A driver ran over three cyclists this past Saturday in Liberty County, Texas. The impact killed 51-year-old cyclist, Kent Wosepka, and injured two other cyclists, both women in their mid-to-late fifties. The 66-year-old driver who ran them over has not been charged with a crime, according to a report from Chron, and he was released from the scene shortly after being questioned by police.
The man who hit the cyclists was driving a 2014 Ford Escape and according to police reports he failed to control his speed, per KTRK and Chron. Despite the failure to control his speed, the driver was neither cited nor detained. He was reportedly three miles away from his house when he ran over the cyclists.
Texas State Troopers told local news outlets the riders were among a group of six cyclists participating in an annual ride through the U.S., that had begun in San Diego, California and was set to end in St. Augustine, Florida. The ride would have been 2,400 miles long had it not been stopped halfway through in Texas.
The cyclists were riding single-file eastbound along FM 787, a farm-to-market road, shortly after 11 a.m., per KBMT, when the driver of the Ford Escape ran them over. They were three miles outside of Rye, Texas, roughly 70 miles northeast of Houston.
After the incident, Wosepka was airlifted to a hospital in Beaumont, Texas where he died the following day. The other two cyclists, Elizabeth O’Brien, 54, and Barbara Ferrell, 59, suffered major injuries and were also airlifted to area hospitals. KTRK says Ferrell has undergone surgery for several broken vertebrae and a collapsed lung.
The location of the incident is reportedly a “well-known, pre-mapped cycling route,” falling within the greater Houston area. And according to local news, this marks the second incident in the vicinity involving a driver running over cyclists, all within a relatively short amount of time.
The 16-year-old driver who ran over six cyclists on September 25 in Waller County was also allowed to leave without a citation. Investigations into both accidents are ongoing, and charges could be brought to both drivers soon.
