Fatal Accident: Vehicle Vs Bicyclist on Broadway in Eureka
![Traffic on Wabash and Broadway is impacted by the crash. [Image from the Caltrans traffic Cam]](https://kymkemp.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Crash-bicycle.png)
Traffic on Wabash and Broadway is impacted by the crash. [Image from the Caltrans traffic Cam]
The officer asked for an ambulance and said the bicyclist had major injuries.
Please remember that information gathered from initial reports is subject to revision as more facts become available.
UPDATE 11:35 a.m.: This appears to be a fatal accident. According to the scanner, this is a confirmed coroner’s case.
Emergency vehicles at the scene. [Photo from Steve Bakos]
Please note the next image may be disturbing to many readers.
A body covered by a tarp next to a bicycle. [Photo from Steve Bakos]
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Instead of spending money on getting tourists into this area, how about spending money on making our roads more safe. This is ridiculous that so many people are getting killed on Broadway. Whether vehicle to vehicle or vehicle to bicyclists or vehicle to pedestrian someone is dying at least once a week on Broadway. Enough already.
Two words: elevated bypass.
How would you get the drug addicts to actually use the bypass? Unless you have an elevated bypass every couple hundred feet, they will not use it.
Agreed, so much effort is spent on how do we get people to take care of whomever. We have a massive population of folks who live via theft and graft and do what they want, how do we address that and the impact on our society?
LOL
“Graft”
Do you even know what that word means?
noun
1Practices, especially bribery, used to secure illicit gains in politics or business; corruption.
‘sweeping measures to curb official graft’
1.1Gains secured by corruption.
“Graft” requires access to, and a nominal amount of authority over resources. This sort of access and authority is generally restricted to the employed segments of our society, not street people.
Words mean things, even if you don’t own a dictionary.
Vote republican, stop enabling!
So vote instead to enable corporations and deteriorate the separation of church and state?
BINGO!!! They used to run/walk out in front of vehicles on north 5th street to get insurance money from being hit ‘accidentally’
Elevated bypass for the 101, not the locals. Like the Willits bypass. But hey, let’s let In and Out pay for that 😉
I am from Willits so I would suggest that you drive through the town next time you come by so you can see the empty store fronts and restaurants that have all been closed due to the bypass.
I almost always drive through and make a stop or two. Pretty good doughnuts on the south end of town. It’s nice that it never takes a half hour anymore.
How do you know that they wont use it [edit]
Not sure if this is the case here but tweekers dodging cars like a game of frogger is a 24 hour a day 7 day a week game here. The problem is usually the meth heads not some engineering problem the tax payers need to foot the bill for.
I agree about the game of frogger. I avoid driving in Eureka, when I must, I have had to hard brake more than once for wandering biycycles, skateboarders (always in dark clothes at dusk in the fog) and one particular guy in a motorized wheel chair who likes to play chicken by crossing against the light. My sympathy to those who have lost loved ones, but really, the cars, vans, trucks, buses, can only do so much….
I’ve seen the guy in the power chair. He seems to give zero shits about Broadway traffic.
No one knows that this was the bicyclists fault so, can we all stop putting them into a category already????
Thanks Geneva, as a responsible cyclist who commutes I get tired of the assumption that it is somehow always the cyclist’s fault.
Agreed. I was going to costco yesterday and barely avoided hitting an adult male on abicycle who darted in among traffic going 35 to 40 mph. He was completely dodging cars as if it was a game. This seems to happen on Broadway several times a week.
I saw this guy 5 minutes before he was killed dodging through traffic.
I saw this guy dodging in and out of traffic and almost hit him on several other occasions. He obviously had mental problems and was most likely homeless. Sad for this guy and the driver.
Maybe suicide…trying to find the right vehicle at right speed. Nights are cold and nowhere for unsheltered people to go.
Heavenly Father accept this soul back to your kingdoms and comfort all of whom loved and will miss him or her. Bless the driver to recover from the trauma of the accident. Lord heal the hearts nerves and minds of the first responders that arrived on the scene to rescue the bicyclist before their death. In Jesus name amen.🤲🏾🙏🏼🙏🏾🙏🏿
Amen
Amen.
Amen
Amen
Amen
Amen
Amen. But please Heavenly Father, assist those in power and those of voting ability, to consider and approve a bypass of the Broadway debacle. Amen.
And lord please be with the family and friends of this person. Give them strength, love and comfort in this terrible situation…
It’s really creepy and depressing to see the popularity of this bronze-age death cult.
So dont ride your bicycle in front of a moving vehicle. What, you need more laws for that?
Are you serious right now? What if the car swerved? Were you there and witnessed this accident? Try having a bit of a heart and compassion. This could easily be one of your loved ones…..
Really? There’s 52 deaths on Broadway a year? Link? Names?
