Cyclist dies from accident injuries - Larry Schwartz; pedaled appx. 26,000 miles last year

The Dallas Morning News ^ | May 5, 2003

[MeekOneGOP]

Cyclist dies from accident injuries

05/05/2003

From Staff Reports

A well-known North Texas cyclist died Sunday, three days after he was hit by a school bus in Collin County.

Larry Schwartz, 42, of Wylie was biking east on FM1461 about 8:05 a.m. Thursday when the mirror of a passing eastbound school bus struck his head, knocking him to the ground.

The nationally known marathon cyclist was unconscious when he was taken by medical helicopter to the hospital.

Larry Schwartz

The bus driver, Robert Haynes, 40, was jailed on a felony charge of failure to stop and render aid, said Senior Cpl. Kent Paluga of the Texas Department of Public Safety. He was released Friday on $10,000 bond.

Mr. Schwartz pedaled approximately 26,000 miles last year, and became one of the nation's top endurance cyclists.

"I can't stop," he said in an interview in December. "This has been my best year yet."

With 7,612 miles this year, he was the leader in the Big Dogs Challenge, which charts the progress of the nation's endurance cyclists.

Bus driver Haynes, a three-year employee of Laidlaw Education Services, had delivered his students to Celina schools and was returning to the company's center in McKinney when the cyclist was struck, said Bob Thompson, Laidlaw branch manager.

Mr. Thompson said the driver had a "perfectly clean record" and passed a drug and alcohol screening at the company office before being taken into custody by a state trooper.

Information about Mr. Schwartz’s funeral has not been released.

Dallas Morning News reporter Roy Appleton and WFAA-TV (Channel 8) reporter Brad Watson contributed to this report.

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Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/latestnews/stories/050503dnmetcyclistkilled.255d4c24.html

[MeekOneGOP]

He logged enough miles to more than circumnavigate the Earth last year. An average of over 71 miles per day. Wow !

[MeekOneGOP]

Rest in Peace , Larry.

[dwilli]

I live in heavy cycling country and these folks can be a pain at times. I regret this fellow's death but he probably had many close calls during his rides on somewhat busy and busy highways.

I just hope I am never faced with the choice of hitting a cyclist or a car head-on. The bicycle is in trouble.

[glorgau]

Horse trailers are the worst. I've been out cycling on back country oads, and the horse trailers with the wide mirros are the scariest. I've heard the wind from them too many times.

[biblewonk]

As a fellow biker I notice that busses are the worse about passing bikes and other cars. They drive by their mirrors and just assume that nothing will happen and that the law of superior tonnage will always be on their side. I hope this bus driver spend a long time in jail.

[olivia3boys]

I got hit by a car when I was on a bike in high school. The driver of the car was only going about 5 mph (exiting a parking lot and didn't see me) and WHAM I was on the ground HARD and lost consciousness. Woke up in the ambulance and went to the ER with a concussion.

I can only imagine what more than 5 mph would do.

[Saundra Duffy]

This is really sad. God bless his family.

[Saundra Duffy]

At first, I saw God as my observer, my judge, keeping track of the things I did wrong, so as to know whether I merited heaven or hell when I die. He was out there sort of like a president. I recognized His picture when I saw it, but I really didn't know Him.

But later on when I met Christ, it seemed as though life were rather like a bike ride, but it was a tandem bike, and I noticed that Christ was in the back helping me pedal. I don't know just when it was that He suggested we change places, but life has not been the same since.

When I had control, I knew the way. It was rather boring, but predictable it was the shortest distance between two points. But when He took the lead, He knew delightful long cuts, up mountains, and through rocky places at breakneck speeds. It was all I could do to hang on!

Even though it looked like madness, He said, "Pedal!" I worried and was anxious and asked, "Where are you taking me?" He laughed and didn't answer, and I started to learn to trust. I forgot my boring life and entered into the adventure, and when I'd say, "I'm scared," He'd lean back and touch my hand.

