FHP: Driver hit group of 8 bicyclists in Palm Beach County
Eight bicyclists on an early-morning ride along State Road A1A in Gulf Stream were struck by a woman driving an SUV on Thursday, sending at least six of the cyclists and the driver to hospitals, officials said.
A 77-year-old Lantana woman driving a 2020 Kia Soul was driving south on the west side of A1A while the cyclists were riding north on the east side of the road. The driver crossed the center line of the road, crashing into the group, Florida Highway Patrol Spokesperson Lt. Indiana Miranda said.
The Kia came to a stop facing south on the outside shoulder of the road. One of the bicyclists, a 43-year-old man from Boca Raton, was hit and rolled to the other side of the road and came to a stop, Miranda said.
He had incapacitating injuries and was taken to Delray Medical Center as a trauma patient, Miranda said. The driver and the rest of the bicyclists had injuries that were not life-threatening, she said.
Delray Beach Fire Rescue responded to 2800 block of North Ocean Boulevard shortly before 7 a.m. and took the driver and six cyclists to Delray Medical Center and Bethesda East; three cyclists were severely injured, fire department spokesman Ted White said.
Mangled bicycles were scattered along the road and under an SUV with heavy front-end damage. The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating and the Gulf Stream Police Department is handling the incident, White said.
The oceanside road in the small town in south Palm Beach County was closed between the George Bush Boulevard Bridge and Woolbright Bridge for several hours after the accident.
“It’s absolutely horrific,” said Matthew Morales, a Delray Beach resident who was riding his skateboard near the crash scene.
He says his father often bicycles on A1A.
“When I ride in groups that’s always the biggest fear is that a large pack will be hit by a car,” said Barry Cohen, a bicyclist from Boynton Beach who says he rides about 200 to 250 miles a week.
“It’s terrible. It’s a dangerous stretch here. … There’s a lot of cyclists that are always riding here, sometimes in large groups,” Cohen said.
Cyclists who ride here on A1A frequently say the shoulder needs to be widened to give bicycles more space and keep them safely away from passing cars.
“I worry about it all the time. I just do my best to stay out of the way of the cars,” said Joe Parkinson, a bicyclist from Canada who lives in South Florida during the winter months.