Bicyclist killed in Tower Road crash; driver arrested for DUI
Staff report
Updated on September 17 with information about the driver’s arrest.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A 68-year-old man was killed this evening while riding a bicycle on Tower Road.
At about 8:09 p.m. on September 16, an SUV driven by a 30-year-old Lake City woman was traveling southbound on NW 75th Street (Tower Road) and collided with the man’s bicycle in the roadway near the intersection with NW 5th Place. The woman, Shateria Glenn, was arrested on DUI and negligent manslaughter charges.
After the initial impact, the man landed in the roadway, and the bicycle landed in the northbound lanes of Tower Road, where it was run over by an SUV driven by a 45-year-old Gainesville woman.
The bicyclist, whose address is listed as Fanning Springs, was transported to a hospital with incapacitating injuries and was later pronounced deceased at the hospital. The bicyclist was not wearing a helmet.
The Lake City woman had three children in her vehicle, and none of them were using seatbelts or child restraints except a one-year-old infant; none of them were injured.
The Gainesville woman was wearing a seatbelt and was not injured.
Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.
I understand that bicycles have a right to share the road with cars. But with all the trails and different areas to ride a bicycle why in the hell would you ride on tower Road early in the morning and late afternoons that place like a damn NASCAR race nobody driving the speed limit.
I disagree G…If bikes have a right to share the road with cars, they should be mandated to have to license plates to help pay for the bike lanes. Bikes have no business to ride in the middle of the road…they should have to stay to the right and let cars pass..
I’m sure the bums will get right on that bike registration thingy
I don’t disagree with you
Transportation. I ride on the sidewalk, with helmet and lights on front and back (night-rarely, or day), slowly and with adequate warning, legal or not.
Not risking my life on higher speed roadways unless and until protected bike lanes are available.
Gainesville has encouraged people to ride bicycles everywhere. They believe they are saving the planet from climate change. They’ve changed all the roadways to make it safe for bicycles. The problem is there’s no traffic enforcement by GPD or the Sheriff’s Department to physically hand out tickets to bad drivers. I would encourage Alachua Chronicles to do an audit of local law enforcement to see how many actual hand out tickets have been issued over the last year in Gainesville for reckless drivers, red light runners, and speeders. Not flock camera tickets. How many bicycles must die before real change happens.
It almost looks like cyclist suicide, if not arrogance. Cycling in the busy roadway at night is Darwinian and sad.
Tower Rd might as well be a dragstrip at times, especially between SW 8th Ave all the way to Newberry Rd. Almost no GPD or ASO presence as both agency’s share that part of Tower Rd. In that area bicycles travel across the road anywhere they want. I seen a guy last week on an electric push scooter type passing cars at a high rate of speed. I lived off Tower Rd for 20 years and I’m surprised there are not more accidents on that road.
Its just as bad in the morning with all the idiots racing to drop off their kudd at oak hall
The driver was drunk, shes going to get drug.
I would give Alachua County law enforcement a grade of f when it comes to traffic enforcement. There’s been countless bicycle death this year due to no one in law enforcement patrolling dangerous roads and intersections. Someone at the top has directed them not to do enforcement There should be a state investigation into who’s creating these dangerous directives. A state audit should be done on how many tickets have been handed out. This would prove whether they’re doing their jobs or not.
I’ve literally watched a cop sit and watch someone sail thru a red light and they did nothing. Theres zero traffic enforcement in Gainesville and those of us that do obey laws and speed limits are the assholes….with people honking, tailgating and being absolutely stupid and cops do nothing!
All the free stuff available to people and this ‘mom’, ‘guardian’, ‘aunt’, ‘caregiver’ decides instead of properly restraining the kids, to get drunk and run over a cyclist.
There’s priorities, and then there’s ‘priorities’.