SPRINGFIELD, Ore. (KMTR) – A female bicyclist is dead after a collision with a pick-up truck along Highway 126 in Springfield on Saturday, now Springfield Police have released the identity of the victim.
Springfield Police say 38 year-old Springfield resident Jennifer Sells died in the crash. It happened around 11:50 a.m. at the intersection of Highway 126E (Main Street) and 62nd Street, on Saturday, June 25th, 2011.
Police say Sells was riding her bike in the westbound bike lane when she suddenly cut diagonally across two lanes of traffic.
A man driving a Silver Chevy Silverado pick-up truck in the left westbound lane (fast lane) hit the bicyclist.
Nearby residents attempted to give the bicyclist CPR. The cyclist was pronounced dead at the scene.
“My son dialed 9-1-1, got up there, did what I could,” said Chet Chance, who lives right by the scene of the crash and attempted to give Sells CPR.
Police say Sells received significant blunt force trauma to her torso in the crash. Sells was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, however, police say a helmet likely would not have saved her life.
Springfield Police say the pick-up truck driver was fixed in his lane when the crash happened. Police say speed and alcohol are not factors with the truck driver involved in the crash.
“This one is kind of a little bit of an anomaly because it's like in broad daylight, clear, normal traffic flow, wasn't like it was during a congested time of traffic or anything, so this one is a little bit kind of a different situations,” said Sgt. Richard Jones of the Springfield Police Department.
At this point, Springfield Police say there’s no indication that there was any wrong-doing on the truck driver’s part.
Medical examiners will conduct an autopsy and toxicology report on Sells body in the coming days, to determine is drugs or alcohol was a factor in her role in the crash.
Oregon State Police Collision Reconstruction teams spent hours investigating the crash Saturday afternoon, which shut down traffic to one-lane in both directions for several hours.
Living nearby on Main Street for only about six months,. Chance says he's seen far too many crashes and would like to see more done to increase bicycle and pedestrian safety.
“Between 58th and 69th Street, there's no crosswalks, people drive through here like maniacs, we hear is all of the time,” said Chance.
“We absolutely need some crosswalks through here, and in my opinion we need some better speed control through here, because we're not even two blocks from the high school,” said Chance.
While what happened is still under investigation, Sgt. Jones says it can be hard to blame an accident like this on the road.
“When somebody's riding along and they choose not to pay attention or they aren't paying attention and they put themselves in a place where they don't belong, it's hard to say that it's the road that caused that. I mean, this could have happened anywhere,” said Sgt. Jones.
