Lafayette Parish – Shortly after 11:30 p.m., on July 21, 2022, Troopers from Louisiana State Police Troop I began investigating a crash involving a bicyclist that occurred on Louisiana Highway 98 just west of LA 93 in Lafayette Parish. The crash claimed the life of a 67-year-old male whose name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

The preliminary investigation revealed the bicyclist was stopped in the westbound lane of travel on LA 98 and facing east. At the same time, the driver of a 2010 GMC Terrain SUV, who was traveling west on LA 98, struck the bicycle. The impact caused the male to be ejected from the bicycle.

The bicyclist suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene by the Lafayette Parish Coroner’s Office. The driver of the GMC was not injured and showed no signs of impairment. Toxicology samples were obtained from the driver and the bicyclist and submitted for analysis. This crash remains under investigation.

Louisiana State University’s Center for Analytics and Research reports there were 638 bicycles involved in crashes and 532 people were injured or killed in Louisiana in 2021. Louisiana state law requires every person operating a bicycle upon a roadway to ride as near to the right side of the roadway as possible. Additionally, state law requires bicycles to be equipped with reflectors as well as front and rear lights and for bicyclists to use these lights between sunset and sunrise.

Troop I has investigated 26 fatal crashes resulting in 30 deaths in 2022.