A dump truck fatally struck a bicyclist, possibly in his 60s, Wednesday afternoon on busy North King Street in Kalihi.
He was the third bicyclist killed on Oahu this year compared with one last year at this time. This also marks the 33rd traffic fatality on Oahu, in contrast to 41 the same time last year.
Police said the bicyclist was riding in the Diamond Head direction on King — a four-lane street — at
12:19 p.m. when the dump truck driver turned right from Kaili Street onto King in the Ewa direction and struck him.
Emergency Medical Services said the bicyclist, between 60 and 70 years old, was taken in critical condition to a hospital, where police said he was pronounced dead.
Jan Jan Pagaran, a sales associate at the T-Mobile store at the Ewa corner of the intersection, pointed out the spot where the bicyclist was hit on King, just a few feet from Kaili.
“I really feel bad about the guy,” he said, adding, “Even the driver. No one really wants to hit someone.”
He said police viewed the store’s surveillance video that captured the bicyclist coming from Mokauea Street, on the makai side of King, then crossing over to the center lane to turn left, mauka onto Kaili.
“For me, he should go to the crosswalk,” Pagaran said. He said some older bicyclists walk their bikes across the street in crosswalks.
He also suggested making it a no-right-turn-on-red intersection or installing a bike lane in the area.
“Here in Kalihi there are many bicyclists,” he said. “They don’t really follow the rules.”
