NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The Latest on a weekend accident that left two bicyclists dead and seven other people hurt in New Orleans (all times local):
4 p.m.
A New Orleans City Council member and an advocate for bicycle safety are calling for better protection for bicyclists following a weekend traffic accident that killed two people and injured seven.
Both said that simply painting bicycle lanes on busy streets isn’t enough to provide safety to bicycle riders.
Council member Kristin Palmer says one in five New Orleans residents is without a car, making it critical that safer bike routes be developed.
Dan Favre (FAY’-vur), the director of the organization Bike Easy, issued a statement calling on residents to press elected officials to build connected, protected bikeways in New Orleans.
A 32-year-old man faces two counts of vehicular homicide and several other charges in the accident Saturday night. Victims were in a bicycle lane on Esplanade Avenue.
___
9 a.m.
Mourners placed bouquets, balloons, and Mardi Gras beads near the bike lane in New Orleans where two cyclists were killed and seven people were injured over the weekend.
People who knew the two bicyclists killed on Saturday night - and some who never met them - dealt with the grief Monday as Tuesday’s joyous climax of New Orleans’ annual Carnival season neared.
The dead have been identified as 27-year-old Sharree (shah-REE’) Walls of New Orleans and 31-year-old David Hynes of Seattle. They were among nine people hit when a car sped into a bicycle lane, blocks away from a parade route.
The man identified as the car’s driver, 32-year-old Tashonty Toney, faces multiple charges including two counts of vehicular homicide.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.