INDReporter

Life of another Acadiana cyclist claimed in vehicle crash

by Patrick Flanagan

A Lafayette physician died Tuesday from injuries sustained in a cycling accident, marking the second fatality reported in recent weeks involving an Acadiana cyclist.

A Lafayette physician died Tuesday from injuries sustained in a cycling accident, marking the second fatality reported in recent weeks involving an Acadiana cyclist.

According to a press release from the Lafayette Police Department, Tuesday's accident was reported shortly after 6 p.m., at the intersection of Roselawn and Dicarlo Drive.

Police investigators found that both a Ford F-150 and 57-year-old cyclist James McCarthy were headed north along Roselawn. At the intersection of Dicarlo, both attempted a right turn, which ended with McCarthy colliding into the driver's side door of the truck.

According to The Daily Advertiser, McCarthy was a radiologist, and previously worked at the Regional Medical Center of Acadiana and the University Medical Center until 2008.

McCarthy was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at a local hospital following the accident. The driver of the truck - whose name is being withheld by authorities, likely because no charges have been filed - was uninjured in the collision.

An investigation, however, is ongoing, according to police spokesman Cpl. Paul Mouton.

McCarthy - whose funeral is set for 10 a.m. Saturday - marks the second cyclist to die in a collision with a vehicle in recent weeks, and comes on the heels of the July 7 death of Lon Lomas, who was killed in a hit-and-run along La. 92 between Milton and Youngsville.

Lomas' death quickly sparked the attention of Acadiana's growing cycling community, and led to t-shirts and a memorial ride organized to raise money for his family and to help raise cycling awareness among more local motorists. The event attracted hundreds of cyclists who rode from Youngsville to the site of Lomas' death where they were greeted by a solid white bike, or "ghost bike," that had been erected earlier that day to memorialize the tragic accident.

For more on Lomas' story, click here and here.