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Ellen Watters dies after being hit by a vehicle during a New Brunswick training ride

The rising Canadian cycling star was 28 years old.

December 28, 2016
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Watters tops the podium in Belgium
Watters tops the podium in Belgium

After being struck during a training ride by a vehicle on Riverview Drive East in Lower Cove, N.B., just outside her home town of Sussex, Ellen Watters — whose meteoric rise in the Canadian pro peloton made headlines over the last year — has passed away.

She was 28 years old.

Recently, Canadian Cycling Magazine reported, Watters — originally from Apohaqui, N.B. — moved on from three seasons as part of Ottawa’s The Cyclery to take yet another step forward. Tapped along with Gillian Ellsay of Courtenay, B.C. to suit up in Team Colavita/Bianchi’s 2017 colours, the New Brunswick athlete powered through a series of high-profile performances during 2016 with the international stage in sight, taking top standings in the process.

With victories in the Tour of Battenkill and the Tour of Somerville, for example, Watters helped squadmate Tara Whitten claim a win in the overall classification category of the 2016 Cascades Cycling Classic.

Her aggressive, powerhouse style was also apparent in August, when Watters headed for Europe — specifically, Belgium — to claim victory in Haasdonk as part of Cycling Canada’s WTE NextGen program. Known for her relentless attacks, the prowess she displayed in Belgium, along with other performances, earned the New Brunswick-bred athlete the title of “most aggressive rider” at the North Star Gran Prix.

Further accolades included being honoured as the Canadian junior time trial champion in 2015, the best under-25 rider at 2016’s San Dimas Stage Race, and at the Chico Stage Race, recognition for a performance that earned her the best young rider jersey.

On Dec. 23, the day of the collision that claimed her life, Watters was out for a training ride near her home community of Sussex, N.B., when a collision with a motor vehicle saw her rushed to the hospital in critical condition. According to a statement shared by her family on Dec. 26, “At this time, Ellen is still stable and receiving respiratory support. However, given her injuries and the results of scans and observations over the past few days, we do not anticipate a recovery. This news is truly heartbreaking for me to have to share. Ellen’s incredible strength and tenacity make this all the more difficult to take in.”

Another statement, shared by family member Lily Vishus Viscuous Watters on Facebook, detailed the fallen athlete’s condition during her last hours.

“Ellen no longer had any brain function when the excellent and very kind doctors examined her this afternoon,” the statement read, saying that she was surrounded by friends, family and inundated by support. “Ellen was truly an awesome force. Everyone who knew Ellen was better off for it. She shared joy with everyone she knew, and took joy in sharing her love and positivity around her.”

Her passing, the statement continued, also makes her a candidate for organ donations.

In the Canadian rider’s honour, there are also efforts to establish a law that family and friends are calling “Ellen’s law,” which would mandate a one-metre law — like that which is in place in Ontario and other provinces — for motorists when passing cyclists. The fallen athlete’s mother, the CBC reported, said that, “if she had to die for the roads to be safer for other cyclists, then [she] would be okay with that.” In another CBC Shift New Brunswick interview published in July of this year, Watters herself acknowledged the dangers inherent in cycling that make such a law a tragic necessity.

“There are crashes,” the New Brunswick rider said. “Sometimes, there are major crashes. I have definitely hit the deck a few times, but I have been lucky enough to get back up.”

According to the RCMP, investigations are ongoing regarding the collision, which occurred around 2:30 pm under sunny, clear skies, the CBC reported. “We are still investigating,” said Sgt. Jim Macpherson of Sussex RCMP, in conversation with the CBC. The possibility of charges, he added, will be determined “at the end of the investigation.”