle. OSP and ODOT urge all bicyclists and drivers to be alert for each other traveling on area roads throughout the State. Last year, five bicyclists were killed in traffic-related crashes. In 2012, ten bicyclists died in traffic-related crashes. Additional bicycle-related safety information and statistics is available on ODOT’s website at http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/ts/Pages/bicyclistsafety.aspx