Memorial set up for Rolling Meadows bicyclist killed in Chicago
Flowers, letters and a candle have been placed at the spot on Chicago's Milwaukee Avenue in the Noble Square neighborhood where 20-year-old bicyclist Lisa Kuivinen died after being struck by a semitrailer truck Tuesday.
As riders continued to use the Milwaukee Avenue bike lane Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, people stopped to offer their condolences and grieve the loss of another bicyclist in Chicago.
Kuivinen - a 2013 graduate from Rolling Meadows High School and a student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago - and the 37-year-old man driving the semitrailer truck were both traveling south when the truck driver turned right into the bicycle lane, striking Kuivinen.
Friend Zoe Nyman, also a bicyclist, was standing near the memorial Tuesday night. People walking and driving by offered condolences. A woman whose friend was killed earlier this year while riding his bicycle in Chicago joined in.
Nyman described Kuivinen as a "very individual," a devoted child and a talented artist. Kuivinen "deserved a lot more life," Nyman said.
Toby Petzel, who lives across the street, said he looked down off his balcony after the crash and saw the aftermath. He sees bicyclists on that same stretch on Milwaukee Avenue "all day, every day."
Parts of the bike lane are protected by concrete or short, vertical poles called bollards. The section where Kuivinen was struck is painted bright green.
The truck driver was issued a citation for driving in the bike lane and another for failure to take due care of a bicyclist in the roadway.
Keating Law Office's Michael Keating, who represents victims and families of bicycle accidents, said the Cook County state's attorney can decide to pursue higher charges, but that typically happens only if the driver was reckless or impaired.
There are more than 1,000 bicycle crashes in Chicago each year, he said.
"This (Milwaukee Avenue) is Chicago's most busy bike lane in the most busy section," Keating said.
With the painted bike lane, it "should be apparent to anyone that bicyclists may be present."
Keating said a Chicago ordinance states that when a vehicle and bicycle are traveling in the same direction, it is the duty of the driver to make "absolutely certain" there are no bicycles in the path of the right turn. The turning maneuver, known as a right hook turn, is what caused the semitrailer truck to strike Kuivinen.
"A few seconds of patience can make the difference," Keating said.