Former WY Sen. Mike Enzi Passes Away After Serious Bicycle Accident: UPDATED

By Sarah RumpfJul 26th, 2021, 6:18 pm
 
mike enzi

Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images.

Former Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) was airlifted to a hospital after suffering serious injuries in a bicycle accident on Friday, as confirmed by his family.

The 77-year-old was first elected to the Senate in 1996 and served until he announced he would not seek re-election in 2020. His tenure included six years as the Senate Budget Chair.

“Mike Enzi in hospital after bicycle accident,” was the comment posted by his Twitter account, the only update since the end of his term, along with a statement that he had been life flighted to a Denver-area hospital Friday evening. “He sustained serious injuries while riding a bicycle near his home in Gillette,” a Wyoming town about 300 miles north.

UPDATE – 7:09 a.m. ET: Enzi’s Twitter account has announced that he has passed away:

Well-wishes and prayer requests poured in, including from several of Wyoming’s current lawmakers and Enzi’s former Senate colleagues.

CNN’s Manu Raju spoke to Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Enzi’s successor, who told him that Enzi’s injuries included broken vertebrae and ribs. His condition was “extremely serious,” said Lummis, and it was unknown if he would survive. “I just encourage every prayerful person to pray.”

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Sarah Rumpf - Contributing Editor

Sarah Rumpf joined Mediaite in 2020 and is a Contributing Editor focusing on politics, law, and the media. A native Floridian, Sarah attended the University of Florida, graduating with a double major in Political Science and German, and earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the UF College of Law. Sarah's writing has been featured at National Review, The Daily Beast, Reason, Law & Crime, Independent Journal Review, Texas Monthly, The Capitolist, Breitbart Texas, Townhall, RedState, The Orlando Sentinel, and the Austin-American Statesman, and her political commentary has led to appearances on the BBC, MSNBC, NewsNation, Fox 35 Orlando, Fox 7 Austin, The Young Turks, The Dean Obeidallah Show, and other television, radio, and podcast programs across the globe.