A terrible tragedy happened Sunday, November 24, as a bicyclist was hit while riding down East Admiral Doyle Drive (Highway 674) and Blanchard Road in New Iberia, according to Louisiana State Police.

State Police Spokeswoman Trooper First Class Peggy Bourque says the victim, 47-year-old Sonephat Souriyakhamphong of New Iberia, was riding his bicycle eastbound near the fog line on East Admiral Doyle Drive. Trooper says the bicycle did not reflectors or rear lights which is required by law.

At the same time that the victim was riding, the driver of a Jeep was going in the same direction on Admiral Doyle Drive and hit the back of Souriyakhamphong's bicycle, and the victim was thrown from the bicycle. Officials say the victim was not wearing a helmet.

This is the preliminary investigation of the crash, and investigators are still working to figure out what caused the Jeep to collide with the bicyclist. Bourque says the bicyclist voluntarily submitted to a breath sample, and there was no alcohol present. The driver of the Jeep was buckled up and was not injured. She adds a blood sample was taken from the victim for routine toxicology testing.

Louisiana State Police officials want to remind everyone that Louisiana law does require bicyclists to have lighting on their bicycles. The rules are as follow:

  • Bicyclists must have a white light in the front
  • Bicyclists must have a red light in the rear
  • Bicyclists rear reflector must be visible from 100 feet away
  • Bicyclists side-mounted reflectors must be visible from 100 to 600 feet
lawwebsite

This is a developing story, and the KPEL News Team is working to provide additional coverage for Acadiana. Updates will be shared as they become available, so download the KPEL News app via Google Play or in the App Store and subscribe to breaking news alerts to get the latest information sent directly to your mobile device.

You can also use the KPEL app to submit a news tip, share a traffic update, or chat directly with our on-air team.

Be sure to bookmark our latest site, wearelafayette.net, where we provide more local news coverage as well as lifestyle and community features.

To report errors, omissions, or other concerns regarding the content above, send emails to news@kpel965.com.

LOOK: The biggest scams today and how you can protect yourself from them

Using data from the BBB Scam Tracker Annual Risk Report, Stacker identified the most common and costly types of scams in 2022.

More From News Talk 96.5 KPEL