'How much is a life worth?' Winnipeg's cycling community outraged following fatal hit-and-run

Winnipeg's cycling community is outraged following the hit-and-run death of a 61-year-old cyclist on Wellington Crescent on Thursday.

Winnipeg's cycling community is outraged following the hit-and-run death of a 61-year-old cyclist on Wellington Crescent on Thursday.

Multiple cyclists held a sit-in protest at Wellington Crescent near Cockburn Street North Friday afternoon, the site of the crash at 7 a.m. Thursday. The cyclist, a 61-year-old man, was taken to hospital in critical condition, where he died from his injuries.

Patty Wiens, a board member with the cycling advocacy group Bike Winnipeg, said she felt shock and horror when she learned of the man’s death, saying the stretch of road where the hit-and-run happened is a dangerous stretch for cyclists as it’s not part of the dedicated bike areas on the same street.

“People who are using their bikes for transportation to get to work, they want to take the quickest way possible,” she said. “And this is the quickest way possible to get to the rest of the network that connects after Stradbrook.”

“This is also a stretch where people who drive like to cut through so that they don't have to take Corydon or Osborne, so it becomes a rat run right here, where people are going super fast, impatient and not really always watching for cyclists.”

Police investigated the crash, and determined a white BMW was being driven at a high speed when it hit the cyclist and left the scene. Police said both the BMW and the cyclist were travelling in the same direction.

Beckham Keneth Severight, 19, was arrested and charged with dangerous driving causing death and failing to stop at the scene of an accident.