SALINE COUNTY, Kan. (KWCH/Gray News) — A Norwegian man attempting to rollerblade across the U.S. was killed in a hit-and-run in Kansas, officials said.
The Saline County Sheriff’s Office identified the man as 24-year-old Joachim Lanham.
Lanham was documenting his rollerblading journey across the U.S. on Instagram. According to a post from his family, he was hit by an SUV on day 22 of his journey from New York to Los Angeles
This is horrible… but also somehow even more sad that I would have totally expected this. Trying to go cross country on rollerblades in the US is akin to entering a warzone with a target on your back. This country is not friendly to non-car commuters. I live in a dense suburb with some bikelanes and its bad enough, so I cannot imagine what its like in places with huge stroads and highways running through town. You can barely cross a street let alone travel on rollerblades or bikes…
Same. I’m fortunate that there are a ton of residential roads I can use to get where I’m going, and in the main city corridor there are bike lanes protected (mostly) by curbs, but I’ve had dozens of cars just stray into my bike lane when pulling out of McDonald’s or trying to cross a main road, and culturally, I’m well aware that it’s on me to make sure I’m the on ensuring my safety and not the asshole behind the two-ton death machine.