Winnipeggers block off street where cyclist was killed as 19-year-old charged in hit and run

More than a hundred Winnipeggers blocked off the street where a cyclist was killed a day before, demanding safer conditions for all vulnerable road users.

Beckham Keneth Severight, 19, has been arrested in connection with the death of a 61-year-old cyclist in a Thursday hit and run in Winnipeg, Winnipeg police said Friday.

Police say Severight was behind the wheel of a speeding BMW when it struck and killed the cyclist on Wellington Crescent.

Officers were called to Wellington at Cockburn Street N. around 7 a.m. that day. The cyclist was rushed to hospital in critical condition and later died.

On Friday afternoon, cyclists in the city rallied on the site of the crash for a sit-in, blocking off Wellington Crescent.

Patty Wiens, an advocate with the title bicycle mayor of Winnipeg, said the area is a popular route for cyclists because it connects one end of the city with the rest of its bike network — but there have been too many close calls there.

"We think, 'That could have been me,' 'I've been on that stretch so many times,' or 'I had a close pass right at that stretch and I'll never use it again because I'm terrified,'" Wiens said. "Most of all [we think], 'How many is too many?'"

Wiens said drivers often go too fast there. She said more protected bike lanes would be ideal, but the city still has the option of lowering speed limits on side streets if it doesn't have the funds to improve infrastructure.

"Feels like the priority is always for anything to do with cars: widen the roads, fix the potholes. But then the cyclists always kind of fall below," she said.

She added that cyclists can "take the side streets, be visible, be predictable, signal," and yet situations like this still happen.

Nathan Wild said that even though he's an experienced cyclist, he's scared to ride his bike in the area.

'There needs to be consequences'

The North End resident said his three children have each been hit by cars while commuting on their bikes.

He said that while some drivers may see bike lanes as some kind of nuisance, their convenience shouldn't outweigh safety.

"My daughter was quite seriously hurt. She still has a problem with her shoulder," Wild said.

"Somebody died here.… Somebody's son, brother, father, uncle, friend, they're no longer here, because of what?"

Ethan, Wild's eldest, said he was hit by two vehicles within a span of 18 months.

"The one thing that gets to me is just the fact that the second I get off my bike and get into a car, I suddenly am above the law," the 23-year-old said. "If you're using your car negligently, there needs to be consequences."

Severight is charged with dangerous driving causing death and failing to stop at the scene, police said.