Ted Achorn and his friends have cycled together for 35 years.

Throughout the decades, they've stayed safe while logging more than 75,000 miles on roads in Central Pennsylvania and across the country.

But that all changed Saturday when the driver of a sport-utility vehicle plowed into the group of experienced cyclists--twice--on a quiet country road near Palmyra.

The driver reportedly swerved into the cyclists, all in their 60s, who had been riding single file along the right edge of the road in the 8000 block of Colebrook Road just before 11 a.m.

The SUV slammed into Thomas Bay, who was second in line, driving him and his bike into the asphalt.

That caused the next cyclist in line to crash into Bay's bicycle and flip over his own handlebars and land on the pavement so violently it nearly ripped the shorts off his body.

The collision forced Achorn to careen into a dirt embankment on the right side of the road to avoid crashing into his collapsed friends.

Then, as if that mayhem weren't enough, the driver allegedly again angled toward the last bicyclist standing, Ken Mengel, who had been leading the group. The driver, however, missed.

"Then he drove off, fishtailing," Achorn said of the SUV driver, who also nearly hit an oncoming vehicle.

The driver of the oncoming vehicle stopped to render aid as Achorn ran to his felled friends, still lying in a traffic lane.

"It scares the bejesus out of you when your friends are lying in the street motionless," Achorn said in an interview with PennLive, choking back tears. "It's going through your mind that they might be dead."

Gary was able to get up after a few minutes, but Bay remained entangled with his crumpled bicycle, his feet still clipped into the pedals.

"How are you doing?" Achorn asked Bay.

"It's bad," Bay replied. "I'm trying to remain calm."

"Can you move your legs to get out of the road?" Achorn asked.

"No," Bay said.

Bay didn't move until the ambulance arrived. Meanwhile, several passersby stopped to help, including an EMT and a nurse.

As it turns out, the wreck pounded the top of Bay's left femur through his pelvis, crushing his pelvis. The wreck also snapped the bone in his left arm.

Bay is now facing a long, painful recovery that likely will involve metal plates and other hardware to reattach his broken bones. He is scheduled to undergo the first part of a two-part surgery today.

The other felled cyclist suffered head and neck pain and severe road rash but was not hospitalized.

No one knows why the driver apparently tried to take out the cyclists, who were 28 miles into a 35-mile ride. No words were exchanged and the driver didn't honk or otherwise provide any signals of intentions.

The cyclists were legally riding in the road with proper gear and helmets, Achorn said. While the cyclists could have legally pedaled down the center of the traffic lane or side-by-side, they instead rode in a single file along the edge of the road. The SUV driver could have easily passed them, Achorn said, because there were no other vehicles, so it's not as if the bikes were slowing the driver down.

"It's senseless" he said. "You can't explain it."

Like other cyclists, Achorn has experienced minor occasional road rage before.

"People have flipped us off, aggressively honked their car horns trying to scare us or make us crash, yelled at us, and even have thrown a rare beer bottle at us," Achorn said. "But, never anything closely like this before."

Under Pennsylvania law, vehicles must maintain a distance of four feet from bicyclists when passing and the responsibility for the distance belongs to the driver, not the cyclist.

"Motor vehicles may also overtake a bicycle in a no-passing zone to avoid excessive delays," under state law, "but this must be done with due care and while providing the required 4 feet of clearance."

Cyclists, meanwhile, must obey all traffic laws.

Achorn said he is convinced the deranged driver swerved into them on purpose and he said the driver of an oncoming vehicle relayed the same impression to police: the driver deliberately steered toward the cyclists two separate times.

The hit-and-run driver remains at large. The vehicle was described as a tan or beige 1990s model Dodge Durango that possibly sustained minor scrapes to the front fender or passenger-side front door. South Londonderry police did not provide any description of the suspect.

Anyone with information about the incident should contact the police, 717-838-1376.

Mengel informed his friends about the wreck on his Facebook page and thanked them for "your prayers for us and the troubled individual who performed this dastardly act."

Achorn hopes the public attention focused on the wreck will help identify the driver to prevent the driver from hurting anyone else. He also hopes the incident can serve to educate other drivers about the state's laws so bikes and vehicles can more easily share the roads safely.

More information about the state's bicycle safety laws can be found on PennDOT's website.