A driver struck a bicyclist after making an improper right turn and failing to yield the right-of-way on the intersection of Donaghey Avenue and L A Niven Drive on Nov. 1, resulting in the bicyclist being taken to the Conway Regional Emergency Room. 

The driver, Marco Manrique Gomez, 20, received no citations.

The officer on the scene, William Fosko, wrote in the Conway Police Department crash report narrative that driver Gomez said he was headed south on Donaghey Avenue and was turning right into UCA on L A Niven Dr.

Gomez said he did not see Austin Hamilton, 31, traveling south in the bicycle lane until he made contact with the right front fender and hood area of Gomez’s car at 6:28 p.m.

The report said Hamilton had “no contributing action” to the crash, that the weather was clear, and there were no roadway conditions. 

The bicycle’s front handlebars, headlight, front forks and mainly its right side were damaged. 

Hamilton “went down and was injured from the crash,” with a cut on his inner thigh on his left leg. 

He was transported to Conway Regional Emergency Room. 

Matthew Boyd, the public information officer for the Conway Police Department, said officers have discretion in issuing citations for most incidents. 

“The department cannot mandate a citation be issued in most incidents, but there are some things that normally would be, such as driving on a suspended license,” he said. “You’re not really going to see someone get a warning for that, but a lot of other things, it’s just up to officer discretion.”

He said, “It’s the individual incident combined with what they observed at the scene and the statements from the other people there.”

Boyd said if an accident happens and vehicles cannot be moved, the department may shut down part of the road to redirect traffic, but if only one lane is blocked, efforts will be made to minimize disruption and keep traffic flowing.

Michael Hopper, the public information officer for UCAPD, said there was one pedestrian accident last year and three in 2024.

He said UCAPD assisted in traffic control on the Nov. 1 incident, which involves “working to make sure that traffic continues to flow in a safe and orderly manner around the scene of the accident.”

He said officer Hunter Glover was on the scene at 6:40 p.m., and it was cleared at 6:54 p.m.  

“I do not know how heavy the traffic was at the time,” Hopper said.

Hopper said to limit the number of pedestrian incidents, UCPAD promotes the Brake 4 Bears event, which he said “is our annual pedestrian safety awareness event.”

“Our officers will also often sit near busy crosswalks during class change to monitor traffic,” Hopper said. “They stop and cite motorists as necessary if they observe a traffic violation. 

He said UCAPD also counsels pedestrians they see crossing in areas that are not protected by crosswalks. 

Hopper said UCAPD tries to be as “proactive” as it can.