Police say a bicyclist who was riding up Little Cottonwood Canyon on Tuesday morning is in critical condition after he was struck by a delivery truck, thrown 20 feet and fell down an embankment.
The driver was headed uphill about 7:30 a.m. as the sun was cresting over the hill near 8200 East, according to Salt Lake County sheriff's Lt. Don Hutson. There isn't much of a shoulder in the area, but there is a passing zone, he said. The truck and bicyclist David Kelley, 37, of Draper, were both in the right lane to allow faster traffic to pass.
The driver spotted Kelley just before impact and swerved to avoid him, Hutson said, but the box truck's mirror hit him.
"Certainly the sun is a factor in some of these crashes, and it was in this one," Hutson said.
Hutson said the driver stopped to help Kelley, who was taken by helicopter in critical condition to University Hospital. He had spine, neck and head trauma, as well as broken bones and internal injuries, Hutson said. He said the injuries are not considered life-threatening.
Kelley was wearing a helmet. The driver was cited for driving too close to a bicyclist.
