Police investigate crash involving officer and bicyclist

 

MISHAWAKA, Ind -- A crash late Wednesday night, leaves officers to investigate what happened when a St. Joseph County Sheriff Deputy his a cyclist.

 The crash happened at the intersection of Capital Avenue and Lincolnway East just before midnight.

The cyclist is identified as 43 year old Stephen Dydo.

Dydo did survive the crash but was taken to Memorial hospital in South Bend because of his injuries.

The officer involved is Deputy Kurt Vanlandingham, who cooperated during at the scene of the accident. 

Both Dydo and Vanlandingham were going south on Capital, when Dydo was struck by the deputy.

Those who live in the neighborhood say that the intersection stays busy and can be dangerous, and for that reason, they don't allow their children near that area.

Bicyclist enthusiast say that riders should take precautions regardless the time of day.

"You’re trying to attract you know, take the attention towards you so that a motorist might see you and say oh that’s a cyclist that’s riding a bike, I need to slow down or you know, be cautious of what, because a lot of times, they don’t know what you’re doing, you don’t know what they’re doing. So, you’re trying to figure each other out. If one of you can see the other, then, you’ll be ahead of the game." said Albrights Cycling and Fitness manager Drew Albright.

ABC57 has reached out to the fatal alcohol crash team, as well as Mishawaka officials, to see if they're concerned about the safety at this busy intersection, and none were available to comment on that today.

As of now, the fatal alcohol crash team has not indicated any wrongdoing on the officer's part, but we're told the investigation is still active.