A 75-year-old man died Saturday in a Seattle hospital from injuries sustained in a Bellingham bike crash two weeks prior.
The man, identified by the King County Medical Examiner’s Office as Robert Bowers, was involved in a crash on what police initially believed to be a motorcycle on the 1000 block of N. Forest St. at about 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 1.
Bellingham Police Department Lt. Claudia Murphy said officers at the scene noted the motorcycle was actually a bicycle with a motor attached to it. The attachment was self-made, not factory installed.
Witnesses said Bowers was riding down the street at about 30 mph when the bike came to an abrupt stop and Bowers flew over the handlebars. Murphy said no one saw Bowers hit any cars, curbs, potholes or other objects. She said the incident appeared to be a mechanical failure.
Bowers was taken to St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham with what appeared to be serious injuries, according to Murphy. He was later transferred to a hospital in Seattle, where he was pronounced dead Saturday.
The medical examiner determined Bowers’ cause of death was acute respiratory failure and blunt-force injuries to the head, neck and torso. Bowers’ death has been ruled an accident.
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