Man who died on biking trip was ‘doing what he loved’

0 Comments | The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star, Norfolk, VA, Jul 27, 2010 | by KATHY ADAMS

By Kathy Adams

The Virginian-Pilot

VIRGINIA BEACH

When Jermaine Wilcox last spoke with his big brother Friday night, all Jeremy Wilcox could talk about was the biking trip he’d planned for the next day.

“He couldn’t wait to go on it,” said Jermaine Wilcox, 18. “He was just talking about how fun they were.”

The conversation was the last the two would have. Jeremy Wilcox, 21, passed out and fell off his bike while riding through Maryland’s Oxon Cove Park on Saturday morning. He struck his head on a tree and died at a nearby hospital, said Mark Brady, spokesman for the fire and Emergency Medical Services departments in Prince George’s County, Md.

The medical examiner’s office in Maryland said Monday that Wilcox died of “multiple injuries.” But the heat might have played a role in him losing consciousness, Brady said. Temperatures were in the mid-90s Saturday, but humidity made it feel more like 100 degrees outside, he said. Medics at the scene said Wilcox exhibited signs of heat-related illness.

Jeremy Wilcox was born and raised in Virginia Beach and graduated from Tallwood High School in 2008. He was in Washington training to become an electrician through the Potomac Job Corps program, said his uncle, Michael Wilcox. He would have finished next month and returned to Norfolk for an apprenticeship at BAE Systems Ship Repair, Michael Wilcox said.

When in Virginia Beach, Jeremy Wilcox shared a home with his mother, grandmother, uncle, brother and two sisters, Jermaine Wilcox said. The family was home Saturday when they got the news.

“What do you mean he’s not coming back?” he recalled his mother saying into the phone. “Please don’t tell me that Jeremy died.”

He started calling his brother’s cell phone over and over, but no one answered.

The good-natured 21-year-old was in good health and didn’t have any pre-existing medical conditions, his uncle said. He had recently given up pork and beef in an effort to eat more healthfully, Michael Wilcox said.

He said he’ll most remember his nephew’s sense of humor.

“He wouldn’t walk by you without doing something silly or saying something silly,” he said. “He’d just try to get a laugh.”

When his brother finished training, they’d planned to get a house together, Jermaine Wilcox said.

“That was like my favorite person in the world,” he said
trip plan