The only answer is extend WaterFront dr thru Palco Marsh to Elk River .Oh shit forgot environmental sensitivity.What say you
I thought the bypass was planned to go out through current along maybe walnut. That makes more sense. Let’s make it happen!
So very true
How horrible. Why don’t they do anything about the homeless
Maybe pedestrians should look both ways and obey the traffic signals. It the stupidity of people that’s the issue, not a safety issue. There are signals and cross walks at every intersection.
The intersection I hate most and avoid it as much as I can. Cars and bicyclists and pedestrians all ignoring precautions and all intent on getting where they want to go. It’s like a video game with real life consequences. I’m so sorry for all involved.
Yes, bad. Facing east on Wabash, right lane – right turn to south on Broadway, middle lane – straight and right to Fairfield up the hill, and left lane left turn to north on Broadway. I see people turning from the wrong lanes.
There have been a series of public meetings getting input into Broadway Improvements. Come put in your ideas.
From the overview picture it looks likely the bicycle was going north in the southbound lanes of Broadway. Just speculation based on the massive quantity of bikes I see going the wrong way up the roads, especially Broadway. Just this week I was going west on Henderson, turned left on Central to go to CVS and an idiot on a bike was going north in the southbound lane of Central. He/she was blocked from view by the several cars at the intersection wanting to turn west on Henderson. Thank
God I was able to stop and the idiot swerved around me. I wish EPD would take this seriously and give citations for bikers not following traffic laws. It would ultimately save a lot of lives.
And you know for sure the biker was riding the wrong way? What, you have a crystal ball?
Why do the cyclists have to be called names? There is one DEAD for goodness sake! It is the DRIVERS AND CYCLISTS RESPONSIBILITY to pay attention. And even when you are on a one way street, you should ALWAYS look BOTH ways at the intersections in case there is a pedestrian, bicyclist or even a vehicle!
What if this had been a child? Would you still be talking shit about the dead cyclist if it was a f*#@ing kid?!?!!
I dont know anyone that WANTS to be the driver at fault in a fatal accident, so show some compassion! This could just as easily have been ANY of us, or even someone we love.
Uninformed assumptions only make one look like an ass. Try being a little more humane, and a little less hateful. Most of you people always assume its drugs or a houseless person involved or at fault, and half the time youre wrong! REMEMBER, that when you are busy pointing your finger, looking for someone to blame, you have three more fingers pointed back at yourself. EVERY cyclist, pedestrian AND driver out there is guilty of carelessness, or negligence at some point in their lives. No one is innocent.
Really. Stupidity should be called out. Watch your language. Enough is enough. It’s time for some tough love for the homeless addicts. There tearing up our neighborhoods,causing car accidents, killing people and there needle messes. It was just a matter of time before this happened. Tough love works, it did for me and others I know. I haven’t been homeless for 21 years. Been clean just as long. Quit pampering, quit giving them money when you see them on the street. It adds to the problem, not the solution.
Vehicles speeding and running stop signs and lights all day long in Eureka. Bicyclists on sidewalks, running stop signs just as much. When I am out walking and a bicycle rider runs a stop sign near me I yell at them “you missed the stop.” Usually they just smile.
Cops do ZILCH about any of this. I have seen motorists zoom past cop cars speeding and the cop never pursues. Guess it’s a waste of their time – until the next death.
The arrogance of drivers and bicyclists is off the charts. Cops are just stupid kneelers and huggers.
Likely this latest horror is a 50/50 split on blame.
Or maybe the cops don’t give a shit because no matter what they do, they’re wrong. Don’t stop the guy, they’re lazy assholes. Stop the guy, they’re power hungry pricks. Stop the guy and it escalates to a fight and the guy gets hurt or killed, now they’re murderous thugs who catch a criminal charge and wind up in prison. You think Maggie or [edit] Wayne or any of the judges wouldn’t [edit] a cop if they had the chance? Pfffft. Most cops I see are working hard to avoid dealing with anyone since no one will get their backs when shit goes sideways.
The cops don’t need you and man they expect the same.
Another tragedy on Broadway. My condolences to the family.
There isn’t anyplace to ride on the street at that intersection. People ride on the sidewalk.
If you are making a turn, make sure you know what the people on the sidewalk are going to do as you round the turn.
Tragic, condolences.
Ride in the street. THE STREET where mechanical conveyances belong. Yes, I know it’s dangerous, but that’s the risk. I wish nobody any harm, but bicycles are a danger to pedestrians on the sidewalk. make your choice, take your chances.
Yeah, “make sure you know what the people on the sidewalk are going to do.” Read their minds in a nano-second. Right. What they are thinking is “why is the bicycle dude on the sidewalk?”
Condolences to the family. This cyclist did his best for safe riding. I’m very sorry.
That is just it, If you don’t know what the guy on the sidewalk is going to , then you stop and wait. You don’t just assume they will look to see if traffic is coming.
