SAN JOSE – 26-year-old Taylor Hildreth of San Jose was arrested Thursday night after a suspected DUI crash that killed a bicyclist in San Jose.
The incident took place in San Jose at around 9:41 p.m. at Auzerais Avenue and Drake Street.
A preliminary investigation showed that the driver was driving a white 2005 Dodge west on Auzerais Avenue. The motorist allegedly drifted into the bike lane on the right, before he clipped a van and hit the cyclist.
The cyclist died at the scene. The name and identity of the cyclist was not released.
According to reports by traffic police, this was the 34th person to die this year in San Jose in a traffic collision. It is also the fifth bicyclist fatality this year, which brings the number of fatal bike collisions to the same number as last year.
Several cyclists on the road were questioned, who said that they no longer feel safe.
“Bikes are small and not easily noticed, but some of it can be on the cyclists because some of them don’t follow the rules of the road,” said Daniel Walker, a San Jose bike commuter.
In an attempt to keep bicyclists safe on the road and to accommodate an increase in cyclists, the city is adding bike lanes. A total of 26 new miles of bike lanes have been added this year.
After the incident, the driver of the Dodge stayed at the scene of the accident. Hildreth was later booked into county jail on suspicion of felony DUI.
The incident is still under investigation. Anyone with information related to the collision can call Detective Kelvin Pham of the San Jose Police Department’s traffic investigations unit at (408) 277-4654 for details.
Source: www.sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com