Dallas, Texas — 19-year-old Alexander Ryan Jones was killed Thursday night (11/21/2013) at about 9:35 p.m. when he was struck and pinned by an SUV on Weldon Street.
The accident occurred when Alex Jones, who was riding his bicycle with a friend, attempted to cross Weldon Street near N. Haskell Avenue. According to Dallas police, neither cyclist saw the 2005 Nissan Murano mid-size crossover SUV, which was headed northeast on Weldon. The 1st cyclist made it across the street, but Alexander Jones was unfortunately struck by the SUV, “forcing him to the pavement and pinning him under the vehicle,” according to Dallas police.
Rescue crews arrived at the scene and attempted to free Mr. Jones, but unfortunately, he was pronounced dead at the scene at 10:00 p.m. The Dallas County medical examiner said he died of “multiple blunt force traumas.”
According to the police report, visibility was very poor. It was dark out, it was raining, and there was a 4-foot wall which served to obstruct the Nissan Murano from view. Police have decided not to pursue criminal charges against the driver at this time.
It’s unfortunate that Dallas has such a high number of car-vs-bicycle accidents. Bicycling Magazine has ranked Dallas the WORST cycling city in America TWICE since 2008! According to TxDOT, from January of 2012 to September of 2013, Dallas County has seen 83 fatal car crashes involving pedestrians and 248 car-vs-pedestrian accidents resulting in “incapacitating injury.” One would think that this data would tell Dallas officials that more bike lanes are needed, or that there need to be more bicycle awareness campaigns in order to better-educate everyone about this issue…
