17-year-old Maryland cyclist dies after falling from bike and being struck by SUV

(Click on the image for a clip from Chris Gordon's News4 report)

From Dana Hedgpeth's Washington Post report:

• A 17-year-old died Thursday after he was struck by a car a day earlier while riding a bike in Bethesda.
• Montgomery County police said Jacob Cassell of Bethesda was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries after the crash, which occurred before 5 p.m. Wednesday at Old Georgetown Road and Beech Avenue.
• Police said Cassell was riding southbound along Old Georgetown Road on the sidewalk when he fell into the roadway and was struck by a Volkswagen Atlas. The driver, who was not hurt, stopped and stayed at the scene, according to police.

From News4:

• Jacob was riding his bike to the local YMCA where he loved to swim, his parents said. He wore his helmet and was on the sidewalk — possibly weaving around obstacles such as poles and trash cans — while approaching Beech Avenue when he fell into the roadway, where he was struck by a Volkswagen SUV, police said.
• It isn't the first time a fatal crash like this one happened in the community. Two years ago in Gaithersburg, a bicyclist fell off the sidewalk into traffic and was killed, said Montgomery County Police Capt. Tom Didone.
  "As a vision zero community, there's a lot for us to learn. We have to build the infrastructure in a way that doesn't come with tragic results," Didone said. 

From WTOP:

• At-Large Montgomery County Council member Hans Riemer said he has biked many parts of the county but, in his experience, Old Georgetown Road is among the most dangerous. Riemer said the problem is the lack of a buffer between the sidewalk and the busy roadway. . . “There’s just no margin for error,” Riemer said.
• Old Georgetown Road in Montgomery County is a state-run road, so improvements will have to come from the Maryland State Highway Administration. Riemer said he wants to see his colleagues on the council and state officials sit down to discuss options for making the roadway safer.
• State Highway Administration spokesman Charlie Gischlar said the agency “has recently implemented a statewide program to enhance pedestrian safety in urbanized areas, and in March, lowered the speed limit on Md. 187, as well as other roads in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.”