A 42-year-old Patterson man died early Wednesday after a pickup truck towing a trailer struck his electric bicycle on U.S. Highway 90 near Franklin, state police say. The crash happened shortly before 1 a.m. on U.S. 90 East near Alice C Road, and the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Louisiana State Police Troop I began investigating the fatal crash shortly before 1 a.m. Wednesday, according to Louisiana State Police. Investigators say a 2000 Ford F-350 pulling a gooseneck trailer was traveling eastbound on U.S. 90 when it struck the bicyclist, who was riding eastbound near the shoulder. State police have not released the victim's name, and as Acadiana News First reports, investigators have not determined why the Ford struck the bicyclist.
Accounts of exactly where the truck was traveling differ. State police told Acadiana News First the Ford was in the left lane, while KLFY reported the truck was in the outside lane. The bicyclist was traveling along the fog line when the Ford struck him.
Dark Clothing, No Helmet, Unclear Lighting
State police say the bicyclist was wearing dark clothing and was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash. There is also uncertainty over the e-bike's lighting: it was unclear whether the bike had any lights on. WBRZ confirmed the Patterson man was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Ford driver was not injured in the crash, and impairment was not suspected. Investigators obtained a routine toxicology sample from the deceased bicyclist for laboratory analysis, though results have not been released. The exact cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Louisiana Law Treats Bicycles as Vehicles
Louisiana State Police has noted in past crash statements that state law classifies bicycles as vehicles, meaning bicyclists are required to follow the same traffic rules as motorists, as the agency explained in its release on a separate fatal crash in St. Landry Parish. At night, bicycles must carry a rear lamp and a reflector, with the reflector visible from 100 to 600 feet behind.
That St. Landry Parish crash, which happened on U.S. Highway 190 near Louisiana Highway 35 in October 2025, killed 68-year-old Dallas Pitre of Opelousas after a 2020 Ford commercial van struck his bicycle for reasons state police said were still under investigation. It is one of several fatal bicycle and e-bike crashes reported around Louisiana in the past year.
E-Bike Deaths Climbing in New Orleans
The Franklin crash comes amid a documented rise in fatal e-bike crashes elsewhere in the state. In New Orleans, four e-bike riders died in crashes between April and mid-July 2026, accounting for nearly one-fifth of Orleans Parish's 22 traffic fatalities recorded by that point, according to NOLA.com. That is despite the parish's overall traffic death toll falling well below the 56 fatalities recorded in 2025 and 64 in 2024.
In none of those four New Orleans cases did NOPD Traffic Division investigators determine a motorist was at fault, make an arrest, or issue a citation, per the same report. The pattern underscores how difficult it can be for investigators to pin down fault in bicycle and e-bike crashes, even as the vehicles grow more common on Louisiana roads. In Franklin, state police say the investigation into exactly how Wednesday's crash unfolded continues.
