JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A bicyclist was fatally struck by a police cruiser Monday night in Northwest Jacksonville, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
The crash happened just before 8 p.m. on southbound Moncrief Road at Sycamore Street, just north of West 45th Street, as Officer B.P. Daigle was responding to a low-priority call, JSO Assistant Chief Scott Dingee said.
Daigle was driving in the outside right lane when he approached a bicyclist traveling in that lane.
The bicyclist then went into the left lane before darting back into the right lane and that's when Daigle drove into the left lane in an attempt to avoid the bicyclist, according to Dingee.
At the same time as the officer switched lanes, the bicyclist also tried to avoid the cruiser by going into the left lane and the cruiser hit the bicyclist, Dingee said.
The bicyclist, who was described as an adult male, died at the scene.
"The only thing that I really want right now is justice for my brother because he can't speak for himself," said Kim Vassell, whose brother Derek was killed in the collision. "He can't come back. And he the sweetest one. He do something for everybody. A stranger. He's gone. If he would've had the siren on he would've heard it and he could've got out the way."
Daigle, who's been with JSO for one year, was placed on administrative leave.
Dingee noted that the bicyclist had no reflective lights, and Daigle did not have his emergency equipment on, which is standard procedure for responding to a low-priority call.
The Sheriff's Office continues to investigate.