Man killed while riding his bike

MATTAWA – An early morning collision between a car and a bicycle at the entrance to this community on Sept. 1 left an Everett man dead.

According to the Grant Country Sheriff, Greg Gelderman, 62, died after the bike he was riding was struck from the rear by a car.

Gelderman was riding his bike in the eastbound lane of Road 24 SW when he and his bike were struck at about 7:20 a.m. The car was a 2005 Chrysler 300 driven by Juana Hernandez, 38, of Mattawa.

Gelderman died at the scene, according to Mattawa Police John Turley who was the first law enforcement person on the scene. He said Geldermen's feet were strapped to the pedals, and he went into and out of the car's windshield with his bike before landing on the ground.

“It was just awful,” Turley said.

Turley said Gelderman nearly landed in the lap of an 11-year-old daughter of Hernandez's in the front passenger seat. His body was taken to the Grant County Coroner's office for an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death.

Turley spoke to Hernandez and said she told him the rising sun blinded her at that moment and that she never saw Gelderman or the bike. Turley took pictures facing east from that point two days later, and he said they corroborate Hernandez's claim.

Turley said another driver, a woman, behind Hernandez, saw the bike rider, but she was down the hill and didn't have the same sunburst Hernandez said she experienced.

Turley noted there is no bicycle path on that stretch of road, and Gelderman was riding in the tire mark of the eastbound lane. Had he been on the shoulder, he might not have been hit, Turley said.

Turley said he knows of no witnesses who said Hernandez was driving at an excessive rate of speed. He added that that stretch of road belongs to the county and has a 50-mile per hour limit.

Other than the 11-year-old girl, no one complained of injuries. The girl received neck pain treatment.

Alcohol and drugs were not a factor, the sheriff said. All occupants in Hernandez's car were wearing their seat belts. No citations or charges are expected.

Turley said the tragedy might have been avoided if Gelderman had been riding on or near the shoulder. The impact was to the right front area of the car, he said.

According to state law, Turley said, it's not clear the bike should have been on the shoulder.

“Bikes are to be treated the same as cars” he said about one section of the law.

In another section of the law, Turley said, bicycles that don't keep up with car traffic need to move as far toward the shoulder as possible.

“Coming up that hill, he was probably not keeping up with he cars,” Turley said