Widow seeks answers to husband's mysterious bike crash

With her grief still very fresh, Robyn Prudhomme is determined to find out all she can about how her beloved husband Bob died.

On Oct. 2, around 1:20 p.m. Bob Prudhomme, 57, was reading back from a routine 65 mile ride with the Twin Cities Bike Club when a passing driver saw him go down near the 4200 block of Centerville Road in Vadnais Heights, Minn.

“He just bought a brand new titanium bike, only had it a couple months, and that's what he was riding that day,” Robyn said.

Robyn got the call about her husband’s accident from his own cell phone.

“It was someone who stopped at the accident. She told me she was holding his hand and she knew CPR,” Robyn said. “He was breathing but he wasn't conscious, but she said I want you to talk to him. So she put the phone by his ear and I just told him hang on, you are going to be ok.”

Bob never regained consciousness. After a week on life support, his request to be an organ donor was honored.

“I’m so glad he made that decision, because it would have been tough for me to make,” Robyn said.

Ramsey County investigators continue to work to determine if a car had anything to do with Bob's crash. It’s believed the vehicle closest to him around the time of the accident was a gray or silver GMC SUV that was occupied by a couple in their late 50s to early 60s.

Beyond that, Robyn hopes more witnesses will talk to investigators and that all be reminded by Bob’s story to share the road.

“We may never have an answer and I may have to learn to live with that,” Robyn said.

During Bob's memorial his family raised money to purchase bikes and helmets. Starting this year, all eight of his grandchildren will pick out those bikes and helmets and donating those to toys for tots. They've already raised enough money to continue that tradition for at least the next four years.