Distracted driving may have led to the crash that injured five cyclists in east Edmonton Saturday morning, RCMP said.
A group of 15 cyclists from Cycle-Logic was riding eastbound on Sherwood Park Freeway when a pickup truck struck the group just before Highway 216 at approximately 9:50 a.m., RCMP said.
The five cyclists were taken to hospital. One of them sustained a spinal injury, police said, and other injuries included broken bones and road rash.
Police are investigating the cause of the crash and reviewing dash cam footage.
“Right now it is leaning towards driver inattention and not paying attention to the road,” Cpl. James Stanviloff said.
The crash happened on an 80 km/hour a stretch of freeway, which likely contributed to the seriousness of some of the injuries.
“I don’t believe that excessive speed played into this collision but it is a high-speed collision.”
RCMP said the driver remained on scene and is cooperating, but has not been arrested.
‘Every cyclist’s nightmare’
Tiffany Baker, a member of the Edmonton Road and Track Club, said her heart sank when she heard about the crash.
“It could’ve been me,” she told CTV News. “It could’ve been our club, really.”
Baker says cyclists like to ride in large groups to be more visible, but road safety is a two-way street.
“It is our responsibility as cyclists to ride predictable, to ride in a safe manner, to obey the rules of the road. But there’s a shared responsibility for drivers as well.”
Cycle-Logic is a bike shop that runs the group rides. The store typically opens on Saturdays, but it was closed and no one could be reached for comment.
With files from Angela Jung
