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A retired San Antonio police detective was killed Tuesday morning when he was run over while riding a bicycle in South Bexar County, authorities said.

Larry W. McGee, 59, died at University Hospital around 9:30 a.m., about an hour after he was struck by a pickup in the 21100 block of FM 1303, near Loop 1604.

Passers-by conducted cardiopulmonary resuscitation on McGee, who suffered severe leg and other injuries, until paramedics were able to load him onto an AirLife helicopter. He was wearing a helmet and shoes that clipped into the pedals of his bicycle, Bexar County sheriff's deputies said.

McGee retired from SAPD as a homicide detective in 2008 after a 34-year career with the department, officials said.

Bexar County Sheriff's Sgt. E.M. Conger said the crash appeared to have been an accident. No criminal charges have been filed.

“The driver said the sun was in his eyes, and he just didn't see him (McGee),” Conger said. “There's no negligence or anything like that that we can tell, and it's one of those unfortunate accidents.”
No one else was injured in the crash.

The motorist, 41, from Houston, was driving with three others to Wilson County, where they were going to work, Conger said. All four gave deputies their statements and were released, officials said.

McGee was known among his coworkers for his sense of humor, said police union President Mike Helle.

“He was a happy-go-lucky guy,” Helle said. “He was a practical joker. This is so sad.”

Helle said he last saw McGee at the annual union picnic, held last month at Comanche Park No. 2.

“He looked healthy, and he was in good spirits; you could tell he was very content with his life and happy with retirement,” he said. “He was reminiscing with old friends — I could tell he was really excited to be there.”

McGee's death marks the second bicyclist killed in a crash this year, officials said, although details on the first fatality this year were not immediately available Tuesday. Last year, one bicyclist died in a local crash, according to Bexar County and police spokesmen.

Lydia Kelly, Bicycle-Pedestrian Transportation Planner for the San Antonio-Bexar County Metropolitan Planning Organization, said fatal bicycle crashes appear to be lower than usual this year and last year.

“Normally, we have 3 to 4 fatalities in a year,” she said. “We've been very lucky lately, and I think people are just naturally becoming more aware.”

Conger said McGee's wife told deputies that cycling was what he lived for. He was riding close to the white line that marks the two-lane road's shoulder when the crash occurred, Conger said.

Kelly said she advises bicyclists riding on rural roads without a shoulder to cycle closer to the middle of the lane, where motorists are more likely to see them.

“I try to stress to cyclists that they need to claim their lane: four or five feet to the left of the white line is the safest place,” Kelly said. “This seems to have been an experienced cyclist, I just hadn't gotten to him yet.”