SEQUIM — The identity of the bicyclist who was killed on Old Olympic Highway over Labor Day Weekend has been released.
Todd Wheeler, 59, was riding his bicycle on the northbound shoulder west of the intersection with Kitchen-Dick Road on Old Olympic Highway when he was struck and killed by a vehicle.
The delay in the release of his name was due to difficulties contacting Wheeler’s next of kin, according to Brian King, criminal chief deputy, on Tuesday. It was believed that Wheeler was a transient known around the area of Sequim at the time, King said.
The driver of the vehicle was identified as Christian Haner, 25, of Port Gamble.
According to the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office, Haner was driving a 2006 Subaru Impreza on Old Olympic Highway at 50 miles per hour — legal speed — when he attempted to overtake a stopped vehicle that was trying to turn into a driveway off the highway. Due to glare from the setting sun, Haner did not see Wheeler before he stuck him, deputies said.
Despite lifesaving efforts by witnesses and emergency medical technicians, Wheeler died before plans to airlift him to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle were completed, deputies said.
