Published Thursday, June 11, 2009 | 4:50 p.m.
Updated Friday, June 12, 2009 | 10:12 a.m.
Accident location
Metro Police are investigating the death of a bicyclist after a collision with a vehicle Thursday afternoon on Charleston Boulevard near University Medical Center.
The Clark County Coroner's Office has identified the man as 49-year-old Timothy Robert Mortenson of Las Vegas. An official cause and manner of death is pending, a coroner's spokeswoman said.
The crash occurred shortly after 2:30 p.m. Thursday as Mortenson was traveling east on West Charleston Boulevard west of Westwood Drive, said Officer Barbara Morgan, a Metro Police spokeswoman.
Metro's fatal accident detail went to the scene to investigate the death, Morgan said. Initial reports said the bicyclist was a man.
The driver of the vehicle that struck the bicyclist remained at the scene, Morgan said.
Police identified the driver as 54-year-old Jose Quintanilla of Henderson, who was driving a 2005 Ford F-250 pickup truck.
From evidence at the scene and witness accounts, police said that both the pickup and the bicyle were trying to make right turns from northbound Westwood to East Charleston Boulevard.
When the bicyclist tried to turn, the pickup's height blocked the driver's view and the left front of the truck struck the bicyclist.
The bicyclist was taken to University Medical Center where he was pronounced dead a short time after he arrived. It is believed that an improper right turn by the bicyclist caused the collision, police said.
The collision remains under investigation. This is the 38th fatal traffic collision in Metro Police jurisdiction this year.
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