See “Charity bike rides” listed
Two teen-agers died in separate MS 150 Bike Tour fund-raisers last weekend in collisions with motor vehicles.
Charlie Vogann, 15, died on the Oklahoma chapter bike tour, and Rachel Giblin, 15, was killed in an accident during the Mid-Atlantic chapter's Breakaway to the Beach bike ride in South Carolina. News reports say one accident occurred on a busy US highway, while the other happened when a volunteer waved cyclists through an intersection.
Organizers of the two events — among 13 fund-raisers held for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society across the US last weekend — each said those were the first fatalities their tours had experienced in more than 20 years of operation.
Last year, more than 100,000 cyclists participated in the MS 150s, raising $60 million.
The Oklahoma chapter (.doc) cancelled the second leg of the bike tour on Sunday because of Vogann's death and severe weather. “Our sympathy and support are with the Vogann family during this extraordinarily difficult time. We all are deeply saddened by such a tragic loss.”
The Tulsa World quotes the Oklahoma State Patrol that Vogann failed to yield at a stop sign and rode from a country road onto Oklahoma 16 into the path of a truck, striking the driver side rear axle.
Sabrina Aldrich, Vogann's sister, said a safety volunteer posted at the intersection waved them through. Aldrich, who was riding alongside her brother, saw the oncoming truck and veered away, according to an AP report at KFOR.com.
South Carolina fatality
On MS 150 ride in South Carolina on Saturday, news reports say a pickup truck pulling a trailer collided with the tandem Rachel Giblin was riding and another bike. The reports didn't say whether the pickup was passing or approaching; the highway patrol is investigating the accident.
Rachel's brother, Tommy, was piloting the tandem and her mother, Becky, was riding the other bike that was struck, reports the Charlotte Observer. The father, Tom Giblin, was cycling at the head of the group that was riding single file. The brother and mother were both treated at a hospital for injuries.
The collision occurred on US 15/401, described as a busy highway carrying motorists between North and South Carolina. The president of the Mid-Atlantic chapter, Anne Marie McDermott, told The State:
“We try to pick the most deserted, lightly traveled roads possible, but to get 150 miles, we always end up with a few roads that are connectors. This road was one of those.”
In a statement (.doc) posted on the Mid-Atlantic website, McDermott says this year's ride has been dedicated in Rachel's memory.
Update: Charlotte Observer, Sept. 21
Friends of Rachel Giblin, the 15-year-old killed during a charity bike ride Saturday, can make donations in her memory to the Morrison Family YMCA, 9405 Bryant Farms Road, Charlotte, N.C. 28277.It's too soon for the Y to know how it will use the money, but Vice President Steve Bowers said it will dedicate a space in Rachel's name in the planned expansion of the complex.
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