Broward County

Bicyclist riding on sidewalk fell onto road in Broward. Then the unthinkable happened

Google Maps street view of the area of 500 block of Northwest 27th Avenue as of June 2022.
Google Maps street view of the area of 500 block of Northwest 27th Avenue as of June 2022. Google Maps

A 59-year-old bicyclist riding on the sidewalk in Broward County died Tuesday after a tow truck hit him as he was falling onto the road, police said.

Around 4 p.m., Ronald David Bastian was riding on the northbound sidewalk at the 500 block of Northwest 27th Avenue when he appeared to have clipped a utility pole with his left pedal, causing him to land headfirst onto the street with his feet still on the sidewalk, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday in a news release.

As a tow truck carrying a box truck drove by, Bastian fell in between both vehicles — when he was subsequently struck by the rear passenger side tires of the box truck, police said. Authorities noted there was only one northbound lane available due to construction.

READ MORE: Florida second-deadliest state for pedestrians, study finds. Rising toll ‘an epidemic’

Bastian was pronounced dead on the scene.

Elvys Martinez, the 22-year-old Miami Gardens man who was driving the tow truck, is cooperating with investigators, they said. Excessive speed wasn’t a contributing factor to the crash, according to police.

This story was originally published July 20, 2022 at 6:29 PM.

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Omar Rodríguez Ortiz
Miami Herald
Omar is a bilingual and bicultural journalist, covering breaking news in South Florida for the Miami Herald. He has a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin and a bachelor’s degree in education from the Universidad de Puerto Rico en Río Piedras.
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