By Chris Thies
LAMAR COUNTY, MS (WDAM) - A 32-year-old Maine man killed in a cycling accident in Mississippi on Tuesday was riding cross-country to raise money for children’s cancer research.
Mississippi Highway Patrol Sgt. Travis Luck said James M. Dobson was hit by a vehicle while riding on U.S. Highway 98 near WPA Road in Lamar County just before 1 p.m.
Luck said Dobson was heading west on the highway when he was hit from behind by a 2016 Dodge Challenger. Dobson died at the scene.
Dobson had been on the road since Oct. 3. That was the day he left Dover, NH on a ride to San Diego, CA to raise money for Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock.
The ride was called the Positive Vibes Tour. Dobson’s fundraising campaign has raised more than $4,000 since the ride began.
Dobson documented his cross-country ride on his YouTube channel, James Dobson Vlogs.
His last video was posted Tuesday morning, and featured the previous days ride where Dobson crossed the state line from Alabama into Mississippi and made his way west through the towns of State Line, Richton, Petal and into Hattiesburg.
Before he and his riding partner stopped for the night, Dobson explained why he decided to make this ride.
“When people ask me why I ride in the rain or if I ride in the cold, and I tell them, ‘Yeah, I ride in the rain and cold,’ and the reason is, and I’d ride through the snow too, the reason is because those kids don’t have an opportunity to make a choice to get out of the hospital and not do the treatment. I feel like I have an obligation to ride. That’s why I ride,” Dobson says in the video.
If you would like to make a donation to Dobson’s fundraiser, visit positivevibestour.com.
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