After driver doored CDOT Planner Riley O’Neil, 35, on bike in Bridgeport, causing his death, advocates demand City install protected lanes to prevent such killings
Update 6/7/26, 12:45 AM:
A memorial has been created near the crash site.
Citations for the motorist, who was driving on a suspended license
The Tribune reported, “Chicago police said it had issued four citations to a 31-year-old man on the scene, including for the unsafe opening or closing of a door, prohibited parking, driving on a suspended license and operating an uninsured vehicle.”
Chicago. Bike Grid Now! is holding a vigil for Riley O’Neil this Monday, June 8, 7 PM at Palmisano Park, 2700 S. Halsted St.
Mayor Brandon Johnson posted this statement on Twitter.
Bike Lane Uprising thread about truck traffic on Halsted.
Statements from Chaddick Institue and Better Streets Chicago, in a Tribune report on the case
“O’Neil had devoted his life ‘to making cycling better and safer,’ said Joseph Schwieterman of DePaul’s Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development.
O’Neil attended graduate school at DePaul and later served as a post-graduate fellow at the Chaddick Institute, according to his LinkedIn profile.
About a decade ago, Schwieterman remembered, the Chaddick Institute took a trip to Milwaukee. Everyone else took Amtrak to Wisconsin, Schwieterman said. O’Neil rode his bike.
It’s ‘disheartening,’ Schwieterman said, that society ‘seem[s] to accept bicycle deaths as an unavoidable part of life.’
[Snip]
‘[O’Neil’s] death was preventable, and is a painful reminder that these tragedies are a result of policy choices and political will,’ said Kyle Lucas of the advocacy group Better Streets Chicago in a statement. ‘Our elected officials must say enough is enough, and commit themselves to building the kind of infrastructure we know works to save lives.’
‘This wouldn’t have happened in a protected bike lane,’ Lucas added. ‘But elected officials are more concerned about prioritizing parking over safety.'”
Update 6/6/26: 6:30 PM:
The Chicago Department of Transportation posted the following statement on Facebook.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of our beloved colleague, Riley O’Neil. We extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and loved ones.
Riley was a cherished member of CDOT’s Complete Streets team and previously led Chicago’s bike parking program for several years. He was a dedicated public servant who devoted his career to making Chicago’s streets safer and more accessible for everyone.
His loss is being felt deeply across the department, and he will be greatly missed.”
Local Ald. Nicole Lee posted this statement on Facebook.
“Our community is heartbroken by the death yesterday of Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) employee and 11th Ward resident Riley O’Neil in a tragic [crash] on Halsted St. According to the Chicago Tribune report, “the cyclist [Mr. O’Neil] was traveling north on Halsted when the driver of a white sedan opened the car’s door. The cyclist swerved to avoid the door but still clipped it and was thrown to the street, sources said. A witness told the Tribune the cyclist was then run over by a large truck.”
Please join me in mourning Riley O’Neil, by all accounts a great public servant who was passionate about bike accessibility. We send our deepest condolences to his loved ones and to the members of our community who witnessed this horrible tragedy.
People of all ages in the 11th Ward travel by bike–whether for everyday transportation or recreationally. Making sure the streets are safe for all is a priority for our team. That’s why I have made improvements to bike lanes since I have been in office, including working with CDOT to install protected bike lanes on 35th Street from Halsted to LaSalle, and protected lanes on 18th Street from Canal to Clark.
It’s also why, in 2025, I commissioned a traffic study with CDOT for the area bound by Pershing to 29th and Halsted to Canal to address traffic calming on a larger scale and to evaluate the feasibility of a greenway on either Emerald or Union to give cyclists a safer route to travel north-south in the ward in this area. Already, we have installed numerous curb bumpouts and speed cameras throughout the ward in an effort to make our streets safer for all. Our goal has always been to identify additional ways to make our streets safer for riders and pedestrians.
We are also working with CDOT on the next phase of the Smart Streets program, which Mr. O’Neil was working on. This plan would expand bike lanes on 35th Street from Halsted to Ashland. This program is still in the planning phase, and requires additional community engagement before it can be finalized. Additionally, my office is working with CDOT and the Secretary of State’s office to disseminate information for everyone–drivers, cyclists and pedestrians alike–on how to safely share the road. Motorists, please take care when driving through our community. Lower your speed, and always check over your shoulder for cyclists before opening your car door. A good way to do this is opening the car door with your right hand which causes your torso and head to naturally turn toward the window and the back of the car. This is called the “Dutch Reach” maneuver, which the City should be prioritizing in public education.
I have been in communication with CDOT Commissioner Cheaks since this incident, and will provide a full update on the timeline for the traffic study and potential next steps in the days ahead.”
Update 6/6/26, 9:15 AM:
CDOT Planner David Powe shared the name of the dooring victim, CDOT Complete Streets Planner + Project Manager Riley O’Neil, 35. We’ve edited this article accordingly. During this difficult time, our thoughts are with O’Neil’s loved ones, the CDOT Complete Streets team, and other advocates who knew him.
Powe posted the following statement, “Please help us honor a Chicago bike advocate by calling these ‘Riley Racks,'” on Reddit this morning.
“Yesterday, CDOT lost one of the best people I’ve ever known.
Riley O’Neil led Chicago’s bike parking program for several years and completely transformed it. More recently, he was helping lead both CDOT’s school zone safety work and bus priority projects. He cared deeply about making biking, rolling, walking, and riding better for everyone.
