A Norwegian man who was seeking to in-line skate across the United States died this month after he was hit by a car in Kansas, according to the authorities and his family.
The skater, identified by the Saline County Sheriff’s Office in Kansas as Joachim Lanham, 24, of Norway, had been documenting his travels on social media. His Instagram bio said he was a “Trans-continental Inline Skater” and “pushing wheels further than they should.”
The Lanham family updated his Instagram account announcing his death with a video from his phone of an orange butterfly resting on a sock-covered foot. The caption says that Mr. Lanham was 22 days into his New-York-to-Los-Angeles journey, which was expected to cover some 2,000 miles.
According to the post, Mr. Lanham was on the outskirts of Salina, Kan., on Sept. 5, where “that afternoon he was hit by a car.”
Brent Melander, the undersheriff of Saline County, said Mr. Lanham had been found unconscious at the side of a two-lane dirt road. He was eventually transferred to the intensive care unit at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, Kan., where he spent six days before dying from his injuries.
An 82-year-old woman driving an S.U.V. is believed to have been involved in the accident, the authorities said. The investigation has been sent to the Saline County Attorney’s Office for review, according to the sheriff’s office.
In an interview on Tuesday, Mr. Lanham’s brother, Michael Lanham, recalled Joachim’s previous adventures rollerblading, including long distances from Sydney to Perth in Australia, as well as a trek from Oslo to Vienna, among others.
“What he was doing was very unique, not a lot of people are doing what he was doing,” he said.
Michael Lanham said his brother had played hockey growing up but hadn’t liked competition. He had found their father’s Rollerblades in the basement of their home and just “started using them” around the time he turned 18.
In his social media photos and videos, Mr. Lanham can be seen wearing a bright yellow helmet and reflective gear while rollerblading. Michael Lanham said his brother also had a light on his helmet.
Mr. Lanham’s precise route and daily itineraries were not immediately clear, but his brother said that he had traveled almost 200 kilometers in one day: “199.7, to be exact, that was his longest distance,” he said.
Mr. Lanham had carried with him only the essentials for his adventure, his brother said. He always had a bottle, often filled with his favorite drink, chocolate milk.
“Joachim was doing what he loved and no one was going to stop him,” Michael Lanham said.
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