All,

For the verbiage I wrote in the FB post, please see below:

All of us at the bike board are extremely saddened to learn of the death of Divanté Coles on Friday night. As far as we know, this is the first fatal bicycle-automobile crash in Morgantown in nearly 18 years since the death of Officer Frank Fidazzo in 2000.

Reliable details on this terrible crash are minimal at this early time. We do know that police are reporting the following:

1) The crash occurred late at night, around 11:15pm
2) The crash occurred on a major arterial roadway owned and operated by the WVDOH, Route 7 / Earl L Core road in Sabraton
3) Both Divanté and the driver of the vehicle were reported as traveling west on the roadway (towards downtown), but we do not know exactly where the crash occurred
4) The vehicle was described as dark, and possibly a black Chrysler or Dodge sedan

The bike board has recognized Earl L Core as an extremely uncomfortable and potentially dangerous corridor for many years. It is fortunate that we have a bicycle and pedestrian-only path (the Decker's creek rail trail) right next to Route 7/Earl L Core that allows many people to bypass the road. However, there are many essential services that all types of people (including bicyclists and pedestrians) need to access on that road, and there are many neighborhoods on the north side of that road that do not have direct access to the rail trail. Therefore, we must continue to push for improvements to infrastructure that can more safely accommodate all road users.

We are looking forward to the installation of two bicycle lanes -- one on part of Richwood Ave. and one on part of University Ave. -- as well as numerous sharrows on other, city-owned roads during this pavement season. We are also looking forward to the improvements planned for state-owned Route 19 / Monongahela Blvd. We understand those plans include the installation of a bicycle lane and a sidewalk on the west side of the road from the Star City Bridge to the Coliseum.

We grieve for Divanté Coles, his family, and his friends at this time and we eagerly await more answers for them to help explain why this crash happened. Ride safe and be vigilant.