CATAWISSA TOWNSHIP - A former art teacher at Southern Columbia Area Middle School was killed Monday morning after his bicycle went out of control and slammed into a pickup truck.
Ed Rhoades, 65, of 465 E. Main St., Catawissa, who retired from teaching in 2011, died at Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, Monday following the 10 a.m. accident on Old Reading Road near Sycamore Drive, according to The (Bloomsburg) Press-Enterprise.
Police said Rhoades was riding a mountain bike when he lost control of the bike while heading downhill on Old Reading Road. A 17-year-old Shamokin male, who was traveling at the bottom of the hill, stopped when he saw the bike coming toward him, but Rhoades hit the front of the truck with the bike. Police said the helmet Rhoades was wearing was damaged. The truck had significant damage as well, police said.
Police told The Press-Enterprise the driver will not be charged.
Southern Columbia Area School District Superintendent Charles Reh remembered Rhoades as a person ready to do anything to help the district.
"He was a great guy, always willing to help out when he was needed to," Reh said Tuesday. "He loved art and music and helped the middle school program with the look of many of the publications that were done here."