Cyclist en route to work dies after being hit by van
A Perth family is in shock after a longtime landscaper, handyman, outdoorsman and dedicated “foodie” who rode his bicycle nearly everywhere he went was struck and killed on his way to work Wednesday.
Chris Smith was riding along Highway 7 at the eastern edge of town around 6:40 a.m. when he was hit from behind by an eastbound cube van. He was pronounced dead in hospital.
Brother-in-law Rob Peters, a former restaurant owner in Perth, said Smith, 49, was born and raised in the town of 6,000 people, 80 kilometres southwest of Ottawa. He said they bonded over food.
“He really enjoyed food; he was a real restaurant guy trying to dine out. He was a foodie who liked smoked meats,” Peters said. “But (Chris) was closest to his wife and his 67-year-old mother.”
Smith and his wife, Judy-Ann, had been married for 23 years. They had no children. His distraught wife said her husband rode his bike whenever he went someplace.
“The family is still in shock. The accident hasn’t really sunken in,” Peters said. “We don’t have a lot of details.”
Smith was an avid outdoorsman who “liked fishing, hunting, trapping and a bit of taxidermy,” Peters added.
Raymond Shanks, owner of Raymond Shanks Handyman Service, said co-workers started worrying on Wednesday morning when Smith didn’t show up for work. Smith, who “worked for me for eight or nine years,” was a reliable employee, Shanks said, so he went outside to look up Highway 7, the route Smith took to work each day. Police had closed the road.
“He was a good worker and he always rode his bike back and forth to work. I don’t think he ever had a (driver’s) licence. He’d been riding that bike for years. He was a good guy to work with and everybody seemed to like him.”
Smith was “a hard-working man and he never hurt a soul,” Shanks said. “He’s going to be missed.”
Peter Wood, co-owner of Heritage Bikes in Perth, said he regularly helps recreational cyclists plot routes in and around Perth, and rarely recommends Highway 7. He said there are hundreds of kilometres of routes around Perth approved by the Lanark County Tourism.
Those routes are maintained by municipalities and many have clear markings for motorists warning them of cyclists. Some even have lanes marked for cyclists to use.
The two-lane Highway 7 — it’s four lanes where it passes through the northern edge of town — does have a narrow paved shoulder that some cyclists use. But it is a provincial highway and its upkeep is the responsibility of the Ontario government.
Wood also said the Town of Perth is in the midst of creating an active transportation plan, which aims to encourage more people to bike and walk to work. Keeping cyclists safe as they attempt to navigate roads cluttered with cars will be the real challenge in implementing those plans.
Police reopened the highway around 2 p.m.