WINNIPEG – Graeme Loader, who was cycling across Canada to raise funds for the World Wildlife Fund, was killed on the Trans-Canada Highway west of Brandon, Man., on Monday.
The 24-year-old Torontonian was riding his bike east on Highway 1A (Victoria Avenue) about two kilometres west of Brandon at around 8 p.m. when he was hit by an SUV heading in the same direction, police said in a news release Tuesday morning.
The 28-year-old woman who was driving the SUV and her three passengers, all from Manitoba’s Sioux Valley First Nation, weren’t injured.
Alcohol isn’t considered a factor in the crash.
Police didn’t release Loader’s name but friends wrote condolences on the Facebook page where he was chronicling his journey and a former co-worker sent an email to Global News about his death.
Loader, who was a photographer, made a last post to his Facebook page about five hours before he was killed.
“I’ve been repeating a phrase that popped into my head this morning. ‘I am where I am because I am.’ It’s incredible what can happen when you accept the unexpected and embrace every moment,” he wrote.
Josh Bissell, the co-worker who emailed, called Loader “a great guy and an inspired photographer.”
“While planning this trip I realized there was a great opportunity to raise money for charity, so I’ve decided to ride for what I am most passionate about, the Earth,” Loader wrote on his WWF fundraising page.
Loader was cycling alone when he was killed, RCMP said.
An RCMP forensic collision reconstructionist is part of the police investigation into the crash.
Brandon is 200 kilometres west of Winnipeg.
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