CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — An investigation is underway to determine what happened to a 58-year-old cyclist who died early Monday morning in Chesterfield County.
Around 5:20 a.m. Monday, Chesterfield County police responded to the intersection of Newbys Bridge Road and Newbys Mill Drive, outside the Newbys Mill neighborhood.
When officers arrived, they found 58-year-old Michael Ortiz and his bicycle lying in the road.
Police say as a passerby stopped to check on him, a vehicle traveling south struck Ortiz.
A second vehicle then hit the first car, but did not strike Ortiz.
The passerby was not hurt but witnessed the crash.
Both drivers stayed on the scene and are cooperating with police.
Ortiz was taken to a hospital, where he later died.
Neighbors told CBS 6 this stretch of Newbys Bridge Road is often used as a cut-through when Hull Street is backed up, and they say they see cars speeding through the curves.
It is not yet clear if speed was a factor in this crash.
While we were at the scene, another cyclist was passing through the intersection.
Jan Martinez is riding cross-country from Montreal to his aunt's house in Midlothian and said he was shocked to learn what happened just hours earlier.
"The fact that the incident happened at night is an important factor because this at night will have probably been very different than now, it's a Monday at like 12 p.m. and there isn't as much traffic, whereas at 5 a.m. there's a lot of people going to work," Martinez said.
Because of the daylight, Martinez said he felt safe riding in the area.
"Cars have been driving like less fast around me and they have given me more space in general," Martinez said.
But he noted that changes after dark, adding that visibility is critical for cyclists.
"I've thought about this a lot just biking around cars pretty much every day — it's not about people being mean to bikers, they just sometimes don't see you," Martinez said.
"There's these lights for the car to see you but there's stronger ones that actually light up where you can see where you are going. So definitely have those if you're biking at night," Martinez said.
Anyone with information was asked to call Chesterfield Police at 804-748-1251 or Crime Solvers at 804-748-0660.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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