- Police have identified the bicyclist who died in a Thursday crash, and say they've booked the driver with DWI and vehicular homicide.
- The crash happened on the I-49 service road around 7 p.m. on Thursday. Lafayette Police say the bicyclist who was killed was Melvin Whitsett, 65, of Lafayette.
- Arrested was William Durham, 47, of Baton Rouge. He was booked with vehicular homicide and driving while intoxicated.
A total of961 bicyclists were killed in crashes with motor vehicles in 2021, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Bike Lafayette President Andre Angelle runs an organization that is dedicated to raising awareness for cyclists and road safety in the Acadiana region.
He says I-49 frontage road is dangerous for bikers.
"Unfortunately, I feel like I been desensitized," he says. "Even before I heard where I knew where."
Angelle says there's a reason why these accidents keep happening on the frontage road.
"One of the biggest reasons I think it's becoming so prevalent in this area is that they had so much development on business side and now you got everything from Super One to Walmart, all these stores so the traffic has increased but the infrastructure hasn't match that," Angelle said.
One of those daily commuters is Garren "Jimbo" Jim. He tells KATC one of his biggest fears is getting injured while walking to the store.
"It's a bunch of times that they just fly down here and I walk as deep as in the grass as I can with fears of being clipped," Jim said "You never know what the next person is on medicinal, alcohol, stressing, or going through their phone. They not paying attention and things like that, things can switch for them."
Pedestrians like Jim would want to remind drivers to be aware of those biking or walking on the busy roadway.
"It's another sad occurrence and prayers for the family. When you drive you don't drive for yourself, you drive for others as well," he says.
This fatal traffic crash remains under investigation by the Lafayette Police Department Traffic Unit.
