WESTFIELD – A 60-year –old cyclist was killed late Sunday morning when his bicycle was struck by a motorist while he was riding on Western Avenue.
City police report that Howard Beardslee, 60, of 14 Old Quarry Road, was riding his bicycle westbound near Scanlon Hall at Westfield State University when a Ford Explorer crossed the fog line and struck the bike.
Lt. Lawrence Valliere and Officer Michael Gamache of the department’s Traffic Bureau were among the officers who responded to the crash and Gamache reports that the SUV continued after hitting the bicycle and struck a utility pole.
Beardslee was reportedly not breathing at the accident scene and responding firefighters report that WSU emergency responders were performing CPR on him when they arrived
Beardslee was transported to Noble Hospital and subsequently transferred from Noble to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield where he was pronounced dead.
The accident was the second fatal crash involving bicycles on Western Avenue in recent months.
Early in November, John Kurty, 86, of Westwood Drive, was struck by a pickup truck on Western Avenue near the WSU Woodward Center and succumbed to his injures later the same day.
Kurty had been a standout athlete during his high school years, an outstanding coach at Ludlow High School and a successful soccer coach at Westfield State College.
The car’s driver was Brian M. Benoit of Westfield. Yesterday’s accident remains under investigation.
