Wow, so sad.
2011-07-06 20:53:58
8
Bicyclist Killed on C&O Canal
A bicyclist was killed on the C&O Canal near White's Ferry.
A falling tree struck and killed a man who was bicycling on the C&O Canal Towpath between Whites Ferry and Edwards Ferry Sunday night.
A National Park Service spokesperson told ABC7 that Neil Reich, 56, of New York, was near mile marker 33 shortly before 7 p.m. when high winds and heavy rain knocked down numerous trees.
Reich was riding his bike with a companion on a two-day bike trip from Harpers Ferry, WV to Washington, D.C.
According to the companion, Reich stopped to put on his rain coat because of the storm. His companion continued biking along the towpath and stopped later to wait for Reich.
When Reich didn't catch up, the companion went back to find him and had to maneuver around some trees that had fallen. The companion then found that Reich had been struck by a fallen tree.
The companion called 911 and Montgomery County Fire and Rescue responded to the area. The squad had to chain saw numerous trees to gain access to Reich. The tree struck Reich in the head area. He died at the scene.
2011-07-06 20:44:07
Unbelievable. Now that meets my definition of an "accident". Sometimes I guess you just have to say, it was his day to go.
2011-07-06 21:08:20
Wrong place at the wrong time
2011-07-06 21:20:01
You are right... when it is your time, it is your time... I agree ... this is an accident. I never refer to my brother's death as an accident... I call it an incident. It wasn't an accident because it was being reckless.
2011-07-08 11:51:45
I wonder if he had his helmet on.
2011-07-08 13:02:07
in the future I will be taking shelter during crazy storms on the rail trail.
2011-07-08 14:37:39
@TheLivingTed taking shelter during crazy storms on the rail trail
Two things:
First, there are plenty of places on the C&O with no shelter for miles.
Second, I stayed under the bridge at Point of Rocks during a thunderstorm once. There was a ... um ... summmit meeting down there between some Tony Soprano look-alike contestants ("Nice suit, dude!")and a group of methedrine cowboys. I'm not sure what it was about, but I decided I might be better off braving the storm.
2011-07-08 16:19:22