Disabled marathoner in NJ dies when car hits his tricycle

From The Trentonian in NJ:

EAST WINDSOR, N.J. — A beloved township man was killed Feb. 16 on Dutch Neck Road when his tricycle was struck from behind by a car and rammed into a snow bank.

Police identified the victim as 54-year-old Edward L. Boye, a storied cerebral palsy victim who made the most of his life, running in marathons and bowling every week at the East Windsor Bowling Alley.

He even devoted the last 22 years to caring for a 95-year-old friend, Mabel Tiger, mowing her grass, buying her food, and shoveling her snow, all with one arm (see sidebar).

Police said Boye was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in Hamilton, where he was pronounced dead shortly after the 12:36 p.m. crash.

Boye was born with cerebral palsy; his unused left arm hung at his side. He rode the special cycle that allowed for easier mobility everywhere, even in these winter storms.

He was traveling west on Dutch Neck Road when the trike was struck near the street’s intersection with Wilmore Road.

Boye’s cycle was struck by a westbound beige 1996 Toyota Camry driven by Margaret Corrigan, 55, also of East Windsor.

Corrigan’s car ran off the road in the crash, and she was also taken to the hospital, complaining of leg pain.

The accident remains under investigation by Township Police and the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office. As of yet, no charges have been reported.

Kevin Finn, secretary of the Wednesday night mixed league at the East Windsor Bowling Alley on Route 130, has known Boye for the past four years as a member of the league.

“He was always bowling with us,” Finn said. “Always had a smile on his face. He was a good guy.”

Last weekend, just after the first of two major snow storms struck the area, Finn saw Boye on his trike and had a premonition.

“After we had the snow on Saturday,” Finn said, “Sunday morning I was driving to work at about 7 a.m., and he was crossing Route 130 at Dutch Neck Road.

“And he was having a heck of a time struggling through the big snow,” he said. “He was in the street, and I thought to myself, ‘this is dangerous for him, but he won’t let himself be stopped.’”

The courageous man thumbed his nose at his limitations, at cerebral palsy.

“He never let it slow him down,” Finn said.