Cyclist Hit By Bus At Start Of His Cross-Country Trip

A cyclist on the first day of a cross-country trip was hit by a school bus Monday and died.

Bruce Hoof, 29, of Snohomish, Wash., planned to ride from Yorktown to Oregon. He was struck by the bus on the Colonial Parkway, which links the national historic parks at Yorktown and Jamestown. He died at the scene.

The only witness to the accident was the bus driver, David D. White III, 57, said Chief Ranger Jim Burnett of the National Park Service. The agency is investigating the crash.

Hoof was in a group of about half a dozen cyclists, but they were spread over a few miles, Burnett said.

White told police that he was moving to the center of the road to pass Hoof when the man suddenly veered left into the front of the bus, said Richard Hixson, the school system’s deputy superintendent for operations.

White has been driving school buses for 40 years and has maintained a spotless record, Hixson said.

White was not injured, but was “extremely upset,” Burnett said. Because of shock and stress, he was taken to a hospital where he was treated and released, school officials said. He has not been charged in connection with the accident, Burnett said.

Hoof was part of a group sponsored by Adventure Cycling, a private, nonprofit organization based in Missoula. They were riding from Williamsburg, where they had spent the night, to Yorktown, where they were going to dip their front tires in the York River.

They planned to dip their tires in the Pacific three months from now. Adventure Cycling has sponsored similar historical rides since 1976, said spokesman Greg Siple.