Whether it was through the Trailhouse bike shop in Winona Lake or during the Fat and Skinny Tire Fest he helped start, Rob Gast was well-known and well-liked by many in the community.
That can be evidenced by the massive outpouring of grief and condolences on social networking sites like Facebook where people are expressing their sadness over his passing.
Gast died late Wednesday night from injures he suffered when his motorcycle collided with a deer in Winona Lake.
Gast, who wasn’t wearing a helmet according to police, was airlifted to Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne early Wednesday morning.
He was in critical condition when he was transported to the hospital, and police said he was unconscious.
The accident occurred at the intersection of Roy and Jean streets in Winona Lake.
Gast, who, along with his family, ran the Trailhouse bike shop in the Village at Winona, was 34.
He was one of the founders of the annual Fat and Skinny Tire Festival in Winona Lake that brought thousands of people to the area each May.
A partial obituary for Gast appears in today’s paper. Funeral service information wasn’t available as of this morning.
