3 bike travelers hit by truck in Georgia; 1 dead

Sad news from Georgia where three bicycle touring friends in their 60s were hit by a tractor-trailer rig on Thursday morning. The three were nearing the end of a two-year, 6,000-mile bike adventure from Prudhoe Bay to Key West.

Peter Cornell

One, Peter Cornell, 64, of Port Charlotte, Fla., was killed in the collision. He was originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan, and was traveling with two friends from his home state.

Thomas Clark, 62, of Munith, Mich., and Joseph Muscato, 60, of Grass Lake, Mich., were also struck from behind by the truck traveling east on Highway 20 near Dawson and thrown into a ditch. Clark reportedly was hospitalized in the intensive care unit with a neck injury but not paralysis. Muscato was treated and released.

According to news sources, the three began their bicycle tour last year when they set off from Prudhoe Bay, traveling some 2,400 miles through Alaska and the Yukon and British Columbia to a destination in Alberta.

Earlier this year, they returned to Alberta where they started the final leg of  a 3,225-mile bike trip to Key West. The three were less than 700 miles from the finish when they were struck.

Cornell was All America and captain on the University of Michigan wrestling team. After college, he entered real estate. According to his obituary:

“Pete enjoyed fishing, dancing, waterskiing and weight lifting but most of all he was an avid cyclist cycling the 4 corners of the USA completing 9,223 miles in 89.5 days among many other cycling trips.”

Our condolences to Cornell’s friends and family, and we wish a speedy recovery to his two friends.

More information here, here, here and here.