Charges pending against driver who police say failed to yield<\/p>\n
By Liz F. Kay, The Baltimore Sun<\/p>\n
A Carroll County cyclist was killed Tuesday afternoon after he was struck by a tractor-trailer while riding in Union Bridge, according to Maryland State Police \u2013 the latest cycling fatality on Baltimore-area roads.<\/p>\n
Arthur John Martin Jr., 51, of New Windsor was riding his bike on Shepherds Mill Road when a tractor-trailer driven by Anthony Edward Woodie, 37, made a right turn onto Route 75 in front of him, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.<\/p>\n
Based on preliminary investigation, troopers say that Woodie failed to yield to Martin when turning, but do not believe alcohol or high speeds were a factor.<\/p>\n
Charges are pending against the truck driver.<\/p>\n
Since 1999, an average of eight people have been killed in Maryland annually in bicycle accidents, according to the State Highway Administration.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, one cyclist was killed and another severley injured when they were struck by a car while riding near Butler and Falls roads in Baltimore County.<\/p>\n
That accident helped spur the General Assembly to pass a new law clarifying the rights of bicyclists to use travel lanes instead of just the shoulders of roads. The law requires drivers to maintain a 3-foot buffer zone while passing a bicyclist.<\/p>\n