Man Biked 14K Miles, Then Got Hit From Behind in Texas

Josh Quigley fractured his skull, ankle, heel bone, pelvis, and ribs
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 23, 2019 9:25 AM CST
Man Trying to Bike Around the World Is Hit in Texas
Stock photo of a cyclist.   (Getty Images)

A Scottish man's quest to bicycle around the world has been studded with setbacks: His bike got stolen in April and he had to quickly fly from Australia to home and back to get a new passport after his own sweat damaged his passport photo beyond recognition. Now Josh Quigley has suffered a more serious interruption to his journey, which has seen him log about 14,000 miles since April. The BBC reports the 27-year-old was hit by a car while biking in Texas. In a Sunday morning Facebook post, Quigley writes that he remembers little of the collision but was told by police that a vehicle driving 70mph hit him from behind, sending him off his bike; he landed 50 feet away.

He says the crash occurred at night, though he notes he was "wearing reflective clothing and [had] strong rear lights." He was airlifted to Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Temple, where he learned he fractured his skull, ankle, heel bone, pelvis, and ribs, and suffered a pierced lung. He says it will be a minimum of six weeks before he can walk or ride again, and while he won't make it across America this year, "for now I'm just happy to be alive!" The BBC notes Quigley had intended to ride from Los Angeles to New York but changed his destination to Florida because the cold he was biking through was extreme enough to freeze his water bottles. Quigley posted on Monday that he'll soon be having surgery, though he didn't elaborate. (More bicycling stories.)

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