UPDATE 8/8 at 10:54 a.m.: The bicyclist has been identified as Jeremy David Smith.
ORIGINAL STORY:
PORTAGE (WKZO-AM/FM) — Portage Public Safety is investigating the death of a cyclist who was struck by a pickup in the 7200 block of Portage Road near the Pfizer manufacturing complex.
Dead is a 20-year-old man from Kalamazoo Township who was pronounced at the scene. The driver of the white 2009 Chevrolet was a 20-year-old male from Hartford.
Both were headed north on Portage Road when the two collided.
Fire rescue was dispatched at 6:30 p.m. They say when they arrived on the scene, witnesses and passing motorists were already rendering aid to the victim. They took over, but could not save the young man.
The City of Portage recently enacted a new ordinance requiring that motorists give cyclists 5-feet of leeway when passing them from behind, specifically to try to prevent this sort of collision. It’s not clear if that was a factor in this crash.
More information could be released Tuesday morning.
