An early spring bike ride ended in an unthinkable tragedy for one Pennsylvania family, after a beloved grandfather and avid cyclist hit a pothole that caused fatal injuries.
Joseph Kenas, 69, died at the hospital on Friday after his family made the heart-wrenching decision to take him off life support.
Kenas had been riding his normal route on Tuesday when his bike hit what his family described as a massive pothole on Morris Road in Fort Washington, a suburb of Philadelphia, NBC10 reported.
“It was such a beautiful day,” Stephen Kenas, Joseph’s son, told NBC10. “It was the 80 degree weather we had. He had to get out. He just couldn’t resist. So my mom was like, ‘Make it a shorter ride. We have dinner later. We have to get you back and get you ready.’”
But his father never made it home. After three days in a Philadelphia hospital, Kenas was declared brain dead, his family said, forcing them to make an agonizing decision.
“We were there in the hospital. They wanted to do an MRI to check for brain activity, and once we got results, we knew that his life was lifeless and there was no brain activity,” Stephen said.
“And that’s when we had to make the call. And that’s really hard.”
Kenas’ family told NBC10 that he was compassionate, social, and an avid cyclist who rarely passed up a chance to ride – especially on such a beautiful day.
According to his obituary, Kenas loved the outdoors and found joy in cycling, skiing, and spending summers at a family lake cabin shared across generations. He was remembered as a devoted father, grandfather, and a constant source of love and support.
Neighbors said the stretch of road where Kenas crashed has long been a recurring problem, though the specific pothole involved has since been patched.
“I really wanted to go and see for myself,” Stephen said. “It’s hard for me to believe a pothole took out such a strong man.”
According to PennDOT, more than 13,000 potholes were reported in southeastern Pennsylvania over the past year, including two on Morris Road.
“It was powerful to see the hole, and that helped me process a little better,” Stephen said. “But when you hear a pothole taking someone’s life, you don’t want to believe it. But when you see what it is, you’re like wow. I can’t believe it got to this point.”
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