Roy Dale Prewitt, 44, of Wellington, Kansas, died Wednesday, April 15, 2009 after being found unconscious in the street next to his bicycle. Police don’t know what happened for sure, but they suspect he ran into a parked truck, fell, and hit his head on the pavement. According to the Wellington Daily News:
Local investigators are trying to find out what happened to a man who died after being found in the middle of a Wellington roadway.
Wellington Police Chief Tracy Heath says around 11 p.m., Tuesday night officers were called to the 100 block of South H Street. A passing motorist had called 911 to report seeing a bicycle as well as a person lying in the roadway, Heath said.
Upon arrival, officers discovered Roy D. Prewitt, 44, of Wellington lying in the roadway. He was transported by ambulance to Sumner Regional Medical Center and then to St. Francis Medical Center in Wichita where he later died from his injuries.
“We’re currently investigating and trying to retrace his steps to where he was prior to this event and we’re trying to come up with anything we can at this point in time,” Heath said. “Right now we don’t have any evidence to suggest there was any other vehicle or anything of that nature involved but right now we really don’t know.”
The chief says foul play isn’t a factor at this point. “It’s one of those incidents where we don’t have any witnesses and we can’t identify any witnesses other than the motorist who happened to drive up on it. We suspect we have a parked vehicle that may have been involved but right now, we’re not releasing anything because we don’t know exactly what occurred,” Heath said.
Kansascw.com reports that “Wellington Police Chief Tracy Heath says it appears Ron Prewitt ran into a parked truck while riding his bike, fell off and hit his head on the pavement. Heath says alcohol was involved.”
Wellington police later ruled Prewitt’s death an accident.
Our condolences to Roy’s family. You can read the obituary or contribute to a memorial here.
According to my count, this is the first bicyclist death in Kansas in 2009.
Post tags: Wellington
