A family in DeKalb County grapples with grief following a hit-and-run on Thanksgiving that left a beloved 70-year-old cyclist dead. Barry Collier, an avid cyclist and retired father, had his life cut tragically short when a car struck him on Crossvale Road and fled the scene, according to WSBTV. The impact of the collision was severe, causing Collier to suffer paralyzing injuries and significant brain trauma from which he could not recover.
As per details reported by FOX 5 Atlanta, Collier, who had cooked the turkey and collard greens for his family's Thanksgiving meal, decided to go out for a quick ride before dinner. The family's hope for a festive celebration turned into a nightmare, when Rashida Collier, the victim's daughter, received an alert on her phone about the hit-and-run. At the scene, she found her father critically injured and later learned that he had broken his neck and his back.
Authorities are currently seeking the hit-and-run driver, with surveillance footage indicating a blue sedan may be involved. In the wake of the tragedy, Collier's family has made a public plea for the driver to come forward. "Even if it was an accident, and they didn't mean to hit him, I wished they would have stayed and not left him on the side of the road. He didn't deserve that," Rashida Collier told FOX 5 Atlanta.
The cycling community, along with Barry Collier's widow and two daughters, plans to honor him at a funeral scheduled for December 12 at 1 p.m. in Conyers at Gregory B. Levett and Sons. The group intends not only to pay their respects but also to raise awareness about cyclist safety. "They know that they hit Barry. Barry had massive injuries. It had to be a very violent crash," Mitch Howell of Frog Cycling remarked in an interview with WSBTV. His daughter Jamila Wilkes asks the public to empathize with their loss, saying, "Imagine if that was your family member on Thanksgiving and you were waiting on him. Put yourself in our shoes."
