Source: Jim Coffed was as passionate about bike safety as he was about cycling itself. He always wore a bright yellow helmet and shirt while riding his prized bike from high school - a Raleigh 3-speed - the five miles from his Depew home to his job as an engineer at Greatbatch Medical in Clarence. He outfitted the bike with an array of lights, reflectors and even a green swim noodle - a bright, Styrofoam tube - modified to buffer him from traffic. Having experienced several close calls, he knew firsthand the dangers of sharing the road. He even wrote about it. "Recently, while riding my bike on the 6-inch strip of broken pavement that constitutes the shoulder of Pleasant View Drive, in Lancaster, N.Y., I was struck in the lower back by the side view mirror of a full-size Chevy pickup as it passed me," Coffed wrote June 25 on The Buffalo News website.Days later, Coffed would be dead at 53, fatally injured July 2 after being struck by a dump truck while riding to work on Walden Avenue. The accident is still under investigation, according to police. If tragedy can befall a cyclist who took nearly every precaution, his family warns that it could happen to anyone on two wheels. "I'm at a loss because I know how he would watch and be so careful," said Coffed's wife, Susan. "It'll never make sense." Source: A middle-aged man riding a bicycle was fatally injured Monday morning when his bike was struck by a dump truck in Lancaster, authorities reported. James Coffed, 53, of Depew, was pronounced dead in St. Joseph’s Intercommunity Hospital following the accident, which occurred shortly after 8 a.m. at Walden and Sheldon avenues. Officials said that both the dump truck and the bicycle were heading east on Walden. The accident apparently occurred as the dump truck, attempting to turn right onto Sheldon, collided with the bicycle. The driver of the truck was identified only as a 34-year-old man from Tonawanda. No charges have been filed against him. “There was no alcohol or drugs involved at all,” Lancaster Police Capt. Timothy R. Murphy said, following the testing of the driver. “We’re still investigating to see if any violations were committed.” Based on eyewitness accounts, police believe that the dump truck was in the right lane, while the bicyclist was riding on the shoulder of the road, before the two collided. There is no designated bike lane where the crash occurred. The investigation, headed by Lt. Ronald Rozler and Officer Rick Albert, is continuing.