A 47-year-old bicyclist was left in critical condition Monday evening after colliding with a gray sedan on Chicago's South Side, in a crash police say happened when the sedan's driver blew through a stop sign. The collision unfolded at roughly 5:22 p.m. in the 8200 block of South Blackstone Avenue, near 82nd Street.
According to ABC7 Chicago, the bicyclist had been riding northbound before turning westbound onto 82nd Street when the gray car struck him. Police said the driver of the sedan allegedly ignored a stop sign at the intersection, setting up the collision.
The bicyclist was rushed to University of Chicago Hospital in critical condition, per the same report. The driver of the sedan was not injured but was issued multiple citations, though the outlet's report did not specify which violations were cited.
A Dangerous Evening Window for Cyclists
The 5:22 p.m. crash occurred before the 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. period when bicyclist deaths peaked in 2024. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that bicyclist deaths in 2024 peaked between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m., accounting for 23% of all such fatalities that year.
The same data show that intersections are a particular danger zone, with 39% of bicyclist deaths nationally occurring at intersections in 2024, and 66% of all bicyclist deaths occurring on major roads other than interstates and freeways. The institute also reported that 81% of bicyclists killed that year died in urban areas, and that 1,075 bicyclists were killed in crashes with motor vehicles nationwide in 2024, the third-highest annual total ever recorded, a figure 7% higher than in 1975 and 73% higher than the low point reached in 2010.
What Comes Next
No further details on the crash have been released, and it remains unclear what specific citations the driver received. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration notes that its bicycle safety initiatives focus on encouraging safer choices by both bicyclists and drivers to help cut down on deaths and injuries on the road.
