How big a danger is the Rickenbacker for bicyclists? Here are some of the tragedies
The Rickenbacker Causeway, which links Miami to Key Biscayne, is a favorite route among bicyclists in Miami-Dade.
But the scenic roadway, with its view of the water and the downtown Miami skyline, can be dangerous for bicyclists, who have complained for years about speeding drivers who treat the Rickenbacker like a race track.
For years, advocates have called for the causeway, which is one of the busiest roads in South Florida and sees about 10 million vehicles per year, to be redesigned to make it safer for cyclists and joggers.
On Sunday afternoon, there was another tragedy: Two cyclists were struck and killed by a driver, pushing talks about safety on the causeway back into the spotlight.
Here are some of the deaths, from the Miami Herald archives, going back to 2010:
Fatal bicycle crashes on the Rickenbacker Causeway
2022 — Yaudys Vera, 48, and Ogniana Reyes, 46 were riding their bikes on the causeway when they were struck and killed by a driver shortly before 5 p.m. Sunday, May 15, on a section of the William Powell Bridge. The driver, who has not been identified, was issued traffic tickets. Police say criminal charges are unlikely.
2020 — MAST Academy teacher and cancer survivor Hector Echeverria, 57, was killed and Alain Nieves Leon, 35, was injured when they were struck by a Miami-Dade police cruiser while riding back to the causeway on Arthur Lamb Road on Virginia Key.
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2018 — Sunny Isles Beach resident Jorge Rouco was riding his bike on the causeway when he was hit from behind April 2 by a driver and was left for dead. He was taken to the hospital with various injuries, including a ruptured spleen and a collapsed lung. The driver fled.
2015 — Walter Reyes, 59, chief financial officer of the real estate firm Keyes Company, was killed and his friend Henry Hernandez, a lawyer, was severely injured in an early morning crash on Jan. 21. The two were cycling on the causeway when they were struck by college student Alejandro Alvarez, who police said was driving under the influence after a night out at a Miami Beach club. Alvarez pleaded guilty to DUI manslaughter and accepted a plea deal in December 2015.
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2012 — Aaron Cohen, 36, a triathlete and father of two, was killed and his cycling partner Enda Walsh was injured in a February hit-and-run on the Rickenbacker Causeway’s William Powell Bridge.
Police arrested Michele Traverso, 25, who later pleaded guilty. He was sentenced to almost two years behind bars and house arrest inside his Key Biscayne condo, according to Herald archives. In December 2014, he was sentenced to prison for 28 more months after his probation officer caught him outside his condo.
Cohen’s death eventually led to Florida lawmakers passing the Aaron Cohen Act in 2014, which created stiffer sentences for fatal hit-and-runs. Under the new law, the minimum mandatory sentence for drivers convicted of leaving the scene of a fatal crash is four years.
2010 — Christophe LeCanne was killed in a January hit-and-run crash by musician Carlos Bertonatti on Bear Cut Bridge just after 8 a.m. Police said Bertonatti had been drinking at Club Space in downtown Miami, and struck LeCanne on the Bear Cut bridge with his Volkswagen Jetta, dragging LeCanne’s bicycle for more than two miles before police caught up with him, according to Herald archives.
Bertonatti in 2013 was sentenced to prison for 12 years and his attorney said they would appeal it, according to Herald archives. Records show he has since been released from prison and is on probation.
This story was originally published May 16, 2022 at 4:28 PM.
