The Chicago Sun-Times reports that a Chicago lawyer by the name of Neill Townsend was riding his bike southbound on Wells on Friday morning when a parked driver opened his car door in the path of his bike. Neill Townsend attempted to avoid the door by swerving out of the way and fell or was pushed by the door into the path of a south bound truck. Mr. Townsend died at the scene.
The man who opened the car door for opening a car door in the path of a bicyclist which is against the law in Chicago.
According to the Illinois Department of transportation, Division of Traffic Safety in data obtained by WBEZ, there have been 577 reported doorings in Chicago between 2009 through September, 2012. According to the map, doorings are particularly common on Milwaukee and Lincoln Avenues, two streets that have heavy commuter traffic.
The Chicago personal injury firm of Zneimer & Zneimer are currently handling a number of cases involving bicyclists injured by careless motorists. Dooring is one of the most common way bicyclists are injured along with motorists making left turns in front of bicyclists. It is important to remember to look for bicyclists when opening a car door given the increased bicycle traffic on city streets.