Rod Schloth Obituary, Death – Rod Schloth used to be a really muscular individual. He was physically robust and weighed close to 200 pounds, but after three weeks in the hospital, he reported that standing was difficult for him. Schloth has lost more than 40 pounds as a result of his stay in the hospital over the past three weeks. Schloth reported that she still feels pain in her joints whenever she walks.
He was participating in the preparations for the MS 150, which is an annual charity ride that takes place in Daytona. But on October 1, just two days before the event, he took his bike out for a brief ride down McCormick Road. If he hadn’t done that, this year would have been his fifth year participating.
Schloth stated that he intended to go for a quick bike in order to double check that everything was in working order. The newly installed bike lane on McCormick Road was designed to make the route more secure for cyclists, but Schloth did not have one of these lanes. He said, “I don’t have any memory of actually being hit.” “I don’t have any remember of actually being hit.”
Rod’s bicycle was pinned against the guardrail, and he was launched into the air as a truck veered off the road and crashed into him. Rod’s broken body was left at the location when the motorist fled the area. “Five shattered ribs. Broken shoulder blade. “Collapsed lung,” Schloth recalled. “I had it bad.”
To add insult to injury, that was only the beginning. Rod’s lung became infected as a result of blood clots that had formed there. He was so close to passing away that the doctors were forced to put him into a drug-induced coma. “I believe that they intubated me and placed me on a respirator for approximately one week. “About that particular portion, I’m relieved to report that I don’t have an overly vivid memory,” Schloth explained.
His daughter and Denise, who is now his wife, have a strong desire to forget him. According to Denise Schloth, “His vital signs were wildly fluctuating and out of control.” Sarah, Rod’s daughter, expressed her emotions by saying, “I cried because I had never seen father that hurt before, and I was afraid.”
Even though Rod is experiencing discomfort whenever he breathes now, his family is relieved to see that he is able to do so on his own. Denise is still trying to come to terms with the fact that her spouse was abandoned on the highway by an unknown person.
“I was taken aback by the complete lack of regard that someone had for him. She stated that there was “no reason for this to have happened” because there was an abundant amount of bicycle lanes.
But the fact of the matter is, even with the addition of bike lanes, it still occurs rather frequently. With a staggering 4,380 cyclists injured and 118 fatalities in 2008, Florida is the state that tops the nation in bicycle-related fatalities.
In California, which has a population that is twice as large as ours, which comes in second place, despite regulations that specify drivers must give bicyclists a cushion of three feet, close calls and crashes are common. “It’s been going on for a long time. According to rider Katie Degoursey, “we have an incident approximately once every couple of weeks.”
Every weekend, Degoursey goes riding with a group that leaves from Mandarin. She considers both texting and using cell phones to be extremely dangerous activities.
“A street sweeper driving on this cell phone ran over us, knocked six people unconscious, and took them to the hospital,” she said. “For one guy, it took a few years before he could come back,” Degoursey added.
A large group traveling down the road requires drivers to exercise patience regardless of the presence of any distractions.
But Jim Wright has witnessed people’s frustrations reaching a boiling point.
“I have a very good buddy whose riding career was pretty much put to an end as a result of it. Wright was able to remember that a man had made a left-hand turn right in front of him, which caused him to crash through the passenger window.
Drew Miller has been there, and he described the intentional clashes as being an even more unsettling experience.
“As I was cycling through South Point Business Center, a car cut me off, turned around, and came back at me with a passenger hanging out the window. It struck me between the shoulder blades. It was totally inappropriate in every way. Miller commented, “They were laughing and having a fantastic time, but I was fortunate that I did not crash.”
Rod Schloth did not have the same good fortune. The man who was prepared to cycle for more than a hundred and fifty kilometers is now content to bike around his living room once.
Schloth has high hopes that telling his tale will assist in increasing awareness among motorists and riders. According to him, both parties have the same responsibilities and rights in relation to the roads.
“It’s not hard to get irritated when other people are riding their bikes in an unsafe manner, but I’ve always done what’s required of me to stay safe. I have never intentionally done something to make someone upset with me. I still have in the back of my mind that cars are much larger than me and that if I go in their way, they will squash me.
Reflectors and brightly colored wrist bands are just two of the many tools available to cyclists that can increase their visibility to automobile drivers.