Quebec coroner issues 3 recommendations after 2014 cyclist death
Salim Aoudia, 43, was struck and killed by a transport truck in Montreal's Griffintown
A Quebec coroner is calling for better safeguards at the municipal, provincial and federal levels after the death of a cyclist who was struck, dragged and crushed by a transport truck in November 2014.
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Coroner Jean Brochu concluded that Salim Aoudia, 43, died of multiple trauma after he was hit and dragged by a truck in Montreal's Griffintown near the Bonaventure Expressway.
Aoudia had pulled up on his bicycle alongside the truck just as the truck started to make a right turn on the corner of Nazareth and Wellington streets on Nov. 27, 2014.
The coroner found that Aoudia was trapped under the truck's wheels and dragged a block before a witness in the car behind flagged the truck driver down to get him to stop.
Aoudia was declared dead on the scene.
Recommendations for 3 levels of government
Brochu concludes that Aoudia's death, while tragic, was accidental.
The report does issue three recommendations to increase bike safety.
Brochu suggests the City of Montreal put more so-called "bike boxes" at intersections – painted areas designated for cyclists in front of the stop line for motorized vehicles, which give cyclists priority at red lights.
The coroner also recommends that the cycling advocacy group Vélo-Québec and the SAAQ, Quebec's automobile insurance board, continue to make cyclists aware of the dangers of blind spots on large trucks.
The report also said Transport Canada should consider making side guards mandatory on trucks.
Coroner Paul Dionne had made a similar recommendation in 2014 following the death of cyclist Mathilde Blais, who was crushed under the back wheel of the transport truck