Family celebrates life of cyclist killed on Highway 50 near Delta

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Family and friends gathered to remember a 72-year-old Utah man who was hit and killed while riding a bicycle in Millard County.

The cyclist was identified as Craig Blouin. Officials said he was riding on Highway 50 near Delta when a car hit him.

If you would’ve only met him, you probably you would’ve liked him.

“He was a friend to so many people,” said his wife, Beth Allen, who was cycling with him.

“This was our Father’s Day camping trip. We did have a nice Sunday night camping. It was beautiful,” said Allen.

Rather than focusing on how he died, his family wanted to celebrate how he lived.

Blouin loved everything to do with the outdoors and fought to protect it. That passion for effective change was something his son is studying in college.

“He inspired,” said Nate Blouin, who flew into Salt Lake City late Tuesday night from Rhode Island. “The program I’m in now, trying to affect policy and being able to effect change, he did it in a different way, but I wouldn’t have that drive to do it in the way I’m trying to do it if not for him.”

Blouin and his wife moved to Salt Lake City five years ago from New Hampshire.

“We were very worried at our age of not being able to find friends and like-minded people,” said Allen.

However, she said you couldn’t ignore someone with Blouin’s personality.

They ended up making lots of friends, especially in the environmental movement.

“Good folks that care about the planet. They’re here and it’s been wonderful,” she said.

Now, those people were helping Allen to move forward.

“There was one woman there on the scene, there were people who just took care of me until my friends showed up,” said Allen. “There was one woman named Angie Young. She was a paramedic with the volunteer rescue. She went and packed up our campsite, went and picked up my car and brought it back to me totally unsolicited. Thank you.”

The driver who hit Blouin was just 16 years old driver. Just three days later, the family said they forgive him.

“I can’t even imagine that, and I just hope that he’s able to turn this into something good and he goes on to live,” said Allen. “That will be the most important thing he can do for us right now is to not be devastated and to move forward and do good.”

Lieutenant Todd Royce with the Utah Highway Patrol said the incident was still being investigated.

A warrant for the driver’s cell phone was going through the system, which is standard procedure.

At this point, the driver has not been charged with anything.