What was supposed to be a weekend bike ride ended in tragedy on Sunday afternoon, when a 65-year-old man from Michigan was struck by a pickup truck while riding in the designated bike lane on Beach Road in Siesta Key.
He was taken to the hospital but later died from his injuries.
The deadly crash is raising new concerns about safety for cyclists on Suncoast roads.
“A life is a life,” said Eugene Rider, vice president of the Florida Bicycle Association.
“If our drivers can think about a real simple checklist: put the phone away, slow down, look twice, and give some space… we can then prevent the next fatal crash,” he said.
Rider noted safety is a shared responsibility. Drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians all play a role in keeping each other safe on the road.
But tragedies like these hit close to home.
“The pain is still there, every day that we have to think about it,” Rider said. He recalled the loss of his neighbor and friend, 33-year-old Michael Schalberg, who was killed on the Anna Maria Bridge in 2023 after being struck by a car.
“It still affects his parents today,” Rider said.
“When I was talking with his parents at dinner a few weeks ago, they still talk about Mike. That they see him in their dreams, about how much it’s changed their lives. It just hurts. And I don’t really want any other families to have to go through this.”
For cyclists like Don Stuart and his wife, these incidents are a reminder to take extra precautions on the road. Using mirrors, signaling clearly, and staying aware of traffic behind them are now part of every ride.
“You know the cars coming up behind us and keep track of the cyclists coming up behind us,” Stuart said. “I don’t want to say it’s an epidemic, but I think there needs to be mutual respect, a lot more caution.”
For the cycling community, the message is simple: Slow down, pay attention, and make sure an outdoor ride doesn’t end in another life lost.
As for the crash on Siesta Key, it is now being investigated by Florida Highway Patrol.
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Source: mysuncoast
