NEW IBERIA, La. (KLFY) -- A New Iberia man died after being struck by a truck while riding his bicycle on his way home.
Lawrence Hebert was hit by a vehicle from behind and then succumbed to his injuries the next day.
The crash happened Wednesday just after 8 p.m. on LA Highway 343 near Maurice. The driver provided a voluntary breath sample, but no alcohol was detected.
Hebert's family said while the driver may not have been drunk, they had to have been distracted.
"We all lost somebody very loving," Haley Richardson, Hebert's stepdaughter, said. "I don't want him to be forgotten."
Herbert's family shared photos showing several pieces of Hebert's clothes left at the scene. His stepdaughter and ex-wife pointed out that Herbert was wearing a shirt with a reflector. They don't understand how this happened.
"Whether she blew negative on a breathalyzer, that's not going to show if she was talking on her phone or whatnot," Crystal Proctor, Hebert's ex-wife, said.
"Pay more attention on the road, and be cautious," Richardson said. "Don't be on your phone. Don't be calling people. Don't text people. Pay attention when you're driving. They have rules and laws for a reason, and it needs to be followed."
Hebert's family also raised the issue of bike lanes. Right now, the highway does not have a sidewalk or bike path.
"We need to get together as a community and get those set up for things like this," Richardson said. "It doesn't have to happen. It didn't have to happen like this. He still had his whole life ahead of him."
Hebert would have been 40 in six days. He is described as a loving father and grandfather who would give the shirt off his back to anyone in need.
"If you see somebody on a bicycle, go around," Proctor said. "Do not plow them over. Even if there's not a bike lane, or even if there is, give that person enough space."
The family has set up a GoFundMe for Hebert. The proceeds will be spent on a proper burial.
