Three British cyclists who were riding Route 66 to raise money for three charities suffered injuries that required hospitalization after they were rear-ended by a truck Monday night.
William Corran, Ewan Stott, and James Watkins were taken to Mercy Joplin Hospital in Joplin, Missouri, after the crash at 6:34 p.m. Monday on Missouri 96, aka Route 66, according to the Carthage Press.
Corran and Watkins were released after an overnight stay for bruises and minor fractures, but Stott still was in the hospital late Tuesday with a punctured lung and broken bones.
Dr. Jim Riscoe treated the trio in the emergency room:
“They’re pretty tough guys, but they’re going to need at least a week of rest before they can do anything,” Riscoe said. “Their bike is destroyed, it can’t be repaired. Everything they had was in the trailer they were pulling and it was destroyed. I went and picked up their stuff and paid the towing charge, but as to what happens next, who knows.”
Watkins said he didn’t know on Tuesday whether the three could continue their dream trip.
“It’s tough because it’s been nearly a year of planning and training and we’re a quarter of the way through now,” Watkins said. “It’s just a shame for something like this to happen.”
The cyclists are staying at Riscoe’s residence while they recover. Finishing the ride is not an option. Instead, they’re trying to return to their homeland sometime next week. Complicating the problem was their travel trailer —- along with many of their belongings — were destroyed in the accident.
The driver, Andy Young, 41, of Carthage, Missouri, apparently didn’t see the cyclists because the sun was setting low on the westbound highway at the time.
The trio left Chicago on Sept. 4 and hoped to complete their ride on Route 66 in about 40 days. After the wreck, they’re not sure what’s next:
All three have jobs in England and getting the seven-10 weeks off to make this trip was tough enough.
They also have airline reservations to go home to England in early October, but those reservations are made to fly from Los Angeles, and they don’t know what kind of alternate plans they can make at this time.
A local cycling group, Look4States.org, has set up a GoFundMe page to try to raise $4,000 to help the three Brits get back home. As of early Thursday, more than $1,500 had been raised.
Although the cyclists are disappointed they cannot finish their journey, they told KSN/KODE-TV they’re grateful for the support in the wake of their misfortune:
“We didn’t expect this sort of generosity. We wouldn’t expect it in England, let alone, out here. It’s been so amazing,” said William Corran, bicyclist.
(Screen capture from the KSN/KODE report of the injured cyclists at the hospital)
Remind the guys to call the company in GB where they have their travel insurance, they will take care of all cost and rebook airline tickets, etc. Nobody from Europe travels to the US without travel insurance.