A bit of irony is that they have just decided to lower the speed limit in that spot due to the number of accidents but the new limit has not gone into effect yet. That said, I am really not sure it would have made much difference. If you could see the place it would be easier to understand.

It was a real horror show but after 10 years of search and rescue in the Coast Guard I have seen far too much of this sort of thing to remember. I am one of those people who just goes on auto pilot, tries to be helpful, then processes it later.
My heart and prayers especially go out to the drivers who hit the poor guy. It really wasn't their fault and both the drivers and their passengers were in full blown freak out melt down mode. They will probably have nightmares about this for the rest of their lives.

The short of it is that life is a sweet, precious and fragile thing. Please ride careful out there.