After Bob Breedlove died in a head-on collision with a pickup truck on a lonely Colorado highway last year, state police said the Race Across America bicyclist had veered into the pickup's side of the road.
The family now says that state police reached the wrong conclusion in the case, and they're supported by two independent investigators — including one hired by Outside magazine.
News of the accident stunned fans of ultracycling in June 2005. The 53-year-old orthopedic surgeon was competing in his fifth RAAM when the accident occurred in the mountains about 28 miles west of Trinidad, Colorado.
Since there were no witnesses, police relied on the version given by the pickup truck driver, a 15-year-old driving on a suspended license. The state policeman on the scene and the accident reconstructionist said the skid marks show the accident occurred in the pickup's lane, reports the Kewanee (Iowa) Star Courier, from Breedlove's hometown.
Problems with official version
The investigators for the family and for Outside magazine disagree, pointing to the fact that Breedlove was lying on the side of the road opposite from where the accident police contend the accident occurred. The Star Courier reports:
“The magazine’s investigator suggested that the Breedloves were “hometowned” — that the Colorado investigators had favored the local driver over the out-of-state bicyclist.”
In April, Bob's twin brother Bill, his wife Gretchen, and other family members met with Colorado authorities who refused to reopen the case. They contend the pickup driver actually lost control of the pickup and skidded into Breedlove.
See a video report, “Breedlove's widow says investigation was botched” at KCCI.com; the Alan Prendergast article on the family's attempt to get at the truth is in the November issue of Outside magazine.
More links to Breedlove at the RAAM website.
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