28-year-old Cheney man identified as e-bike rider who was hit by truck driver

A 28-year-old Cheney man was identified as the e-bicycle rider who was hit and killed by the driver of a truck Sunday on the West Plains, according to the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Oliver Smith died from multiple blunt-force injuries, the medical examiner’s office said. It ruled the death an accident.

Spokane County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the crash about 12:10 a.m. in the 11400 block of West White Road, parallel to Interstate 90 and southwest of the Spokane International Airport, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.

A Ford truck driver pulling a trailer was driving southwest and hit Smith, who was traveling northeast, the release said. Smith died at the scene.

The driver of the Ford agreed to a sobriety test and was released without charges, the sheriff’s office said.

Investigators believe the bicycle was insufficiently lit, making it difficult to see in the dark. They also believe Smith drifted partially over the center of the road.

An obituary that ran in Wednesday’s Spokesman-Review said Smith grew up in Cheney playing soccer and enjoying the outdoors with his family. He played varsity soccer at Cheney High School, where the team was state champions his sophomore year.

He graduated from Washington State University with a chemical engineering degree, and utilized that degree in the engineering field for a few years before coming back to Cheney to work alongside his father and brother in the family business, Hanging S Land Co.

He spent every summer with his family at Priest Lake.

“You would usually find him on a boat in the captain’s seat and blaring music with his friends,” the obituary read. “He will be remembered as a witty, fearless person who was always up for a good time and a great debate.”