Tupelo cyclist killed

[Hub]

UPDATE: Tupelo High School senior dies in highway accident
by Danza Johnson/NEMS Daily Journal14 hrs ago | 2433 views | 4 | 51 | |

slideshow PONTOTOC – Tupelo High School senior John Paul Frerer, 18, was killed while riding his bike from Tupelo to Oxford Thursday morning, according to Lafayette County Coroner Lonnie Weaver.

Weaver said family members of Frerer said he was training and was planning on riding his bike 120 miles today. The accident happened just inside the Pontotoc County line on Highway 6 shortly after 9 a.m.

Frerer was taken to the Baptist Memorial Hospital in Oxford where he was pronounced dead at 9:47 a.m.

The accident is under investigation by the Mississippi Highway Patrol.

Frerer competed in last Saturday’s King of the Hill Triathlon at Tombigbee State Park. He was a part of the winning relay team in that event.

Funeral services for Frerer will be held Sunday at 4 p.m. at St. James Catholic Church. Visitation will be from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday at St. James.

[short cut sally]

how tragic. said it was still under investigation. could mean, maybe, struck by a car, hit and run, or lost control on loose dirt/debris? best wishes for the family.

[Hub]

No other info yet- I just did a copy & paste of an online newspaper article. I found it
very frustrating to not have any details of what happened.

[GulfCoastAmy]

That's just heartbreaking.

[PscyclePath]

From the Fort Mill Times, in South Carolina of all places:

Tupelo High student killed while riding bike
(Published August 14, 2009)

PONTOTOC, Miss. — John Paul Frerer would have started his senior year at Tupelo High School on Friday, but the Eagle Scout and triathlete died a day earlier while riding his bike.

Frerer, 18, was training for a race scheduled for Saturday. He was riding his bike from Tupelo to Oxford when he was struck by a 1993 Chevrolet pickup truck driven by David McDonald of Tupelo shortly after 8 a.m., Mississippi Highway Patrolman Leslie White said.

Both were headed west on Highway 6 near the Thaxton community in Pontotoc County. The accident is still under investigation.

Frerer was planning on riding his bike 120 miles Thursday in preparation for the race, Lafayette County Coroner Lonnie Weaver said, quoting family members.

Frerer was taken to the Baptist Memorial Hospital in Oxford, where he was pronounced dead at 9:47 a.m.

"The whole cycling community is devastated," said Mark Bresee, a cyclist and triathlete who had ridden with Frerer. "He had really found his niche and was really getting into it. We're all just sick about this."

Frerer competed in Saturday's King of the Hill Triathlon at Tombigbee State Park and was a member of the winning relay team in that event, along with fellow Tupelo High seniors Hannah Wilson, a swimmer, and Max Holman, a runner.

"I've been riding in some races, but I'm not as serious as Hannah and Max" about their sports, Frerer said in an interview with the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal on Saturday. "We're hoping to get a (triathlon) team going at the high school."

Frerer, the son of Jim and Liria Frerer, was also an Eagle Scout and had been a member of Tupelo High's Wave Connection show choir.

School officials said counseling would be available for anyone who wanted it.

The funeral will be Sunday at 4 p.m. at St. James, with visitation from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday at the church.

Information from: Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, http://nems360.com/

Sounds like an unsafe pass, or possibly a right hook, but there's no mention of any turning movements, just that both were "headed west." Frerer was apparently a popular and promising young fellow and an up and coming racer. Should be some more news coming up on the Bike-Walk Mississippi Facebook page...

[Geonz]

Heartbreaking is the word. What in the world happened?