A bicyclist suffered major injuries Wednesday morning after being struck by a driver in a white vehicle on Olive Drive in Bakersfield, with the crash blocking lanes and backing up traffic in the area. The collision was reported around 11:21 a.m. in the 5800 block of Olive Drive near Oakhaven Street.
According to KGET 17 News, the bicyclist was struck by a driver in a white vehicle in a crash the outlet also described as occurring on Olive Drive near Fruitvale Avenue. The outlet attributed details of the crash and the bicyclist's injuries to the California Highway Patrol. No information about the bicyclist's identity, age, or current condition has been released, and it remains unclear whether the driver was cited or whether fault has been determined.
Traffic Backed Up as Lanes Closed
The crash prompted a traffic backup on Olive Drive and forced the closure of lanes in the area, the station reported. It is not known how long the lanes remained blocked or how long the backup persisted. CHP has not released further findings on what led up to the collision, including whether speed, visibility, or road conditions played a role.
A Growing Pattern on Bakersfield Streets
Wednesday's crash adds to a troubling trend already drawing attention from local data trackers. Bakersfield recorded 70 bicycle-involved crashes in 2023 alone, which caused 71 injuries and two deaths, according to BakersfieldNow. That figure marked a 40% increase compared with two years earlier, the station reported.
The city's worst year on record remains 2016, when 88 crashes resulted in 85 injuries and three deaths, per the same BakersfieldNow report. Since 2010, Bakersfield has tallied more than 700 bicycle crashes and injuries, along with 24 deaths, the outlet noted.
Separate reporting from The Bakersfield Californian found that the city logged 70 bicycle-related crashes in 2023, six more than in 2022 and 16 more than in 2021. The newspaper reported that Bakersfield's bicycle-crash rate rose for a second consecutive year in 2023, exceeding the 2021 level by almost one-third. Those figures were based on data from the Transportation Injury Mapping System, SafeTREC, and SWITRS, according to the Californian's report.
No further details about Wednesday's collision, including the vehicle's license plate or additional information about the driver, have been made public. The investigation into the Olive Drive crash remains active.
