[ebbc-talk] 25 year old cyclist died last week as a result of sideswipe by pickup truck

[Jon Spangler]

Dear Zach and all,

Here's the news story on Garret Patrick Wonders' death by pickup 
truck sideswipe. from the March 12 Charleston Post & Courier web 
site.  He was apparently a wonderful human being as well as being an 
excellent bike racer with a promising future.

I died a little bit when I read this story, and the emailed 
remembrances posted by his friends on the racing team's web site. 
There but for the grace of God....

I wonder, too, how the driver of the pickup truck feels about what happened.

Jon


Promising cyclist, 25, dies in accident
Wonders knocked into ditch by pickup
BY DAVID QUICK
Of The Post and Courier Staff
A promising South Carolina cyclist died after being struck during a 
training ride by a pickup truck on a secondary road known as "Old 
(U.S.) Highway 52" about six miles south of Moncks Corner.

Garrett Patrick Wonders, 25, an instructor at the Naval Nuclear Power 
Training Command school at the Naval Weapons Station in Goose Creek, 
was regarded as the fastest cyclist in the Lowcountry and a tough 
competitor throughout the Southeast.

For several years, the Ohio native raced bicycles. He was moving up 
the professional circuit with his sights set on the U.S. Olympic team 
trials and 2004 U.S. Cycling Federation Elite National Road 
Championships in Redlands, Calif. He was a vital part of the local 
cycling community and helped form the Low Country VW Racing Team.

At 2:55 p.m. Wednesday, Wonders was riding alone near the outer white 
line of northbound State Road 791, or Old Highway 52, when he was 
side-swiped by a northbound 1995 Ford pickup truck driven by Theodore 
Borck, 50, of Moncks Corner, according to Lance Cpl. Paul Brouthers 
of the S.C. Highway Patrol.

Wonders, who was wearing a helmet, was thrown from the bike and 
landed in a ditch. He was transported via an emergency helicopter to 
the Medical University of South Carolina, Brouthers said.

He was pronounced dead at the hospital at 4:05 p.m., according to 
Berkeley County Coroner Glenn Rhoad.

No charges have been filed against Borck.

Wonders' wife, Terri, a student teacher, said her husband had left 
her a note Wednesday afternoon saying he was out cycling, would be 
home by 5:15 p.m., they'd have dinner and he would head to work at 6 
p.m.

"When he wasn't back by 6, I knew something was wrong, and I was 
hoping he'd just had a flat or mechanical problems," said Terri, who, 
with some friends, set out to find him before hearing the news.

The couple met in high school and would have celebrated their fourth 
wedding anniversary June 24.

Wonders often talked about close calls with vehicles, and his wife 
said she worried about his training on busy Lowcountry roads where 
some motorists harassed cyclists.

"Every time he left the house (for a ride), I would tell him I loved 
him and to be careful," she said.

Close friends gathered at a local bike store Thursday to talk about Wonders.

John Glover, president of Coastal Cyclists bicycle club, often 
trained with Wonders and said he was always encouraging others on 
group rides.

"He was about promoting cycling and getting people out," said Glover. 
"He was one of the best riders in the state, but you'd never know it. 
There are lots of guys with less ability than him who are 
self-centered about it. Not Garrett."

Christopher Mackenzie of James Island said that when he couldn't keep 
up with a pack of bike riders, Wonders often would drop back and, by 
drafting, help pull Mackenzie back into the pack.

"My heart sank when I heard news of Garrett being killed," said Mackenzie.


Click here to return to story:
http://www.charleston.net/stories/031204/loc_12cyclist.shtml

At 1:46 PM -0800 3/15/04, Zach Kaplan wrote:
>http://www.savagehillcycling.com/
>
>http://www.charleston.net/stories/031204/loc_12cyclist.shtml
>
>_______________________________________________
>ebbc-talk-ebbc.org mailing list
>ebbc-talk-ebbc.org at lists.ebbc.org
>http://lists.ebbc.org/listinfo.cgi/ebbc-talk-ebbc.org


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+++++++++++++++++
Jon Spangler, Writer/Editor
Linda Hudson Writing
PH   510-864-0370
FAX 510-864-2144
1037 San Antonio Avenue
Alameda, CA 94501-3963