Another bike crash in Key West sends man to Miami hospital by airlift

A Key West bicyclist remained in stable condition Monday after he was airlifted late Friday night after a crash with a van.

Edgardo Alvarado Vazquez was at the intersection of South Roosevelt and Duck Avenue around 11 p.m. Friday when the crash happened. He was in critical but stable condition when airlifted, police said.

“Early indications are that the cyclist hit a Chevy cargo van headed outbound,” said police spokeswoman Alyson Crean.

The van driver was Luis Betancourt, 51, of Stock Island. The outbound lanes of South Roosevelt were closed while police investigated the crash.

Alvarado is a writer who works at the Monroe County Public Library in Key West.

Two bicyclists have been killed in the past two weeks in Key West. In those fatal crashes, the bicyclists were both riding in the same direction as the vehicles which collided with them, police said.

Although final crash reports remain incomplete and police haven’t blamed anyone in the three crashes yet, police said traffic congestion and other factors like distracted drivers or bike riders have caused the recent crashes.

“These tragedies are a stark reminder to slow down and be alert,” Crean said.

The Key West Police Department has started a new campaign to increase education and enforcement in the most dangerous areas: along North and South Roosevelt Boulevards, Crean said.

“With the help of a grant by the Florida Department of Transportation, an increased numbers of officers are on the roads watching that everyone — motorists, cyclists and pedestrians — are alert and obeying traffic laws,” she said.