Four people were treated for injuries after a van carrying eight volunteer cyclists on a cross-country fundraising trip crashed near Burley, Idaho, Tuesday night. A rear tire blowout caused the van towing the team's trailer to lose control.
All four of the injured were taken by ambulance to Burley's Cassia Regional Medical Center, where they were treated and released Tuesday night. The van and trailer were totaled.
Though the van rolled and came to rest on its roof, the cyclists who will pedal a 3,600-mile route from Seattle to Washington, D.C., to raise money for The Fuller Center for Housing emerged mostly unscathed after the 5:05 p.m. MDT crash that blocked two westbound lanes of traffic on Interstate 84.
The most serious injury was a dislocated shoulder suffered by 69-year-old Tom Weber, the Adventure's oldest rider who was just picked up in Denver earlier in the day. Weber will return home with hopes of rejoining the team later when the route passes through Denver.
Also treated and released were Ashley Rae Moore, 22, of Athens, Ga., and newlyweds Michael Tiemeyer and Krystal Goodwin, both 29, of Savannah, Ga. The couple met during the 2009 Bike Adventure and were married May 20 of this year.
The driver was Ryan Infagliola, 25, who was briefly trapped in the upside-down vehicle before fellow team members were able to free him from the smoldering van. He suffered only minor cuts and emerged determined to press ahead.
"I asked if anyone else needed to go home, and no one was interested," said Infagliola, who founded The Fuller Center Bike Adventure in 2008 and is now the center's Director of International Field Operations. "I've been in similar situations where everyone was scared and cranky, but I think everybody's handled it with good humor."
The accident was a frightening flashback for 24-year-old Allen Slabaugh, who is in his first year as the Adventure leader. On March 2, 2007, Slabaugh was a member of the Bluffton University baseball team whose bus fell from an overpass onto Interstate 75 near Atlanta. Seven people were killed, and seven others were seriously injured in the highly publicized crash.
"That was just four years ago, so that's still somewhat fresh in my mind," said Slabaugh, who also oversees the Fuller Center's Student Builders program. "When it started rolling, it felt very similar. Anytime your van rolls, it's scary.
"With all the damage to the driver's side, for Ryan to be able to make it out was pretty amazing, along with everybody else."
The team remains en route to Seattle, where it still intends to begin its 3,600-mile trek as scheduled on June 12. The journey will end Aug. 14 in Washington, D.C. Passing through 14 states, the Bike Adventure is the single biggest fundraiser of the year for the Americus, Ga.-based Fuller Center, which builds and repairs homes for low-income families in the United States and internationally.
"People definitely want to keep going," Slabaugh said. "We've just got to get our van and trailer situation taken care of."
The team currently is trying to acquire a replacement van and trailer. The bicycles appear to have emerged mostly intact as the trailer's door held firm during the crash.
"It was an act of surgery to get the bikes out," said Scott Umstattd, the team's media coordinator. "It was like a MASH unit setup for the bicycles, like triage.
"Everyone on the van was calm, cool and collected. And then 10 minutes later, they went into repair mode," he added.
"Events like this remind us of how quickly life can take a turn," said Fuller Center President David Snell. "We are profoundly grateful that there were no serious injuries in the accident - the good Lord was watching over them. The riders are committed to continuing the Adventure, raising awareness about the important work of The Fuller Center for Housing. Our prayers will be with them."
