Louisiana Tragedy: Bicyclist Killed in Heartbreaking Crash with a Vehicle

According to Louisiana State Police officials, another roadway tragedy claimed the life of a 31-year-old bicyclist who was traveling down Coteau Road Saturday evening.

Trooper First Class Peggy Bourque with the Public Affairs Section of State Police Troop I says their preliminary investigation shows that the bicyclist was traveling west down Louisiana Highway 88 near Louisiana Highway 89 when a truck driving in the same direction hit the back of the bicycle.

According to Bourque, investigators say that Timothy Maturin was not wearing a helmet while riding his bicycle, and his injuries were severe. The man was pronounced dead at the scene by the Iberia Parish Coroner's Office. The crash happened about 8 o'clock Saturday night.

Bourque says the driver of the truck that crashed into the back of the bicycle was not suspected of being impaired, and he did voluntarily give a breath sample to investigators, which showed there was no alcohol. As is standard in a severe injury or fatal crash, a toxicology sample was taken from Maturin, which will be submitted to a lab for analysis.

Investigators are still working to determine more specifics about the circumstances of the crash. Still, they determined the bicycle Maturin was riding did not have any reflectors or rear lights. They also determined that the truck driver was wearing a seat belt, and as a result, he was not injured due to the collision.

Bourque says that anyone riding a bicycle needs to know what they are required to do with their bicycle in order to be compliant with the law, which is LRS 32:329.1. Bourque says bicycles have to have the following items:

• Bicycles must be equipped with a white light in the front, which must be visible from at least 500 feet away
• Bicycles have to have a red light in the rear, which must be visible from at least 500 feet away
• Bicycles have to have side-mounted reflectors which are visible from 100 to 600 feet
• Bicycles must have a rear reflector that can be seen from 100 feet away