A cyclist is dead after being hit by a car Thursday evening in Snyder Township.
Blair County Coroner Patricia Ross said Kenneth J. Voytko, 50, of Northern Cambria died of blunt force trauma when a car driven by Gerald Patton of Tyrone made a lefthand turn into the setting sun, hitting the bicyclist.
State police at the scene said Voytko was riding south along Route 453, commonly called the Janesville Pike, at 7:17 p.m. when a northbound 2003 Chevy Impala turned left onto Schoch Hollow Road. Voytko was traveling down a steep grade with seven other cyclists, Trooper Doug Jenkins said.
Jenkins said Voytko was by himself in the middle of the pack, separated from the three cyclists in front and four riders behind him.
Jenkins said police were still investigating but said the setting sun likely played a major role in the incident. Patton was taken to Tyrone Hospital, and several witnesses who arrived in the moments after the crash said he was badly shaken.
Route 453 was closed for about an hour-and-a-half after the accident as state police worked to reconstruct the scene.
Thursday's crash was a half-mile north of the April 24 crash of a Kenworth water tanker that claimed the life of a Blue Knob firefighter.
Mirror Staff Writer Amanda Clegg contributed to this report.
