Riverside police cited two motorists in separate incidents within the span of a week for striking bicyclists with their vehicles. Both victims sustained injuries requiring treatment at local hospitals, according to police.
The first incident occurred on June 13 about 2 p.m., when police responded to East Burlington Street adjacent to the Village Center condominium building to investigate a bicyclist who had been struck when a motorist opened his driver’s side door into traffic.
Paramedics transported the victim, a 69-year-old Riverside man, to MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn for treatment and ticketed the driver, a 23-year-old Oak Park man, for improper opening of a car door in traffic.
Police added that just five minutes prior to the incident, the driver’s car had been ticketed for blocking a fire hydrant near that location. The driver had just moved his car and was getting out of the vehicle when his door struck the bicyclist.
On June 19 at 7:20 a.m. Riverside police responded to the vicinity of Lawton and Riverside roads after receiving a 911 call of a bicyclist being struck by a vehicle. Officers arrived at the scene and reported finding a 59-year-old Riverside man on the ground and bleeding from a gash on his head. The man’s bike was located about 50 feet from where impact was made with the vehicle, according to police.
The victim had been riding his bike westbound on Riverside Road into the center of town, when he was struck by a 2008 GMC Acadia driven by a 74-year-old Riverside man in the intersection of Riverside and Lawton. The driver, who had just picked up a copy of the local newspaper in the lobby of the Riverside Police Department, told the responding officer that he never saw the bicyclist.
The driver was cited for failure to yield turning left and having no proof of insurance. The victim was taken to MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn for treatment of his injuries.
