Earlier this year, there were two fatal bike crashes in Atlanta. Miles apart, they are connected by the fact that both seemed to go unnoticed.

Until Georgia Bikes shared a mid-year update on bike crashes in the state, we were unaware that two people have been killed while biking in/near Atlanta in 2018 so far. In the last few years, we've had one fatal bike crash per year. But every single person's life lost in traffic is one too many. 

Through further inquiry, we have confirmed that both individuals are from Latino backgrounds. That means the two un-remarked, uncovered bike fatalities this year might share more than obscurity.

• Daniel Morales was at mile .2 of SR 237 on January 17th when he was struck and killed by a vehicle. This would place him near the interchange of Piedmont and I-85 in the City of Atlanta. He was 59 years old.
• Carlos Barquez was at mile 2.40 of SR42 on March 20th when struck and killed by a vehicle, placing him on a very high-speed stretch of Moreland in unincorporated DeKalb County, just north of I-285 and a quarter mile outside the Atlanta city limits. His age is unknown.

As Georgia Bikes noted, both deadly crashes happened near highways intersecting with major state roads. That’s not unusual -- most fatal bike crashes occur on state roadways.

Fatal crashes of all kinds -- people in cars, trucks, SUVs, walking, and biking -- are higher than usual in Georgia this year so far. That’s a disturbing trend that should have everyone talking. Instead, it’s hardly noticed and never reported in the articles about the latest deadly crash to close a highway or snarl rush hour traffic.

Next on our blog, we’ll hear from a Georgia Tech researcher on what is sometimes called the "High Injury Network” -- and who is most at risk on Atlanta's roads.