Beloved coach killed by garbage truck as he biked to work, CA officials say
A beloved coach died after being struck by a garbage truck while bicycling to work, California authorities and news outlets reported.
Officers responded to the crash at about 7:40 a.m. Wednesday, May 7, Atherton police said in a May 8 news release. A garbage truck turning right hit a cyclist in the bicycle lane, police said, and the bicyclist was pronounced dead at a hospital a short time later.
The driver remained at the scene and is cooperating with the investigation, police said.
The bicyclist was identified as Dylan Taylor, a coach at nearby middle and high schools, who was on his way to work when he was struck, InMelo reported.
“It’s a terrible thing for our larger community, because he was such a big presence in all of our kids’ lives,” Purva Singla, who visited the site of the crash to pay her respects, told KGO. “I feel lucky that I even knew him for a little bit. He has enriched my life.”
Taylor, who was a first-year freshman football coach at Menlo-Atherton High School, was “a great man,” varsity football coach Chris Saunders told Sports Illustrated.
“He cared very deeply about our community and loved building relationships with our student athletes,” Saunders said. “He is deeply missed already.”
Taylor also coached youth basketball and track and field at local middle schools, Principal Karl Losekoot of the high school said in a letter to parents, InMenlo reported.
“Coach Taylor grew up in the community, worked as a paraeducator in local middle schools, and has been an athletic coach for youth in the community for several years,” Losekoot wrote. “His tragic loss will be felt by many.”
Superintendent Erik Burmeister of the Las Lomitas School District told KTVU that Taylor was “a coach, mentor, and friend to many.”
“His loss is felt deeply in our community, but the legacy he leaves will not soon be forgotten,” Burmeister said.
An investigation into the fatal crash continues, police said. Police Chief Steven D McCulley called the crash “devastating.”
Atherton is about a 35-mile drive southeast from San Francisco.
This story was originally published May 12, 2025 at 12:20 PM with the headline "Beloved coach killed by garbage truck as he biked to work, CA officials say."