Maybe you want to find out the lethal way.
As a vehicular cyclist, I’ve navigated the Broadway and Wabash intersection dozens of times day and night without incident, save one.
The one time I had an incident at that intersection was when a woman began blaring her horn, and yelling at me to ride on the sidewalk.
Broadway is very unsafe for bikes because it is a highway. The best thing would be to completely ban bikes along Broadway and designate a bike route parallel.
How many people have to get killed on this road until they actually put money into fixing this? I’ve never lived somewhere where they don’t care. Yeah half of them may be vagrants but they’re still humans with families. Not to mention the traumas the driver must experience.
How can this be fixed with money? More drug treatment programs?
A dedicated bike path costs money. But saves lives. I would like to see one, instead of a body under a tarp. You?
There are already alternate routes more suited for bicycles both west and east of Broadway.
You want to do something for safe driving, teach driver’s ed in public schools.
Lost Coast Outburst, teenagers in California ALREADY CANNOT get their drivers license UNLESS they take the health and safety class in high-school. and go to driver ed. Have 6 gours with professional driver training, 50 hours or driving with and adult over the age of 25, 10 of those hours MUST be at night. What more do you want?!
>”… actually put money into fixing this”
>”… ridiculous that so many people are getting killed on Broadway.”
>”Two words: elevated bypass.”
>”I wish EPD would take this seriously and give citations for bikers not following traffic laws. It would ultimately save a lot of lives.”
So… whatch’a you gonna do about the tweakers (and other addicts) ???
Traffic lights are all over broadway. Addicts won’t wait for a light. (Not like they are doing anything anyway).
Addicts won’t spend the ‘energy’ to take an elevated bypass. (Might provide a roof for another camp though).
Give addicts (bikes/skateboards/foot) traffic tickets ? Heh. They don’t care. Why would they ?
[edit] 🤔 Yeah, I know, it’s not that easy. I, sure as hell, dont want my babies growing up around this shit! DO YOU?! Condolences to the driver.
Hey Joe, if you DONT want your kids to grow up around the Eureka community that has existed for probably longer than youve been alive, do yourself and everyone else a favor, MOVE SOMEWHERE ELSE.
Surely you must have a few healthy people that ride bikes in Eureka.
Seems your willing to slander this person on the bike with vary little to go on
There are some, but they don’t ride on Broadway.
My condolences to the family of the bicyclist.😢
But I have seen bicycle riders going in the wrong direction, and not stopping at stop signs.
Yes, drivers have to keep a look out for them, but they have to follow the laws of the road too.
Drove by at like 12:45 and the deceased was still there and uncovered. I know they have to do their investigation but damn
We drove by as well. Still laying uncovered. God bless his soul.
I wish they’d cover him to give him privacy.
Me too.
Strange. I drove by just before 11am and tarps were out then.
I don’t know who was at fault, but my condolences to the bike riders family and friends. I also feel sorry for the van driver if it was not his fault. Broadway usually has a number of bike riders travelling in all directions, and most not following the rules of the road.
I see a lot of tweakers operating cars now. Same panicked face and eyes… same erratic behavior.
Seems like meth use is vildy increasing now… dunno why… maybe covid restrictions releasing dealers/mules ?
🕯🌳I agree with most of the comments above, driving down that patch of Broadway is one of the reasons why I take the bus from Fortuna to Eureka. It is like a game of frogger.
Oh Willie. If I had a dollar for every time you mentioned the game, “Frogger…” 🙄
He mentions it so much because driving in Eureka around Broadway especially is EXACTLY like the game he keeps mentioning!!! Any other questions or complaints???
Frogger? That sounds like some boomer game.
Jim Carrey was the person who was hit! You heard it here first
the actor?
Homelessness and despair in a Liberal enclave. Liberals can’t fix anything. If I hear another Liberal horn honking in lieu of speaking at a Biden gathering,#%*#. ! Honking instead of speaking, it must be a Dem thing. I don’t get it.
There was a vehicle trump rally here a few weeks ago. It had lots of honkers. Or honkies. Not sure about the proper vernacular.
Honkers are okay but Harris/bidener’s used it like some kind of delusional anal-retentive Morse code that I have no interest in cracking!
I am a pedestrian that was hit by a car when I had the legal right of way in a crosswalk in Eureka and the driver left me for dead. And I’m also a doctor that takes care of patients that get hit by cars and we have a lot in Humboldt. I’m so tired of people assuming that when a pedestrian is hit it is the pedestrian’s fault. Broadway has proven itself to be dangerous to pedestrians due to lack of a safe bike trails, crosswalks with signals indicating a person is using it. There have been countless tragic deaths there this year alone. Even is someone is homeless or on drugs while walking or biking does not mean they are at fault for the accident or deserve to be hit. Eureka is working on the Broadway Multimodal plan and we can only hope a major part of the plan is pedestrian safety rather then how to attract tourists. If they don’t address the pedestrian safety soon they will be liable for the injuries and the city will be hurting from lawsuits.
