New details on crash that killed bicyclist, who was riding across the country

By Terry Camp

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    BAY COUNTY, Michigan (WJRT) — The 83-year-old victim was known for riding his bike across the country.

Duane Hadley is representing a 57-year-old man who was involved in the crash.

“It’s very traumatic,” says Hadley. “He is very emotional about it,” says attorney Duane Hadley.

Investigators say 83-year-old Robert Blanchard of Bradenton, Florida, was cycling across the country.

He recently visited a relative in Houghton Lake.

His bike was struck by a vehicle while both were traveling in the same direction on M-15 near Russell Road in Merritt Township.

Hadley says the man driving the vehicle has worked in law enforcement.

“He is retired from Bay City P.D.,” says Hadley. “He is a licensed private investigator.”

Hadley says the man stopped and rendered aid before Blanchard was pronounced deceased at the scene by medical crews.

Hadley says his client got an audio alert that he had a tire issue.

“And a light came on, and he looked down at the light to determine what happened and he looked up, and when he looked up, the cyclist was right there in the center of the road,” he says.

Investigators believe Blanchard was riding his bike near the fog line.

“Cyclists, it’s a kind of fraternity, and if you are a cross-country cyclist, you are drawn to other cross-country cyclists,” says Barry Wood.

Wood is a Washington, D.C.-based journalist who wrote an article on Blanchard when they met in Florida five years ago.

Blanchard told Wood that he has driven a bike across the country four and a half times. Wood says cyclists know the danger that’s on the roads.

“I am on the shoulder, I am defensive, those guys are bigger than I am, and I thought Bob was too, but Bob and I never cycled together,” says Wood. “So I don’t know the circumstances under which he was hit, but I know it’s a dangerous game, and it’s a great tragedy.”

Hadley is hoping that when the investigation into the crash is complete, his client will not be charged.

“There is a statute out there that is a one-year penalty for essentially an automobile accident causing death,” says Hadley.

The Bay County Sheriff’s Department is investigating and has not submitted its report to the prosecutor’s office for review.

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