BMX icon Dave Mirra dead at 41
BMX legend Dave Mirra died Thursday in Greenville, North Carolina, in an apparent suicide. He was 41.
Police officers were called to the scene at around 4 p.m., and found Mirra sitting in a truck with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, WNCT reports. Shortly before he was discovered, Mirra had been visiting with friends in the area.
Mirra was the star of several BMX video games, and won 24 medals, including 14 gold medals, at the X Games. He helped popularize BMX biking in Greenville, and more than 20 professional riders now live there. He also had a short stint hosting MTV's Real World/Road Rules Challenge, and recently started participating in triathlons and Ironman competitions. Allen Thomas, the mayor of Greenville, called Mirra a "great friend and wonderful human being," who was as "humble a guy talking with kids on a street corner about bikes as he was in his element on the world stage." Mirra is survived by his wife and two children.
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