Ironman Athlete Dies After Being Involved in Bicycle Crash

Brian Kozera, an ironman athlete, police officer, and cancer survivor, died after being involved in a bicycle accident, according to TMZ Sports. He was 44 years old. Kozera was training for a competition before hitting a car in Caernarvon Township, Pennsylvania on Saturday. TMZ Sports said Kozera ran a stop sign and hit the passenger side of the vehicle. He was thrown from his bike and ended up being caught in the car's reel wheel. Kozera was transported to a local hospital but died from his injuries. 

Kozera was a 16-year veteran of the Norristown Police Department. Chief Derrick Woods said the driver stayed on the scene and the investigation is ongoing. He said that the death of Kozera is a "tragedy" and "a hole that we are never going to fill," according to Fox 29. "Big loss for our department, for our community. I got so many emails and text messages from people in the community showing how much he mean to them, how much they'll miss him." Woods said. 

Kozera was training for the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii in October. In 2014, he was diagnosed with a rare cancer called Lymphocyte-depleted Hodgkin's lymphoma. He beat it in 2015, which led to him competing in ironman competitions. 

"Even facing a very challenging treatment, I set my sight on reaching my dreams of competing in an Ironman," Kozera wrote in his blog. "I brought a stationary bike into the hospital where I continued to train in my room. Six months after my transplant, I completed my first step in achieving my goal by finishing the Philadelphia Marathon in 4 hours and 30 minutes." 

The Norristown Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 31 released a statement on Kozera's death. "Brian was a devoted husband, father of three daughters, friends to many, coach to several activities, IRONMAN, CANCER SURVIVOR, Mentor to anyone who needed, and a devoted Police Officer with the Norristown Police Department for 16 years," the organization wrote on Facebook.

While he was with Norristown PD he served as a Use of Force Instructor for NPD and for MONTCO & Temple Police Academy. He served on the Bicycle Unit, was a School Resource Officer at Eisenhower Middle School, and engaged in many community events. ... His mental toughest, endurance, and dedication he had for training was the same way he showed up for work everyday."

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