North Texas roads claimed yet another cyclist last week when Phil Balli was struck and killed during a group training ride in Richardson, a suburb northeast of Dallas.
The crash occurred on Wednesday 01 April 2026 at the intersection of Custer Parkway and Renner Road, a busy corridor where traffic and vulnerable cyclists regularly converge.
Balli was participating in the weekly 36-mile Pop Ride when a driver sped through the lane, striking him and a second cyclist. Just 50 yards away was the parking lot where the ride finished. An active member of the Plano Bicycle Association and Outliers, Balli was a dedicated cyclist, competing in the grueling 118-mile Triple Bypass and several epic 100-mile Colorado Rocky Mountain rides in recent years. He was universally remembered as warm, always smiling, and deeply woven into the fabric of the North Texas peloton.
A white ghost bike now marks the crash site — the cycling community’s quiet, mournful tribute to riders killed on the road. Richardson police have not yet confirmed charges or the identity of the driver.
The tragedy arrives just three months after North Texas suffered another devastating crash. On Saturday 20 December 2025, Scott Mages, 55, and Andre Kocher, 60, were struck and killed by a vehicle while riding with the Frisco Triathlon Club in nearby Pilot Point. The driver, a 23-year-old man, was reportedly speeding and inattentive, and subsequently refused alcohol and drug testing. The two men had been training for the Dallas Ironman when they were killed.
According to a 2025 report by TRIP, a national transportation research group using NHTSA data, Texas traffic fatalities are 18 percent higher today than a decade ago. For cyclists the picture is bleaker still: Texas bicycle deaths have surged 58 percent over the same period. North Texas cycling clubs are not just grieving — they are burying an increasing number of members killed on roads that are significantly more dangerous than they were ten years ago.
Our condolences go to Phil Balli’s wife, family, and all who rode alongside him.
Photo Credit: supplied
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