HATCH, Utah, Sept. 30, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — The Utah Highway Patrol has identified a cyclist killed when a passing SUV hit the back of his bike, sending him off the shoulder of the road and into a rocky ravine.
The rider, 27-year-old Tyler Droeger, from Manawa, Wisconsin, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the UHP.
A GoFundMe page Droeger established a couple months ago said he was on an extended bicycle trip through the west to raise awareness of hunger in the Navajo Nation, and was raising money for a mountain biking scholarship for Navajo students in Arizona.
He called his page “Will bike 4 food.”
“My name is Tyler and I’m on a 4,000 mile long bike ride around the Southwest in an effort to raise awareness about the food crisis on the Navajo Nation,” the account says. “I’m also raising money to award a mountain biking scholarship to Navajo students in the Flagstaff area.
“Biking is a force in my life. Bikes allow me to challenge myself, stay healthy, and have fun. I want to give the gift of mountain biking to people who could use it.”
The scholarship was intended to be awarded through the Flagstaff Youth Riders, a nonprofit organization which Droeger said “fosters personal growth and an active lifestyle through mountain biking.”
The accident which took Droeger’s life happened at about 2:50 p.m. Wednesday when a black 2012 Subaru Forester driving north on State Route 89 drifted off the road to the right near mile marker 117.5,” the UHP said.
“As the vehicle ran off the road to the right, it struck the rear of a pedal-cyclist that was traveling on the northbound shoulder,” the Utah Highway Patrol statement said. After impact, the rider and vehicle continued off the northbound shoulder and into a ravine.
“The cyclist came to a rest in the bottom of the ravine.,” the statement said.
The SUV rolled and came to a rest on its driver side.
“The male cyclist died at the scene.”
The Utah State Bureau of Investigation is assisting the UHP with the investigation.
The cause of the accident has yet to be determined.
