Teacher celebrating birthday with a 50-mile bike ride loses leg in SC crash, wife says
A South Carolina teacher was celebrating his birthday with a bike ride when a car knocked him to the ground, officials say.
“He was thrown 50 feet from the bike, shoe knocked off, not able to stand or recall exactly what happened,” Kadra Wright wrote in updates she shared with McClatchy News.
Her husband, Adrian Wright, was seriously hurt when he was found on the side of a Latta-area highway on Dec. 21.
“Thank you all for all of Adrian’s Birthday wishes,” his wife said in her update that night. “Now we need your prayers.”
Adrian Wright was in excruciating pain before his left leg was amputated above the knee last weekend, according to his wife. She hopes he gets back as much function as possible with the use of a prosthetic, she said.
“We know what we’re facing, and let’s just make it happen,” she told McClatchy News in a phone interview.
Adrian Wright, who works as a music teacher and band director at Dillon High School, had just started his winter break when he set out on the 50-mile bike ride, his wife said. The two had been riding together as a hobby before he “took it to another level” and started cycling with a group.
“He got serious about cycling,” his wife said. “He’d go out. He’d do more miles.”
Adrian Wright wanted to mark his 43rd birthday with a ride that took him down S.C. Highway 34, northwest of Myrtle Beach. As he was cycling, a car mirror hit him from behind, causing him to “spill to the ground,” according to a wreck report shared with McClatchy News.
S.C. State Highway Patrol said the driver kept going after the collision but was later stopped and arrested, WPDE reported. A highway patrol representative didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for additional information on Friday.
To help avoid crashes, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration urges drivers to watch their surroundings and give cyclists space on the road. Bike riders are also encouraged to be alert and make sure their equipment is working properly.
