Thursday, Jun. 25, 2009

Man riding bicycle across U.S. is killed by Centralia driver

Californian was protesting bailouts

A 65-year-old man who was riding his bicycle from California to Washington, D.C., to protest government bailouts was killed Sunday by a suspected drunken driver in a hit-and-run crash on U.S. 50 near Carlyle.

Jim Gafney left his home in Chula Vista, Calif., on April 27 for his "Mad As Hell Bike Ride Across U.S." with the goal of hand-delivering a petition opposing government bailouts to lawmakers sometime in July.

Gafney had completed about two-thirds of his 3,000-mile ride, and collected about 500 signatures, before he was killed about 12:40 a.m. Sunday.

Now friends and relatives, who dubbed Gafney "Mad Max," are working to fulfill his vision: to bring about 1,000 riders into Washington, D.C., to send a clear message to representatives.

"He was very well aware of the fact that it was very dangerous what he was doing, but nothing stopped him," said Jeff Kelley, who met Gafney when the activist visited Kelley's alternative newspaper in Colorado. "I believe he was doing what he was doing not for himself, but for the people of America."

Anyone interested in Gafney's cause can download petitions, sign up for the ride or donate to a memorial fund at www.southwestfreepress.com. A service for Gafney will be held Friday in California.

Kelley said Gafney talked to everyone, but did not press his views on others.

"He would say, 'I won't have any hard feelings if you don't sign my petition, but I'm just doing outreach,'" Kelley said. "He wanted to wake people up to do something, say something."

Gafney spent Saturday near Lebanon, and most likely was riding at night to avoid the heat. He was on U.S. 50 at Diamond Springs Road when he was struck by a 1997 Nissan Altima driven by Leon K. Marcum, 27, of Centralia, according to Illinois State Police.

Marcum told police he was driving over a hill and saw Gafney, but was not able to stop. He left the scene and later was arrested near Sandoval.

Marcum was charged with aggravated DUI, leaving the scene of a fatal crash and failure to reduce speed. He was being held Wednesday at the Clinton County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail.