Police to be asked to reopen investigation
Organizers for the 2007 Breakaway to the Beach MS150 bicycle tour are changing the route for the first time in 12 years.
The Breakaway — touted as the largest bicycling event in the Southeast with 2,500 riders — ended tragically last year when 15-year-old Rachel Giblin and her brother, Tommy, were struck by a passing pickup truck pulling a trailer. Rachel died.
Instead of taking a two-day route from Columbia to North Myrtle Beach, this year the Breakaway to the Beach starts, overnights and finishes at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The fund-raiser for the Multiple Sclerosis Society is scheduled for Sept. 15-16.
Anne Marie Forbes, president of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter, told me about the change of plans after I had emailed her to ask if any route changes were being made to avoid the busy US15/401 corridor where the tandem riders were struck last year.
She made no mention of last year's collision, but did say the group has been searching for a new route for three years.
“Horry and Georgetown County officials are looking forward to providing amazing support, the DOT is approving the route this month. Saturday will have a 35, 75 and 100 mile route and Sunday will have a different 35 and 75 mile route,” she wrote.
Broadway at the Beach is the amusement area of Myrtle Beach, boasting 350 acres of shops, restaurants, nightlife, attractions and hotels. Forbes said they'll have hotel rooms blocked at all price points and free indoor camping at a nearby middle school.
No charges
South Carolina patrolmen investigating the Sept. 16 fatality determined the Gilbens' bicycle fell as the pickup truck passed them. Solicitor Jay Hodge Jr. did not find malicious intent on the part of the pickup truck driver, so no charges were filed, reported the Charlotte Observer (“No charges for driver in teen's bike death”).
South Carolina Highway Patrol Maj. M.L. Howard told the Observer that the truck “was passing a little too close, and the results were tragic.”
Rachel's partents, Tom and Becky, have asked their attorney to request that the highway patrol reopen its investigation. Witnesses told the Gilbins that their children were riding upright as the truck approached.
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