But what I’ll remember most is his passion. Riley could get anyone excited about making Chicago better. He never met a person he couldn’t immediately connect with. His enthusiasm and love for bikes, transit, infrastructure, and public service was contagious.
In his memory, CDOT is going to start referring to these bike racks as “Riley Racks.”
We’d appreciate everyone’s help carrying his legacy forward. If you see one of these racks around Chicago, call it a Riley Rack.
Our hearts are broken, but we want to make sure Riley’s legacy lives on.”
Tragically, this afternoon a car driver with a suspended license doored CDOT Complete Streets Planner Riley O’Neil, 35 as he rode his bike in Bridgeport, causing him to strike the door and be thrown in front of a large semi-truck and fatally run over.
According to the initial police report, on Friday, June 5 around 4:40 p.m., O’Neil was struck in traffic in the 3200 block of South Halsted Street. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The driver stayed on the scene.
The Chicago Tribune reported that a Chicago Police Department source and a bystander said O’Neil was pedaling north before the collision. The driver of a white sedan opened their door into the non-protected, paint-only bike lane. The victim tried to steer out of the way but hit the door and fell into the street, where the truck ran over him.
O’Neill’s tragic death might have been prevented if the bike lanes on this segment of Halsted were located curbside, with the parking lane to the left of the bikeway, with concrete protection.
A couple miles southwest on Archer Avenue in Brighton Park, politically motivated protesters, including a 12th Ward alder candidate, have been demonstrating every week for the last six months, demanding that the City remove concrete-protected bike lanes.
Very similar weekly protests have been taking place recently on Grand Avenue in West Town.
I’ve heard from a source that there is a connection between the victim Chicago Department of Transportation. Streetsblog has asked CDOT if they have more information about the case. This post will be updated as more facts come to light.
Update 6/6/26, 1:30 PM: Bike Lane Uprising posted that they know the identity of the victim. This information will not be made public by the Cook County medical examiner’s office before their family is notified.
Fatality Tracker: 2026 Chicago pedestrian and bicyclist deaths on surface streets
Pedestrian: 12
Bicycle or e-scooter: 5
2026 Chicago pedestrian fatalities
• On Wednesday, January 7, around 8:44 a.m., a 42-year-old woman driving an SUV fatally struck a man, 64, crossing at 9498 S. Lafayette Ave. in Roseland.
• On Monday, February 16, around 4:12 p.m., a 37-year-old female truck driver struck and killed a woman, 63, in the 7200 block of West Bryn Mawr Avenue in Norwood Park.
• On Tuesday, March 3, around 6:15 PM, an SUV driver, 70, fatally struck a female pedestrian in the 4000 block of West Foster Avenue in the North Park neighborhood.
• On Wednesday, March 11, sometime before 10 p.m., a hit-and-run driver fatally struck a woman, 32, in the 2100 block of East 83rd Street in South Chicago.
• On Friday, March 13, at around 12:06 p.m., the left-turning driver of a large vehicle fatally struck a pedestrian in a crosswalk at 3960 W. 26th St. in Little Village.
• On Sunday, April 12, around 9 p.m., a 17-year-old girl driving an SUV fatally struck a Fontella Wyatt, 43, crossing Ogden Avenue at Ashland Avenue on the Near West Side.
• On Sunday, April 19, at about 9:30 p.m., a hit-and-run pickup truck driver struck and killed Minerva Martinez, 65, in a crosswalk at Belmont and Central avenues in Belmont Cragin.
• On Monday, April 20, around 6 p.m., a semi-truck driver fatally struck Autumn Perez, 29, at 6341 S. Western Ave. in Chicago Lawn.
• On Saturday, May 2, around 2:40 a.m., after an argument, a driver fatally struck a man, 65, standing on the sidewalk on the 5000 block of S. Western Ave. in Gage Park, and then fled the scene.
• On Tuesday, May 12, Enrique Nieto was changing a flat car tire in the street on the 6800 block of South Pulaski Road when an SUV driver fatally struck him and fled the scene.
• On Thursday, May 14, a hit-and-run sedan driver fatally struck a man, 36, near 87th Street and Ashland Avenue in Auburn Gresham.
• On Saturday, May 23, around 5:15 p.m., a driver, 35, fatally struck Illeana Crisanto, 62, near Belmont and Kilbourn avenues, on the border of Irving Park and Hermosa.
2026 Chicago bicycle and e-scooter fatalities
• On Thursday, January 24, around 8:20 p.m., the 33-year-old male driver of a Toyota fatally struck Roman Havelka, 63, on a bicycle in the 8600 block of West Irving Park Road.
• On Saturday, March 21, around 8:30 p.m., a hit-and-run driver fatally struck Violet Harris, 15, on an e-scooter in the 2800 block of East 77th Street in South Shore.
• On Sunday, April 5, around 1:20 a.m., a speeding, hit-and-run SUV driver fatally struck Damian Gomez, 18, on a bicycle at 63rd Street and Kedzie Avenue in Chicago Lawn.
• On Friday, April 24, around 4:15 p.m., a Jeep driver struck and killed e-scooter rider Astrid Carrillo Noguera, 17, near 3340 S. King Dr. in the Douglas community.
• On Friday, June 5, around 4:40 p.m., a car driver opened their door on CDOT Planner Riley O’Neil, 35, causing him to clip the door and be thrown in front of a truck and fatally struck.
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