Olympic BMX cyclist Kyle Bennett has died. The three-time World Champion was killed in a car crash. He was 33.
Bennett was driving at a high speed in Conroe, Texas in a 2006 Toyota Tundra truck on early Sunday morning. He wasn't wearing a seat belt when the car left the road and hit a culvert pipe. The vehicle then continued to hit an iron gate of a private residence and landed upside down in the front yard, according to Montgomery County Police Reporter.
EMT's responded to the scene and removed Bennett's body from the vehicle. He was later pronounced dead at the scene.
Bennett won the BMC world championship three times and he was the first member on the 2008 BMX Olympic team when the sport was first introduced at the Summer Games. He raced in the semi-finals with a reset dislocated shoulder after a bike crash during the quarter finals. He came in sixth in the race and didn't qualify for the medal round.
"All of us at USA Cycling were deeply saddened to learn this morning of the tragic and untimely loss of Kyle Bennett," said USA Cycling CEO Steve Johnson on the website. "Kyle was a pioneer in Olympic BMX and an inspiration to those of us that knew him. He will be sorely missed, and we offer our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones."
Friends were shocked and saddened by Bennett's death.
"Kyle was an incredible BMX rider, but beyond that he was a humble spirit that exuded his love everywhere he went," Kirby Cronk, Bennett's friend and BMX photographer told the Montgomery County Police Reporter . "He made a difference in children's lives every time he was with them, but more important, he impacted human beings throughout the world wherever he traveled."
"The number 88 will forever be in my heart and wore on my helmet so Kyle can continue to ride me and be am angle on my shoulder. RIP #KB88" wrote BMX rider Denzel Stein on Twitter.
Bennett is survived by his fiancé and a young daughter, Kylie.
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