I gained love, peace, acceptance and joy; gifts to take on my journey, My Lord's and mine. And we were off again.
He said, "Give the gifts away. They're extra baggage, too much weight." So I did, to the people we met, and I found that in giving I received, and still our burden was light.
I did not trust Him, at first, in control of my life. I thought He'd wreck it; but he knows bike secrets, knows how to make it bend to take sharp corners, knows how to jump to clear high rocks, knows how to fly to shorten scary passages.

And I am learning to shut up and pedal in the strangest places, and I'm beginning to enjoy the view and the cool breeze on my face with my delightful constant companion, Jesus Christ. And when I'm sure I just can't do it anymore, He just smiles and says... "Pedal."

[fella]

These guys have a bad habit of rideing out on our 2 lane Farm to Market roads in the middle of the lane. You top a hill at 55 to 70 (depends on the counties speed limit)and there they are, if someone's comeing the other way, what do you do?

[Jaxter]

Well, obviously you hit 'em. On the other hand, if you can't stop a vehicle within the distance you can see, you're driving too fast, regardless of the posted limit.

[Forgiven_Sinner]

Ouch. I commute to work, 9 miles one way. I had three bike accidents last year.

1. I was crossing a side street and got hit by a car starting to pull out. I went onto his hood. No injuries, one doughnuted wheel.

2. I was headed north on a busy street. Got hit in the elbow by a pick up's mirror which was going 10-20 mph faster than me. I stayed on my bike (!) and pulled over to the side. The guy stopped and called the police (!) and I got an orange sized bump on my elbow and a nice settlement. Scratch another wheel, which croaked when I bumped the curb.

3. I was accelerating when a cat ran along side me and then crossed in front of me. I hit it, swerved into a parked van, bounced off, and cracked my head on the pavement. I got a set of stitches on my head (I had a helmet, which saved my life) and my leg.

I now only commute to work and avoid going home--I take the bus home, with my bike. All the accidents were on the way home.

It's dangerous out there.

[olivia3boys]

Wow--I just remembered I had no helmet on when I had my accident in 1983, which were sort of the pre-helmet days. I guess I'm pretty lucky to be alive too, considering.

[glorgau]

You top a hill at 55 to 70 ...

Do you drive that fast in the fog? If you can't see far enough to stop, you are going too fast. It could just as well be a cow in the road. Those cause a lot more damage to a car than a bicyclist would.

[Travis McGee]

(Saying slightly adapted.)

"He was right, dead right, as he pedaled along.

But he was just as dead, as if he'd been wrong."

All my sympathies to this great cyclist and his family. But being right and being safe are not always the same thing.

I have the right to walk through South Central L.A. at midnight in a white sheet with hundred dollar bills taped all over it. But I'm not going to do it.

[SamAdams76]

I must say that I was discouraged from cycling years ago because of too many close calls on the road. Even on country back roads, speeding vehicles have missed me by inches. Sometimes they do it on purpose and some jerks will lean on the horn as they approach just to see what you do and laugh about it. I tried going off-road with a mountain bike but it's just not practical because I liked using a bike to go from place to place to get errands done and such. So now I just walk four miles a day (on the sidewalks) and leave the bike at home.

[biblewonk]

No mishaps in 3 years on my 3.5 mile commute to and from work. I keep off of busy streets and use side walks and back roads. My son just got knocked off his bike last week though. I warned him about blind corners while biking on sidewalks. I bet he will remember now.

[MeekOneGOP]

I hadn't thought of that when reading this article, but you're right. MANY times I've had to go out of my way to get around a slow cyclist on a busy street !

[Jack Black]

Sidewalks are for pedestrians not bicyclists. I've been run into three times by bicyclists riding (way too fast) on sidewalks. Only one time did the individual involved even stop to see if I was OK. Its especially bad in the city, where this happened. Maybe in suburbs cycling on the sidewalk makes sense but not in cities.

[fella]

You oviously don't live in rual Texas. If your only going the speed limit your apt to be runover.I've seen one of these idiots almost squashed by a moveing oil rig going about 20 because they wont move over and those rigs are oversized and damned ear impossible to stop.

[HIDEK6]

A well-known North Texas cyclist died Sunday, three days after he was hit by a school bus in Collin County.

H'mm, protected classes on both sides of this incident.

How will they blame us evil white guys?