State patrol: Triathlete killed during Ironman Boulder swerved out of race lane
Investigators say the Ironman Boulder competitor who was struck and killed by a vehicle during the cycling portion of Sunday’s triathlon swerved out of the designated race lane on her bicycle before she was hit.
Michelle Walters, 34, of McCook, Neb., died after being hit at the 31.9 milemarker of U.S. 36 at 9:47 a.m. Sunday just north of Boulder, according to Colorado State Patrol Trooper Nate Reid.
Reid said Walters was in the coned-off race lane on westbound U.S. 36 — which at that section of the road heads north out of Boulder — ahead of a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck also headed north.
For some reason, Walters veered out of the designated race lane and into the lane designated for vehicle traffic. The right side of the pickup truck hit Walters’ left side, causing her to fall off her bike and be struck by the truck.
A member of the Boulder Rescue Squad redirects traffic at the intersection of Broadway and U.S. 36 after 34-year-old Michelle Walters of McCook, Neb., was struck and killed while competing in Ironman Boulder on Sunday morning. (Autumn Parry / Daily Camera)