Bicyclist killed as he slides into school bus

Karen Zekan

Thursday, Oct. 16, 1997 | 11:15 a.m.

A bicyclist run over and killed by a school bus Wednesday may have steered into traffic to avoid riding over a drainage grill, the Nevada Highway Patrol said.

The bicyclist, a 33-year-old Las Vegas man, was southbound on Paradise Road near Harmon Avenue about 12:10 p.m. when he crashed to the ground and slid beneath the Clark County School District bus.

At least 17 feet of the approximately 30-foot-long bus had passed the bicyclist when the accident occurred, Trooper Steve Harney said. The man's mountain bike landed near a drainage grill.

"He may have been trying to get around the grill and lost control," Harney said.

Paramedics transported the man to University Medical Center and upon arrival at 12:16 p.m. was determined to have a crushed pelvis and internal bleeding, Harney said. He succumbed to his injuries at 12:50 p.m. Authorities have withheld his name until relatives are notified.

The NHP commended bus driver Marcia Perry, 32, for calmly handling what could have escalated into a terrifying incident for the 30 Gene Ward Elementary students aboard the bus when the crash happened.

"She acted very quickly, called immediately on her radio for help, got the kids off the bus and kept them from looking at the accident," Harney said of the five-year CCSD veteran. "Some of the kids probably didn't even know what was going on. She really did an excellent job."