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Goddard Cyclist Dies From Injuries Sustained in Bicycle Collision

Roger Haynie, age 65, of Goddard, Kansas, died on June 8th from injuries he suffered when two bicycles collided on a road in Garden Plain, Kansas on June 5th.

Mr. Haynie and a friend (unidentified in news reports), had ridden a bike trail (presumably, the Prairie Sunset Trail) from Goddard to Garden Plain, and apparently after having stopped in Garden Plain, were intending to take the trail back to Goddard. They were riding on Section Line Road, and were making the turn onto the trail when the two bicycles collided.

According to Kansas.com:

The two men were riding nearly side-by-side on the paved road, with Haynie trailing slightly and off to the left. His friend thought Haynie was directly behind him and cut left toward the bike path. The two bicycles T-boned, and Haynie flew off his bike and landed on the pavement.

He wasn’t wearing a helmet and suffered a serious head injury, authorities said. The second rider suffered only minor injuries.

Obituary:

Roger HaynieHaynie, Roger Glen, 65, retired Goddard School District IT specialist, died June 8, 2012 in Wichita. Service 3 p.m. Thursday, Pathway Church, 2001 N. Maize Rd., Wichita, with Pastor Rodney Elliott officiatiing. Mr. Haynie was born Sept. 14, 1946 in Kansas City, Mo. Survivors: wife, Karen; son, Chad of Tampa, Fla.; daughters, Erika Goering of Iwakuni, Japan, Nicole Haynie of Wichita; brother, Sherman; sisters, Beverly, Barb, June; 4 grandchildren. Memorials established with Pathway Church, Goddard Campus and Wichita Public Library. Wulf-Ast Mortuary, Garden Plain.

One of the news stories on the original collision (KSN) said that “Officials say this highlights the need to wear a helmet while riding a bicycle”.

And, indeed, while helmets cannot help you enough in many types of collisions, the incident that occurred here — low-speed, with no motor vehicles involved — is exactly the kind of situation that bicycle helmets are designed to provide protection for.

Deaths resulting from bicycle-on-bicycle collisions are relatively rare. The last one in Kansas took place near Topeka in 2007, when Paula Lucas was killed when she collided head-on with another cyclist on the Lake Shawnee Trail. At the time, an officer said “I’ve been in law enforcement going on forty years. This is the first time I remember a fatality accident involving two bicyclists.”

Roger Haynie is the 4th cyclist to be killed on Kansas roads in 2012. Julian Olea Tomas was killed by a garbage truck in Hutchinson on February 13th, John B. Fuqua was killed in a hit-and-run in Wichita on May 20th, and Caleb Garcia was killed by a truck in Liberal on June 1st.

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About The Author

By Randy Rasa, editor/webmaster at Kansas Cyclist, the web's premier Kansas cycling information site, featuring authoritative guides to Kansas cycling clubs, bike shops, organized bike rides, touring, trails, and much more. [learn more]

One response to “Goddard Cyclist Dies From Injuries Sustained in Bicycle Collision”

  1. Dan Payne says:

    I was speaking with a sister-in-law who lives in Goddard who told me that she was told that Mr. Haynie strongly believed in wearing helmets when riding, but his helmet had broken recently and he hadn’t had a chance to replace it. Unfortunately he decided to take a chance riding without a helmet this time.