‘He loved being on the bike:’ Friends of cyclist killed in hit-and-run remember his legacy

The Fort Worth cycling community is mourning the death of one of their members in a tragic hit-and-run accident near Gateway Park in mid-May.

Dan Frost was riding his bike in the area of East 1st Street and Beach Street on May 11 when he was struck by a vehicle and died at the scene, police said. A 26-year-old man was later arrested in connection to the accident.

According to Frost’s online obituary, the 49-year-old “spent every minute of his life improving the world around him.”

Fellow cyclist Greg Scheideman said he’ll miss Frost’s consistently upbeat attitude.

“No matter what it was, I mean how far, how hard, whatever, it’s, ‘Let’s do it. Yeah, that sounds fun, I’m in.’ He would never say no,” Scheideman said.

Frost joined the cycling group known as the Knuckleheads around eight years ago. The group rides every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. A variable group of around 20 cyclists show up for each ride, but Frost was there every time, according to Scheideman.

“He loved being on the bike,” Scheideman said. “He just loved being out exploring new routes. He would frequently just say, ‘Let’s go this way. We’ve never been on this road. Let’s go see where this road goes.’ And would take off.”

The morning of the accident, Frost was trying to get more miles in before meeting the rest of his cycling group for their regular Saturday morning ride. According to police, Frost was struck and killed by a driver who left the scene without stopping to help. Officers arrived around 6:40 a.m. after receiving a call about a bicycle with flashing lights blocking one of the lanes near 4500 E. 1st St.

Court records identify the suspect as 26-year-old Rolando Cruz. According to Cruz’s arrest warrant affidavit, a woman approached the detectives investigating the scene of the fatal crash. When she learned about the accident, she said her son was the driver.

The suspect told police he “wasn’t sure if he hit a deer or a homeless person,” the warrant states, and he didn’t know he had dragged a bicycle for around 200 feet. After the accident, Cruz left his vehicle at a friend’s house and covered it with a tarp before calling his mother.

Cruz was was booked into the Fort Worth City Jail around 9:30 a.m. on May 11 and charged with collision involving death, according to court records. He has since bonded out of jail.

Scheideman said immediate medical attention may not have saved Frost’s life, but it’s still distressing that the driver left him there.

“He has to live with that, and you know, my heart breaks for him,” Scheideman said of the driver. “What does that mean? How do you live with that?”

Scheideman said he’s been part of the cycling group for around 35 years, and as far as he knows, it’s the first time they’ve lost a member to an accident.

“It’s a hobby we love and so we try to be as safe as possible to minimize the risk,” he said. “But you never know if somebody’s looking at their phone or intoxicated or what. We know that they could just veer over into us if we’re on the same road.”

Two days after Frost’s death, his friends left a solid white bicycle with flowers, known as a ghost bike, near the scene of the accident. Unfortunately, Scheideman said he learned later that the bike had been taken.

On May 18, a group of around 20 cyclists rode to Lillian, an unincorporated community in Johnson County and a biking destination frequented by Frost. The cyclists left a memorial rock in front of the convenience store with the words “Ride and live like Dan,” along with the date of his death.

A GoFundMe has been established to ease the financial burden on Frost’s family.

Frost leaves behind his wife and five children ages 11 to 25, according to KTVT-TV. He was also a grandfather and a brother.

His son Garrison told KTVT that Frost was “everything you could possibly hope for in a dad.”

Frost’s family said in his obituary that his life was defined by love and kindness.

“Dan smiled the biggest at the births of his children and grandchildren, and he inspired in them the same love that he felt for life,” the obituary states.

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