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December 21, 2010 in City
Bicyclist dies after collision with vehicle
Mike Prager
The Spokesman-Review
A 32-year-old Spokane bicyclist has died from injuries suffered in a collision in October at Fourth Avenue and Lincoln Street.
Matthew R. Hardie died on Dec. 14 from complications stemming from head injuries in the collision on Oct. 4, according to the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s office.
He was headed north on Lincoln on his way to work when he collided with a vehicle that was proceeding through the intersection, according to an acquaintance.
It was the third bicycle fatality this year in Spokane and the fourth in the region after a Spokane to Sandpoint relay support rider was killed on Aug. 14 near Blanchard in North Idaho.
Returning farmland to a state of nature 
eagleproducer on December 21 at 10:17 a.m.
That is a horrible intersection that needs more control than a stop sign. The cyclist would have had right-of-way at that intersection as well. Motorists still need to be aware of cyclists, even in inclement weather.
Kathleen_Warren on December 21 at 11:11 a.m.
I was heartbroken to read about the cyclist-auto accident. I have tried to use a bike to get from South (and Riverside campus) to North Spokane and found it EXTREMELY difficult. The main arterials are dangerous, and the inside residential streets have two-sided parking, making it hard to maneuver. When you come to an east-west arterial, you have to wait and wait and wait to cross safely. Then you can only ride a few blocks and you have to get off and repeat the wait. Are there plans for cross-town bike and pedestrian paths in the works?
rich5art on December 21 at 11:47 a.m.
This hits home for me. I was hit by a car on Washington and 6th on October 1. I am still recovering from minor injuries. Even though I was wearing a bright Orange reflective vest the driver did not see me (and didn’t even know we hit!). Fortunately I saw her coming my way and was able to avoid a much more serious accident.
Drivers: Please watch out for bikers, we deserve our portion of the road too!
Bikers: Please follow the rules of the road and put on your brain bucket!
Thanks to those that made Howard a bike route.
misjustice on December 21 at 1:34 p.m.
Yes. Let’s put in more bike lanes so we can have more accidents! Anyone on the road with a bike, trike, cycle, moped, car, truck, skates should all have to take a safely class. The less they have protecting the body, the dumber they become.
Spoketucky, since when do cyclists have the right of way? They must obey the same laws as vehicles when on the road. They must stop at all 4 ways just as vehicles & pedestrians. And they must obey the signals too.
I think that’s where people get killed. They say they have the right of way & then step/ride right in front of a moving vehicle. The bike/person will lose every time! Also, just because you may have the “right-of-way” doesn’t mean you are right. Sometimes you can be “dead” right.
bmclaughlin807 on December 21 at 1:56 p.m.
“He was headed north on Lincoln on his way to work when he collided with a vehicle that was proceeding through the intersection, according to an acquaintance.”
How about: “He was heading North on Lincoln, when a motorist illegally entered the intersection in front of him, violating his right of way and severely injuring him.”?
But don’t worry about it… it was JUST a cyclist, after all. I’m sure the motorist had more important things to do than stop at the stop sign and make sure the intersection was clear before entering, and will get their mandatory slap on the wrist. In fact, the driver is probably out on the streets running stop signs and speeding as we speak.
Alfredo on December 21 at 2:27 p.m.
As usual Gramma, you repulse me. Someone lost their life and you’re here to call them stupid, you make me sick.
My heartfelt sympathies go out to the family of Mr. Hardie.
fixme on December 21 at 2:32 p.m.
That is a bad intersection. Yesterday, as I was heading North on Lincoln, car started to pull out on 5th and hit the binders hard to avoid a collision. I was in my car, headlights on and the other car still didn’t see me until the last possible moment. Parking on the West side of Lincoln should be eliminated. That interferes with line of sight to the South from 5th ave. The shadows from the skywalk doesn’t help the situation either.
This is a profound tragey for Matthew’s family and for the person in the van who will have to live with this mistake for the rest of her life.
fixme on December 21 at 2:36 p.m.
My biggest concern is that the van driver was driving with a suspended licence and no insurance. And she is not alone out there. See, Gramma, it is not just the cyclists who don’t follow the rules. Matthew would be alive today if she had followed the court order not to drive.
de3 on December 21 at 3:56 p.m.
Palo Alto, CA addressed the kind of problem that Kathleen describes above - its hard to get anywhere trying to ride cross town on most residential streets.
They designated a residential street through town as a bicycle thoroughfare. Cars can still use it but in a few places the intersections allow bicycles only to cross. The occasional barrier discourages use of the road for car bypass, keeps traffic low and moves cyclists off of the main thoroughfares which have high speed traffic and a lot of it.
The result is safer bicycling, more people feeling safer to commute by bike, better traffic flow on the crowded roads and slightly reduced traffic as well. And the neighborhood road was no longer a drag race of motorists trying to bypass the main roads.
jddavis on December 21 at 4:43 p.m.
Gramma—If I got the intersection correct Spoketucky is right, the cyclist would have the rightaway. Unfortunate accident…condolences to the family and friends.
lewis8457 on December 21 at 10:07 p.m.
What a tragedy, with the drivers in this town you bicycle riders take your life in your hands just to save a bit of money.
Be careful Gramma is driving a big black hearse and she is gunning for you. You cant help but notice the big “I heart SPD” bumper sticker on the rear bumper. VVVVVVRRRRROOOOOMMMMM
mechBgon on December 21 at 10:08 p.m.
That’s correct, the person in the car was at a stop sign and had to wait for cross-traffic to clear, but failed.
In the responses to these articles about bicycle-auto collisions, I see far too much dehumanization. It’s not “us versus them,” everyone out there is one of “us.” That is your fellow human being on his/her way home from _________ (school, work, the library, the store) and they are just as important as you are. Their choice of vehicle matters as much as their ethnic background, skin color, or gender. In other words, not at all. Let’s all show some respect in these discussions.
To expand on Kathleen’s report, I was amused to see bike lanes added to short sections of downtown streets this Fall, and yet the City has no cyclist-friendly routes across the Spokane River in the downtown area. If they want to put a bike lane where it’d be really useful, they should add one to Monroe all the way from downtown to Northwest Boulevard.
I commute by bicycle across the Monroe Street Bridge daily, and the lanes are already so narrow that STA busses hang two feet over the edge of the turn lane at Broadway. Give it up. One bike lane each way, one “everyone” lane each way, and a center turn lane would fit nicely and give many North Side residents a nice commuting route to/from downtown.
mediasux on January 19 at 9:14 a.m.
Bicyclists don’t belong on the roads with cars, PERIOD. Get on the sidewalks and quit slowing down traffic.