Countless tragic deaths there this year alone?
If you are actually a doctor, your lack of touch with reality is alarming.
She is actually a doctor. So am I. I bike commuted in Chicago for 6 years before moving here and I have never felt more unsafe riding in daylight on dedicated bike paths. Drivers out here are absolutely terrifying. I also drive down broadway and see pedestrians and cyclists not behaving appropriately- but they have the right of way. Pay attention. This is a tragedy for everyone involved.
A bypass. It needs to be done. Then clean up the city and invite tourists, things to do and other activities. The accidents and congestion are really bad.
There are shitloads of bums (is that not politically correct? Is that hate speech that needs censored?) that not only have I almost hit, but then when I beep they give me the finger. This death is no surprise. There are no consequences for drug addicts darting out in the road because they have no money to pay tickets so cops don’t wanna waste time writing tickets. Drug addicts receive only rewards and empathy from liberals. The result of no consequences is this shit, people get killed. Liberalism is a mental disorder.
If it weren’t for “Liberalism,” you wouldn’t have Free Speech, and we wouldn’t have to listen to a Hypocrite…
Actually, if we didn’t have our constitution; you wouldn’t have free speech. FTFY
Remember, we’re the only country in the world that has protected free speech. Which exists outside of myopic political duology. Which you’re allowed to exercise outside of private internet blogs. 😉
The problem is that highway 101 goes through the city streets.
look at the comments that readers made at
https://kymkemp.com/2019/02/21/caltrans-will-host-a-public-meeting-on-upcoming-projects-in-eureka/
Rip for the deceased person. When are they going to put left turn arrows on Wabash. A totally dangerous intersection, then add in people dashing across the street. There are crosswalks to use and an extra stoplight so they can cross safely!! But no!! I almost hit someone who darted out in front of me in almost the same spot last week. Good thing I pay attention. I remember (a long time ago) when there was outrage when a 101 bypass freeway was proposed. The community voted it down, if I remember correctly. Perhaps they were forseeing the future. Perhaps that should be looked at again.
It was to go up 6th and7th streets. Voted down by good old boy merchants in old town.
The properties were bought and paid for. 1980
I have to agree it is a game of frogger. I can’t say what happened this time but many times people dart out especially at night in dark clothes.
I thought there were plans to close the angled Fairfield St. access to this intersection?
It’s been made one way north. Access to Fairfield southbound from Broadway is via Hawthorn.
The city/county should have by passed this town
20 years ago???
Too busy for 101 to run thru
Eureka has a Portland administration. There is no hope for it. Arcata is the same. And Garberville is officially hell.
Broadway is like running a gauntlet.
Build a tunnel to grants pass.
Dr Kelly is right. I live near Broadway and avoid it whenever possible. I consider it unfortunate that there are so many businesses on or near Broadway that, out of necessity, cause me to occasionally “Run the Gauntlet.”
The city needs to step up the work on Broadway to make it safer; or re-name it something much, more, appropriate (Blood Alley comes to mind). For tis on that road far too many of our citizens have been killed and maimed.
It looked like a decent bike so I hope it wasn’t an honest hard working cyclist. I ride a bike everyday on Broadway but I come out on the street south of the holiday inn. I got pulled over by chp for cruising through a red safely by the chevron there and he said you need to obey the laws, lesson learned. I can’t speak for anyone else though.
without enforcement, there’s really nothing that can be done about this recurring problem
I had a disheveled old man on a bike on Broadway pedaling as fast as he could act like he was going to hit me head on, he swerved at the last minute and kicked my car door doing $1000 worth of damage.
Eureka should have been bypassed years ago, but local political power was afraid of losing downtown business now downtown is a dead zon
Its easy to sit in the comfort of youre home and call people names or even tag them with a label but at the end of the day we all know some one that is either a user or related to one who we are are people now is not what we should be it is shame full that we all share the road and yet we forget it could happen to us tomorrow the same energy it takes to tear people down is the same as lifting that family for the loss its true we need a solution but instead of hidding on a comment why dont u get to be part of fixxing the problem its a monumental decision and the men or women who can do something abut it do not have the answers i pray we start having more humanity for people all im saying is get involved if u can or feel that srongly if not then up lift instead of pushing more negetive words ther is a person who lost their life from a cargo van just remember this it could of easily been some one u know on either side life is hard when u are hopeless im speaking from experience i moved to eureka with 20 dollars in my pocket not all of us are tweekers do to circumstances in life we choose to give up i was homeless and thru many people who decided thru not write but act and many sacrifices i am a business owner i give many thanks to a family in blue lake who saved my life