Saskatoon cyclist and father, 36, dies after being hit by vehicle on Wednesday
Darin Leon Kinniewess died of his injuries in hospital, leaving behind 2 young children
Saskatoon police say a 36-year-old male cyclist is dead after being hit by a vehicle on Wednesday evening.
The cyclist's family has now confirmed that he was Darin Leon Kinniewess, the father of two young children.
Saskatoon Police Service (SPS) officers responded at about 5:45 p.m. CST to a report of a serious collision involving a cyclist at the intersection of 19th Street West and Avenue P South, in the Pleasant Hill neighbourhood near St Paul's hospital.
SPS said the cyclist suffered life threatening injuries in the collision. Erica Kinniewess, Darin's older sister, said he fought for his life in hospital before he was declared dead just before 1 a.m. CST Thursday.
Erica and her family were not able to see Darin before he died due to the severity of his injuries. She said she hasn't processed her little brother's death yet.
"He's always riding bikes. He's always been safe. Like he's been on a bike since he was six years old. He's never got hit by a car before. He's never ran through streets," said Erica.
The collision analyst unit is now investigating the incident. Erica said it's not yet known whether Darin was at fault in the incident, or the driver.
She said Darin's death is another in a series of tragedies in her family.
"We have a sister on the MMIWG list," she said. "Then we had a brother that drowned in the Saskatoon River here in town in 2008. He was only 17 when he passed away. So I mean, we do know our loss."
Relived trauma
Erica said she herself was also hit in a separate collision, and felt that trauma returning at the hospital while her brother was in surgery. She said she was walking in 2018 when she was hit by a driver who was speeding while on non-prescription pills. Her left hip was shattered and her lower spine was fractured.
"Obviously I'm surviving. I'm alive today. I'm walking. I'm running. I'm doing things that the doctor said I wouldn't be able to do," Erica said.
She said knowing her brother was fighting for his life much like she had caused her to relive her own experience.
"So being in the OR waiting room with the trauma … was kind of like very shocking because I kind of just had flashbacks of being in that bed, being wheeled across and then seeing my family be there and cry."
Erica said her mother in particular is taking Darin's death very hard. She said he was the baby of the family. Erica said Darin was great with his children, was always helpful, loved being outside and biking, and was very funny. She said many people will miss him.
"He was very kind. He's very helpful, you know. He was just shy, too. He was a whole lot of shy. But man, when you got to know him … he was there for you," she said.
Natasha Fox
This is not the first fatal collision involving a cyclist this year in Saskatoon.
In May, 33-year-old Natasha Fox died after she was hit by a cement truck on College Drive.
Fox was a mother of two children, a teacher with Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools and an accomplished athlete. Her husband described his partner as someone with a wicked sense of humour who put her heart and soul into everything she did.
Hundreds of cyclists in Saskatoon took the streets to honour Fox with a memorial bike ride while elevating calls for improved biking safety measures in the city.
On Thursday, Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark was asked for his reaction to the death of yet another cyclist, Darin Kinniewess.
"It's always that much more worrying because of how much more harm can be done … if you're hit while you're walking or cycling. So obviously we'll be looking into it and understanding it," Clark said.
"We know with the death of Natasha Fox this is something that's on people's minds. How do we make sure we can create safer cycling networks?"
Clark said the city is actively working to create pathways to foster safer cycling. In the meantime, he offered his condolences to Darin's loved ones
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With files from Dayne Patterson