Although if you got just the partial details off the radio or where ever, you might have thought it could have been:
From the Aiken Standard
Man dies, wife injured in wreck on Banks Mill
An Aiken man died Sunday after he and his wife were struck while riding a tandem bicycle along Banks Mill Road.Gerald Hooker, 68, was transported to Aiken Regional Medical Centers around 3:52 p.m., where he was pronounced dead, according to Aiken County Coroner Tim Carlton.
Hooker?s wife, who was not named, was also transported to Aiken Regional and released with minor injuries.
Hooker and his wife were riding a tandem bicycle north on Banks Mill Road when the two were struck by a vehicle while attempting to make a left turn onto Lone Oak Drive, Carlton said.
The vehicle, a 2009 Ford driven by Whitney Duncan, 23, of Aiken, was attempting to pass them, Carlton reported.
A stretch of Banks Mill Road was closed to through traffic Sunday while emergency crews responded to and handled the scene of the traffic fatality.
The South Carolina Highway Patrol is investigating the crash. The Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team is to do the follow-up investigation.
Gerald Hooker is scheduled for autopsy today in Newberry.
This is the first traffic fatality in Aiken County in 2012.
Donna and I were actually out bike riding yesterday afternoon, on our single bikes, a couple hours earlier and on the opposite side of town.
You hate to think that every time you go for a bicycle ride you are taking your life in your hands, but in a way you are. Then again, everytime you go for a drive in your car, you are risking death as well.
It would be interesting to see what the statistical rate of death by auto for adult cyclists per miles ridden versus the same for driving….
I think bicycle riding is a very enjoyable way to get exercise as long as you do not have to worry about traffic. Bike paths are fairly safe. I used to enjoy riding with the bike club early on Sunday mornings before I got my present job…I work every morning picking up milk from the farms. Since I must ride by myself, I can not enjoy it with traffic. I was hit by a car when I was nine and while I do not remember the accident, I do remember the after affects of trying to get home, eating supper and not remembering that I ate it. I rode many miles after that but now at age 61, I no longer have the courage to ride on the road even if I wear outrageous colors. There are too many bad drivers out there and too few concerned witnesses.