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Obituaries

Boston.com

Kyle Bennett, 33, champion of BMX cycling; in auto accident

Associated Press

  October 16, 2012

Kyle Bennett, shown doing a bar twist in 2007, won an automatic spot on the first US BMX Olympic team in 2008.

Greg Baker/Associated Press/file

Kyle Bennett, shown doing a bar twist in 2007, won an automatic spot on the first US BMX Olympic team in 2008.

HOUSTON — Olympic BMX cyclist Kyle Bennett was killed Sunday in an automobile accident in eastern Texas. He was 33.

A statement from USA Cycling said the single-vehicle crash happened early Sunday in Conroe, ­Texas, north of Houston.

Mr. Bennett was a three-time BMX world champion and won an automatic spot on the first US BMX Olympic team in 2008.

In the statement, USA Cycling chief executive Steve Johnson said Mr. Bennett was a pioneer in Olympic BMX cycling and an inspiration to those who knew him.

Mr. Bennett leaves his fiancée and a young daughter.