John Boyle
Sat, 20 Nov 2004 10:33:31 -0800
Perhaps we should remind the Pottstown Mercury that Limerick Township turned back nearly a half million dollars to construct bike lanes and shoulders in the township including on both roads where these fatalities occured. LIMERICK -- A Pottstown man was killed Friday morning when he was struck by a car on Linfield-Trappe Road, according to police. Paul Philip O'Donnell, 42, of Chestnut Street, was pushing a bicycle along the road when he was struck by a van at 5:30 a.m., police said. Advertisement The driver of the van, Phillip A. Fisher, 40, of Linfield, was on his way to work when the accident occurred, according to Limerick Police Chief William Albany. "The driver appeared coherent and volunteered a blood sample for analysis," Albany said. "It appears he just didn't see (the victim)." It was dark at the time, and Albany said O'Donnell was pushing his bicycle on the road. The shoulder of the road is not paved. "We're still looking into it," Albany said. "We don't know why (Fisher) didn't see him. He swerved at the last moment, but it was too late." O'Donnell suffered a serious head injury and was pronounced dead at the scene. Albany said he determined the man was pushing the bicycle rather than riding it because the bicycle was not struck by the van. Limerick has been the site of several deadly crashes this year, and Friday's accident was the second time a pedestrian has been killed. A 27-year-old Lower Pottsgrove man was walking along Ridge Pike with a friend June 9 when a passing car ran into him. The man died a short time later of his injuries. Albany said the driver in that incident was not cited. He said investigations into such accidents aim to assess a degree of culpability on either party. "We sit down with county detectives and members of the D.A.'s office and look into a range of different factors," Albany said. "There are degrees of culpability, even if charges are not filed, and that is what we hope to determine in this case." Albany said there were no indications that high speed contributed to the accident. He said it appeared the driver might have taken his eyes off the road. Albany said traffic safety has been a concern of his since he took over as chief in February. "I'm concerned with the rate of crashes in the township," he said. "We're going to have to redouble our efforts at traffic safety." ---- You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named "bike." To subscribe or unsubscribe or for archive information, see <http://www.purple.com/list.html>. See also http://bcgp.blogspot.com/ and http://www.bicyclecoalition.org/