LATEST UPDATE: Bicyclist killed in early morning crash on U.S. Highway 280 in Lee County identified
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- Samuel Ryár, 30, from Slovakia, killed in Monday morning bicycle-vehicle collision on U.S. Highway 280.
- Ryár was bicycling cross-country from San Diego to Savannah when struck; cause under investigation.
The bicyclist who was killed after being struck by a vehicle early Monday morning in Lee County has been identified as a 30-year-old man from Slovakia.
According to Lee County Coroner Daniel Sexton, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office 911 Center received a call at approximately 4:02 a.m. CT on Monday, July 27, 2026, reporting that a bicyclist had been struck by a motor vehicle in the 8000 block of U.S. Highway 280 East.
Police, fire, and emergency medical personnel responded to the scene.
The victim was identified as Samuel Ryár, 30, of Slovakia. Coroner Sexton said Ryár died instantly from blunt force injuries sustained in the crash.
Investigators said Ryár was visiting the United States and was bicycling across the country, traveling from San Diego, California, to Savannah, Georgia, at the time of the collision.
His body will be transported to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences in Montgomery for a postmortem examination at the request of the Lee County Coroner’s Office.
The crash occurred in the eastbound lanes of U.S. Highway 280 between Lee Road 183 and Lee Road 184. First responders included the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, East Alabama Medical Center EMS, Salem Volunteer Fire Department, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the Lee County Coroner’s Office, and the Alabama Department of Transportation Southeast Region.
The circumstances leading up to the crash remain under investigation by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s Opelika Post.
Coroner Sexton and the staff of the Lee County Coroner’s Office extended their deepest condolences to Ryár’s family and friends.
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