Mike Keating

The Chicago Tribune is such a reliable source of flat-earth rants about biking, that it’s truly a pleasure when they publish some sensible words about cycling. Recently most of the paper’s intelligent coverage of bike issues has come from transportation reporter Mary Wisniewski, who commutes on two wheels herself. An example was this morning’s balanced article about a new DePaul study that calls for relaxing laws requiring bike riders to come to a complete stop at stop signs and always wait for a green before proceeding through a stoplight.

Frustrated by what he sees as passivity by the Chicago Police Department in tracking down the pick-up truck driver who ran over bicyclist Dustin Valenta on February 8 then fled the scene, Valenta’s lawyer is attempting to force the city to identify the motorist. Attorney Michael Keating has named the city of Chicago as a “Respondent in Discovery” in a civil suit against the unknown driver.

The hunt for the motorist who ran over Dustin Valenta then fled the scene is one step closer, but the cyclist's lawyer says it’s no thanks to the Chicago Police Department. Earlier today attorney Michael Keating received red light camera footage of the pick-up truck from the city in response to a request he filed soon after the February 8 crash. Keating is optimistic it will be possible to make out the license plate number using video enhancement equipment. “But it’s preposterous that the police didn’t do this themselves sooner,” he said.

The horrific crash that bicyclist Dustin Valenta, 27, miraculously survived was a perfect storm of factors that are all too common when Chicago cyclists are injured or killed. Not only was Valenta knocked off his bike into traffic when a driver opened her door, he was struck by a second motorist who then fled the scene.