COLSTRIP POLICE DEPARTMENT PRESS RELEASE
Larry S. Reinlasoder, Chief of Police

FATAL BICYCLING ACCIDENT

COLSTRIP, MONTANA - Colstrip Police Chief Larry Reinlasoder announced that a bicycling accident in Colstrip on July 3, 2007 resulted in the death of the bicyclist.

Chief Reinlasoder gave the following summary of the events surrounding the accident, which resulted in the death of Grant M. Kemeny, age 39, of Colstrip.


On July 3, 2007, at approximately 5:57 PM, Kemeny was riding his bicycle west on the bike path that runs parallel to Pine Butte Drive. He was crossing the north end of the school bus barn lot on the bike path and attempted to negotiate through some traffic cones, which had been placed to mark the newly paved surface, when the bike became tangled in baling twine that was tied to the cones. Kemeny was thrown from the bicycle and struck his head on the pavement. He was not wearing a helmet.

Upon arrival of emergency services personnel, Kemeny was found unconscious. He was transported to the Colstrip Medical Center by ambulance and then flown to Billings Deaconess Clinic by Help Flight. Kemeny never regained consciousness and was placed on 1ife support at Deaconess. The family made the decision to donate his organs after it was determined he was brain dead. Kemeny was removed from life support at approximately 9:00 p.m. on July 4.

Chief Reinlasoder said that the investigation was complicated by the fact there were no witnesses to the incident and initial reports pointed to the possibility of a hit-and-run vehicle. The Montana Highway Patrol assisted the Colstrip Police Department in the investigation and it was determined that no other vehicle was involved in the accident. It was also later determined that the Colstrip Schools had surveillance cameras monitoring the bus barn and surrounding area and a review of the recordings confirmed the investigators' conclusions.

Chief Reinlasoder further reported that on July 8, another bicycling accident was reported to police in the area of Obert Rye Park where a Colstrip resident crashed on his bicycle and sustained a serious head injury. He also was not wearing a helmet. Reinlasoder said that the second incident could have also easily had very dire consequences to the lone bicyclist, who was transported by ambulance to the Colstrip Medical Center.

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Grant Kemeny is the former postmaster for Superior, Montana.