Stretch of Addison Where Cyclist Hit Has History of Accidents

CHICAGO —  A bicyclist collided with a motorcyclist in Irving Park Wednesday morning, police said.

The two collided in the 4300 block of West Addison Street around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, said Officer Ana Pacheco, a Chicago Police spokeswoman.

The bicyclist was taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he is listed in critical condition. The motorcyclist was taken to Community First Medical Center and was also listed in critical condition.

Earlier police reports said the bicyclist had been killed. Officials corrected the information about 1 p.m. Wednesday.

The accident temporarily rerouted buses in both directions, the CTA said.

152 Addison buses temp. rerouted in both directions via Addison, Cicero, Irving Park, Kilpatrick, Milwaukee, and Addison.

— cta (@cta) July 29, 2015

According to ABC7, the bicyclist was on his way to work at a nearby factory when he was struck. Carl Madison witnessed the incident and said it was like something out of a movie.

"I couldn't believe it. I just called 911 right then and there," Madison told ABC7.

According to WGN, the motorcyclist was behind the bike and passed the bicyclist on the left to make a traffic light. The motorcyclist then slammed into the bicyclist before striking a building.

Bullis Lock Company, 4350 W. Addison St., is directly behind where the accident occurred. Dan Schoepp, an employee at the company, said he arrived at work to the motorcycle and bicycle strewn in front of the building about a half-hour after the accident. The building did not appear to be damaged, he said.

Over the years, the street has seen its fair share of accidents, he said.

"They put in a couple stoplights down the street because of accidents a couple years ago. There's been a couple fender benders outside of the shop, but nothing major, nothing like this," Schoepp said.

Wednesday afternoon, dry blood stains and puddles of water remained near a fire hydrant at the intersection of Kostner Avenue and Addison Street. Hours earlier, a red Honda lay behind the CTA sign for the No. 152 bus at the same location.

Addison/Milwaukee, site of an accident. Hearing maybe a bike and a car were involved along with this motorcycle ... pic.twitter.com/FsVoMPQBdk

— Megan Crepeau (@crepeau) July 29, 2015

Alan Danel has lived across the street from where the accident for the last 13 years. The block is usually pretty safe for drivers and cyclists alike, Danel said, but he usually gets a little nervous with how far cyclists ride away from the curb as a truck driver.

The stretch of Addison Street allows for a lane of traffic in each direction and street parking. Cyclists consistently ride down the street, which does not feature a bike lane.

"It's really a bad thing that happened. I've seen a couple of crashes, but nothing like that [has happened before," Danel said.

Another neighbor said she's witnessed several accidents on the street since she moved in February from Rockford, including one in the area "that didn't look too good" Tuesday night. She didn't see the incident, but woke up to the carnage Wednesday.

"The street is horrendous to get on and off. You just have to do what you have to do," said the neighbor, who refused to give her name.

Police could not confirm another accident in the area Tuesday night.

The street really scares her during the school year, she said.

"There's a lot of kids biking around here. It's not bad now, but when school is in it's filled with kids," she said.

Schurz High School, 3601 N. Milwaukee Ave., sits around the corner from where the accident occurred.

The Major Accidents Unit is investigating, Pacheco said.

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