Champion cyclist Stephen Tilford struck by semi, dies

A highway crash involving two semitrailers and a van near the Utah-Colorado border has killed two people, including champion cyclist Stephen Tilford.

Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Todd Royce says the first semitrailer drifted off Interstate 70 Wednesday and then overcorrected before rolling onto its side and blocking all eastbound lanes. A Mercedes-Benz van struck the semitrailer and 57-year-old Tilford of Topeka, Kansas, exited the van. He had been standing next to the vehicle when he was hit and killed by a second semitrailer.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports the driver of the second semitrailer, 70-year-old Stanley Williams of Grand Junction, Colorado, also died in the crash.

Tilford won a U.S. National Mountain Bike championship, four National Cyclocross titles and several other championships throughout his career.