HAINES CITY, Fla. — About an hour after sunset recently, Ryan Hoffman rode his bike, a hot pink Huffy, into oncoming traffic on an unlit stretch of Highway 17-92 here.
Hoffman, once a standout football player at the University of North Carolina, collided violently with a rusty white Ford Mustang, striking the front bumper and then slamming into the windshield with so much force it sounded like a gunshot. As the car skidded to a stop, Hoffman was hurled down the road.
When his body came to rest on the pavement, his long limbs took up most of the southbound lane.