A truck driver for the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) recently was involved in a fatal accident that killed a 60-year-old bicyclist, Andrew Gerard Malizio of Gaithersburg. Malizio died at the scene of the accident, and now the driver has been charged with several moving violations in conjunction with the accident.

According to local authorities, the accident occurred back in November, when the bicyclist collided with the vehicle. In the aftermath of the accident, police had said that the truck was trying to make a left turn at a green light into a shopping center. However, the bicyclist was coming from the opposite direction. The driver was charged with a failure to yield to oncoming traffic while making a left turn, and with negligent driving.

It was unclear if the driver simply didn’t see Malizio coming or if he didn’t know that he was supposed to yield to bicyclists. However, bicyclists and motorists have equal rights on the road, and they follow the same rules of the road. Motorists are responsible for the safety of bicyclists in the same way that they are for other motorists.

These types of intersection accidents are the most common fatal bicycle accidents. A lack of visibility or awareness of the rules tends to cause left turn accidents. Right turn accidents at intersections tend to result from a failure to fully check a vehicle’s blind spots.

Bike riders have the right to safely use Maryland roads, and the drivers of motor vehicles have a responsibility to watch out for them to avoid serious crashes. If you need legal assistance after a bicycle accident, consult the dedicated La Plata personal injury lawyers at Mudd, Mudd & Fitzgerald, P.A. right away.