A 24-year-old Norwegian man attempting to rollerblade across the United States was killed in Kansas after investigators say an SUV struck him and left him critically injured in a roadside ditch.
Joachim Lanham was on day 22 of an ambitious journey from New York to Los Angeles when the crash happened Sept. 5 on Country Club Road near Morris Drive in rural Saline County.
An off-duty first responder driving through the area noticed debris in the roadway and stopped to investigate. The responder then spotted Lanham lying unconscious in a ditch and called 911.
Lanham was rushed to a hospital in Salina before being transferred to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, where he remained in critical condition.
He spent six days in a medically induced coma before dying from his injuries on Sept. 11, according to his family and local authorities.
Investigators believe Lanham had been rollerblading west on Country Club Road when he was struck from behind by a westbound vehicle.
The driver initially left the scene, authorities said.
But while deputies were still investigating, an 82-year-old woman returned and told officers she had been driving a 2013 Ford Edge on the same road when she believed she struck something.
According to the Saline County Sheriff’s Office, the woman said she turned around to check the area but did not see anything and continued home.
After noticing damage to her SUV, she reportedly contacted a friend and returned to the crash scene.
“She knew she struck something. She just wasn’t sure what,” Lt. Scott Trembley later told the Wichita Eagle.
Authorities have not identified the woman publicly, and no arrest or citation had been announced in the latest official reporting.
The case has been forwarded to the Saline County Attorney’s Office, which will determine whether criminal charges should be filed.
The Kansas Highway Patrol’s Critical Highway Accident Response Team also assisted with the investigation.
The tragedy came in the middle of what Lanham had described as another major personal adventure.
Just 40 minutes before the crash, his family said he had spoken with his parents about how much long-distance rollerblading meant to him.
That same day, Lanham posted video from the empty Kansas roads and joked about battling the brutal heat while refusing to give up on his goal.
“I’m on a mission,” he wrote.
Earlier in 2026, Lanham had already completed a rollerblading journey of more than 3,600 miles across Australia.
His family later told followers they were grateful for everyone who had supported him during his “wild adventures,” saying the encouragement meant the world to him.
They also shared what they said was the final video Lanham recorded before the crash: a quiet clip of a butterfly resting on his foot.
His brother Michael traveled to Kansas and remained at his bedside throughout the final week, the family said, holding his hand when he died.