UPDATE:
East Earl Township police late Tuesday afternoon identified the cyclist killed Sunday morning as Harold L. Hartzell, 61, of Manheim.
Hartzell was riding the Covered Bridge Metric Century route. He apparently lost control of his bike turning from Centerville Road to Sensenig Road at about 8:46 p.m. According to the police report, Hartzell’s bike left the roadway, travelled down an embankment and then struck the side of a driveway, sending him over the handlebars. Hartzell landed head-first in the parking lot of Sensenig Hardware.
Hartzell was found by a passing motorist. He was pronounced dead at the scene by Lancaster County Deputy Coroner Kristin Rutt.
East Earl police Officer Jeffrey Myers and the deputy coroner were assisted at the scene by the Martindale Fire Company, Fivepointville Ambulance and the county District Attorney’s Office.
**********************************
A bicyclist was killed in a collision with an automobile during Sunday’s covered Bridge Metric Century bike ride.
The cyclist, a 60-year-old man who has not been identified by East Earl Township police, was killed at about 9:30 a.m. Sunday at Centerville and Sensenig roads, near Terre Hill, the Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era reported this morning.
The cyclist was one of about 4,100 cyclists who participated in the 15-, 32- or 62-mile recreational routes, said Lancaster Bike Club spokesman Ed Gower. Sunday’s ride was the 31st for the annual tour.
“The club is absolutely devastated,” Gower said. “Our hearts and prayers go out to his family.”
Lancaster County Coroner Dr. Stephen Diamantoni said the 60-year-old man died of traumatic head injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene by Deputy Coroner Chris Rutt.
Gower said he did not know if the man was from the Lancaster area. Riders come from all over the country to participate in the event, with proceeds benefiting the club’s grant program, he said.
If the accidental death of a cyclist is not depressing enough, the comments about the article on the newspaper’s TalkBalk site are sobering and depressing. The event has become another opportunity for bicycle-hating motorists to vent.
