Cyclist struck by driver during Arizona’s Bike the Bluff race dies
Jeremy Barrett, 58, of Tucson, Arizona has died after he and others were intentionally struck by a driver at the Bike the Bluff bike race.
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One of the bicycle racers plowed into by a driver during Arizona’s Bike the Bluff bike race has died, authorities said.
Jeremy Barrett, 58, of Tucson, Arizona, died of his injuries on Saturday, July 10, said officials with the Arizona Department of Public Safety. Local media reported the death, and interviewed friends of Barrett who praised him as a stalwart of the local cycling community who regularly hosted other cyclists who had come to Arizona to train.
Barrett’s family released a statement announcing the news.
“On July 10th, our dear youngest brother Jeremy succumbed to his injuries sustained in the June 19th Bike the Bluff incident. Jeremy fought bravely, enduring multiple resuscitations and extensive surgeries for massive internal injuries and broken bones,” read the statement.
According to the statement, Barrett died with his 90-year-old mother, brother, and his girlfriend at his bedside at a hospital in Flagstaff.
“Jeremy was a brilliant, kind, and generous individual with an infectious positive attitude, always encouraging others and always tried to live his life to the fullest,” the statement read. “Whether he was at work, on a bicycle, or sailing, he was a shining and inspiring light in this world who will be sorely missed by many, not just in Tucson, but across the whole world.”
Others in the Arizona bike community spoke of Barrett’s friendly nature and community-focused attitude.
“He was very selfless,” Joey Iuliano, president of the Arizona Bicycle Racing Association, told Fox10 News in Phoenix. “I was told that while the paramedics were working on him, he was asking how his friends were and if they were OK.”
Barrett was one of seven cyclists who were struck during the June 19 incident, which occurred in the town of Show Low, about three hours outside of Phoenix. Police allege that driver Shawn Michael Chock, 36, intentionally drove his pickup truck into a group of cyclists who were participating in the race, which in 2021 served as the Arizona State Championships.
Chock was recently indicted on nine counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and then one count each for fleeing the scene of an accident, as well as unlawful flight.
Police say that Chock drove into the cyclists, and then backed out of the crowd as others pounded on the truck’s windows and hood. He then allegedly drove down the road, before fleeing the scene on foot. He was followed by police, who tracked him on foot to an area behind a local hardware store, where police shot him.
Chock has pleaded not guilty.