Crime & Safety

Autopsy Unclear On Whether Bicyclist Was Kneeling in Road

Paul Taylor, 53, died of blunt trauma, the autopsy says.

An autopsy report neither confirms nor challenges a pickup truck driver's statement that a bicyclist he ran over

The April 30 wreck killed , of Greenglade Road, who worked as a physicians assistant at Emory. The autopsy report obtained by Patch from the DeKalb County Medical Examiner's Office concludes:

It was unclear from the autopsy and scene description if he was upright on the bicycle or had already fallen or been knocked off and was laying, kneeling or sitting in some position at the time that he was struck.

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Whether he was struck and fell beneath the vehicle and was then run over or was already down is not clear from the investigation or autopsy at the time of this writing.

The report said the cause of death was generalized blunt trauma. There were no indications of a heart attack or other physical irregularity.Β 

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No charges have been filed in the accident but Decatur police say the case is still being investigated.

The accident report said driver Jorge Mercado-Perez "stated the bicyclist appeared to be kneeling in the roadway as if he had fallen."

Mercado-Perez, 57, of Snellville was driving a Ford Ranger truck that struck Taylor, 53, about 6:20 a.m. on North Decatur Road, near the intersection with Willivee Drive. Taylor was pronounced dead at 7:08 a.m. at DeKalb Medical.

Taylor was wearing a bike helmet, police and the autopsy report said.


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