A 61-year-old Bradenton man remained in critical condition May 1 after he was struck April 27 by a vehicle headed west across the Anna Maria Island Bridge on Manatee Avenue West in Holmes Beach.
The bicyclist was struck at the west end of the bridge, according to a Florida Highway Patrol report shared with The Islander by Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer.
HBPD responded to the crash and worked the traffic detail, but FHP investigated.
Tokajer said May 1 that the man was in critical condition and the FHP had located a suspect vehicle and was continuing its investigation.
The incident occurred at about 2:30 p.m. and the bridge was closed until about 5:40 p.m., according to the dispatch log from the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. Traffic on and off the island was directed to the Cortez Bridge, which was closed later that afternoon due to a crash on that bridge.
Traffic from all directions on Manatee Avenue, Cortez Road and on the island as far south as Longboat Key was in gridlock.
In the Holmes Beach crash, a truck was traveling west on Manatee Avenue West towing a trailer loaded with a red forklift, according to FHP. The bicyclist was riding uphill — eastbound onto the bridge from the sidewalk along north side of Manatee Avenue/State Road 64 — when he fell off the bike and into the road.
The cyclist was struck by the right rear portion of the westbound truck, which did not stop, according to the FHP report.
Tokajer said the city’s license plate reader did not help the FHP locate the suspect vehicle because several trucks towing trailers with red forklifts drove over the bridge at about the same time and the forklift blocked the license plate from the camera.
Anyone with information about the accident is asked to contact the Florida Highway Patrol at 239-938-1800 or Manatee County Crime Stoppers at 866-634-8477.