According to the Colorado State Patrol, pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities have increased 78% in the state since 2015. Between 2018 and 2023, there were more than 560 crashes involving cyclists in Boulder County.
Broomfield resident John Wilkinson has become the latest victim in what's becoming a disturbing trend in deadly cyclist crashes.
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John Wilkinson was riding his bicycle when he was killed in a hit-and-run on North 95th St. north of Valmont. CBS
Forty-one-year-old Wilkinson of Broomfield was a force of nature.
"He was very physically fit," said his father. "He's 6-foot-2, not a bit of body fat, just a cycling machine. And that was his passion."
Bob Wilkinson talked with CBS Colorado from his home in Miami, where his wife used to worry about their son.
"He used to bike in Miami, Dade County, and it's dangerous. And she was always worried about him, you know. I was, too. But a mother's worry is on a whole other level from fathers, you know," said Bob Wilkinson.
His son had moved to Colorado not long ago with his longtime girlfriend, an accomplished rock climber. John Wilkinson had sold off his interest in a bicycle shop in Columbia, Missouri, to make the move. He loved biking, and people loved him.
"Biking and riding were his life. He enjoyed it. He rode hundreds and hundreds of miles a week. He rode on gravel country roads, asphalt," all of it said his father.
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John Wilkinson Bob Wilkinson
On Sunday, the family got the worst of calls from the Colorado State Patrol. A man had been killed in a hit-and-run on North 95th St. north of Valmont just before noon. It turned out to be the son his father and mother have been so proud of.
"He just was, he was just a good kid overall," his father said, filled with emotion. "It's a terrible loss to us. It's one phone call every parent should never get from a trooper."
The driver behind the wheel of a Toyota Highlander hit John Wilkinson so hard that the windshield was gone. The bike was dragged beneath the vehicle as it drove off. A friend – one of many made quickly - riding with John Wilkinson was behind him, but too far back to see what happened.
"He was cycling behind him a couple of minutes, and by the time he got to him. Several people had stopped and were already giving him CPR, trying to save him." John Wilkinson was pronounced dead at the hospital.
There were witnesses. They gave investigators a license plate number. The family has been told the vehicle was found in a county outside of Boulder, and a person was taken into custody on a warrant for another crime.
No one has yet been charged in the case. The District Attorney in Boulder County has said it has been in contact with the Colorado State Patrol, which is handling the case, but has said nothing further publicly. The CSP said Tuesday there were no updates on the case.
Bob Wilkinson reflected on his son's decency. He gladly helped people, especially with biking.
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Cyclist John Wilkinson was killed in a hit-and-run crash on North 95th St. north of Valmont. CBS
"He had a lot of friends. I never heard him speak badly of anybody, helped a lot of people."
He says his anger has abated a little.
"I was initially. But being angry at that person isn't going to solve anything. He's still gone." It's hard to think of someone who lived to his fullest in athletic potential and kindness no longer alive, and there being no explanation why.
"We haven't heard anything about why the driver did what he did. I'm hoping it was not intentional," said the father.