He was best known for his regular treks along Highway 126 where his blue bicycle, neon yellow windbreaker and black bike shorts were easily recognizable to commuters. Hayes was often received honks of greeting from those who saw him five days a week riding through the Santa Clara River Valley on busy Highway 126; Hayes would wave in return but never break his steady pace.Widowed - his wife Mildred died in January - Hayes had quadruple-bypass surgery in 1994 and credited bicycling with his rapid recovery. A veteran of World War II, Hayes owned a Northridge machine shop.Funeral services for Hayes will be held Friday at Bardsdale Cemetery.Austel has not been cited and the investigation into the cause of the crash is still underway, said the CHP spokesman, but alcohol or drug use have been ruled out as factors contributing to the accident.
Walt Hayes: Fillmore bicyclist, 76, hit and killed along Highway 126
June 30, 2000
Santa Paula News
A Fillmore bicyclist who was a familiar figure along Highway 126 was struck and killed by a Simi Valley woman driving a Lexus on Monday evening while she was driving to a social engagement in Santa Paula.
Bicyclist Walt Hayes, 76, was killed instantly at about 6:10 p.m. on June 26 as he rode westbound on the shoulder of Highway 126 just east of Sycamore Road, during what was his regular weekday ride to Santa Paula from his Fillmore home.Hayes had ridden his road bicycle back and forth between the two cities for 16 years and had become somewhat of a landmark for commuters.According to a CHP spokesman, a 1998 Lexus driven westbound by Sharon Austel, 55, had drifted from the fast lane into the slow lane and then onto the shoulder of the highway where she struck Hayes at about 60 mph and dragged him for about 100 feet before bringing the car to a stop.The impact embedded the bicycle’s rear tire in the front grill of the vehicle, which also carried the driver’s husband, Otto Austel, who was asleep when the accident occurred.Hayes was pronounced dead at the scene and one lane of westbound Highway 126 was closed for several hours while the accident was investigated.A resident of Fillmore for three decades, Hayes was a member of the Oxnard/Ventura Bike Club and rode with the group from Ventura to Santa Barbara each weekend.
