A late-night collision between a bicycle and an electric scooter in the Kathleen area of Lakeland left one man dead and another critically injured Friday, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies were called at about 11:12 p.m. to Cherry Road just north of Paul Brown Road, where they found two adult men with serious injuries. Both were rushed to a local hospital. The bicyclist died shortly after arriving, and the other man was reported to be in critical condition.
In a post on Polk County Sheriff 🚔 Grady Judd, the sheriff’s office said the bicyclist suffered blunt-force trauma and died shortly after reaching the hospital. The post states the scooter rider suffered head trauma and lacerations and was listed in critical condition. Investigators noted that both the bicycle and the electric scooter were equipped with lighting and said they are working to determine whether those lights were functioning at the time of the crash.
Scene details and investigation
According to the sheriff’s office, the bicyclist was heading north in the southbound lane of Cherry Road when his bicycle and a blue 2018 Sanmen scooter, which was traveling south in that same lane, collided.
Deputies shut down Cherry Road just north of Paul Brown Road for about three and a half hours while the Traffic Homicide Investigations Unit documented the scene and collected evidence. The sheriff’s office said the investigation remains ongoing in its post on X.
Road safety context
The deadly crash unfolded along a stretch of north Lakeland roads already identified as a high-injury area. A recent analysis that found the Polk Transportation Planning Organization had counted 366 crashes on a 1.5-mile portion of Kathleen Road between 2020 and 2025 also highlighted chronic problems with poor lighting and tricky lane transitions in the corridor.
What officials say and next steps
The sheriff’s office said its Traffic Homicide Investigations Unit is leading the case and asked anyone with video or information about the collision to contact detectives or reach out to Heartland Crime Stoppers.
Authorities have not yet released the names of either man involved, and the investigation remains active.
