Can you help us find a hit-and-run driver? TransAmerica cyclist seriously injured near Farmington

A serious hit-and-run collision involving a truck and a bicyclist happened near Farmington, Missouri, on November 10th, 2011.

Now the cyclist, his friends and family, and the Highway Patrol are asking for your help in solving this crime.

If you have any information that might identify the vehicle or driver, please contact the Missouri Highway Patrol Troop C Headquarters at 636-300-2800 and/or director@mobikefed.org, 816-695-6736.

Mahan Deeds

November 10th, 2011 - Cyclist Mahan Deeds struck by truck east of Farmington

Cyclist Mahan Deeds, was cycling from Evansville, IN, to Colorado when he was struck from behind by a pick-up truck on November 10, 2011 around 5:15 PM just east of Farmington, MO.  The truck driver did not stop. 

Deeds was flown by helicopter to a St. Louis hospital and treated for broken arm, leg, ribs, and vertebrae.  He is now in Michigan with family as he goes through recovery and rehab. 

Mahan remembers hearing the loud pipes of the truck approaching him from the rear as he was pedaling up a hill in the far right-hand side of the lane, pulling his cargo trailer behind him.  He remembers feeling the initial impact and hearing the truck continue up the hill away from him, with the pipes even louder, indicating the driver was accelerating away from the collision after impact.

The police have found pieces of the truck that struck Deeds at the location of the collision.

More details about the truck, based on the pieces of the truck found at the scene and Deeds' observations:

• The broken headlight parts from the scene suggest it is a Ford F-150 or Ranger.  It would have a broken right headlight and possible dents/damage to the right front fender.
• From recovered parts at the scene police think the truck color might be blue or gray--however, this is uncertain.
• A broken piece of a pick-up truck step-up was found at the scene, so the truck might have a broken step-up on the right side.
• Deeds reports that the truck had loud pipes--not just the stock pipes that come on a truck from the dealer.

KSDK News adds:

 Investigators with the Missouri State Highway Patrol are asking for the public's help in locating a person who struck a bicyclist with their vehicle and then fled the scene.

According to Corporal Jeff Wilson, a MSHP spokesman, the incident happened . . . on Missouri Route F, 1.3 miles east of Pleasant Hill Church Road.

The responding trooper determined a bicyclist had been struck and was seriously injured. Further investigation revealed that an unidentified Ford pickup truck had hit the cyclist.

Wilson said the pickup truck should have damage to its right front headlight assembly and right fender area.

Anyone with knowledge of the identity or whereabouts of the driver of the truck should contact the Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop C Headquarters at 636-300-2800.

The police report with more details about the incident is available here.

Leaving the scene of a motor vehicle collision involving injuries is a felony in Missouri.

Hwy F is on the Adventure Cycling's TransAmerica Trail Cycling Route, which passes through Farmington, and Mahan Deeds may have been cycling on the TransAmerica Trail as well.  The TransAmerica Trail sees about 1000 cross-country touring cyclists passing through the southern part of Missouri each year.

Again, if you have any information that might identify either of the vehicles or drivers, please contact the Missouri Highway Patrol Troop C Headquarters at 636-300-2800 and/or director@mobikefed.org, 816-695-6736.

Please share this information widely with anyone you know in this part of the state, and ask friends and community members to be on the lookout for trucks in this area with damage that may match these collisions.

Update: Further investigation by the Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation discovered that has been only one hit-and-run on the TransAmerica Trail near Farmington.  KSDK News and KMOX News both provided an incorrect date for the incident, creating the impression that two similar incidents had happened about a month apart. The date of the incident given in the KSDK and KMOX News articles, Tuesday, 6 December, 2011, is incorrect.  This article has been updated to reflect the more accurate information.