Update: Nolensville police have identified Allen Bautista Milla, 24, as the suspect they are searching for in the hit-and-run crash that killed cyclist Blaise Schaeffer.
Milla is wanted on charges including evading arrest and vehicular homicide. Police are asking anyone with information about his whereabouts to contact the Williamson County Warrant Office or Crime Stoppers.
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It's something Blaise Shaeffer has probably done thousands of times — riding his bike. But Wednesday night was his last.
The 31-year-old Nolensville cyclist was killed Wednesday night when a hit-and-run driver struck him on Nolensville Pike, leaving behind a heartbroken cycling community and a coach who described him as "one of those guys that's great to be around."
Schaeffer was hit and killed by a driver in a blue Honda Civic. Before the incident, a Nolensville police officer tried to stop the car but stopped pursuing once it crossed over into Davidson County.
After the crash, the driver abandoned the car and ran away. His female passenger was found at a nearby business.
If you have any information about who may have been driving that blue Honda Civic, call Metro CrimeStoppers at 615-74-CRIME (615-742-7469).
"Just a great guy"
"Just Blaise, like, just a great guy to talk to," said Steve Neal, Schaeffer's cycling coach who lives in Canada but has been deeply affected by the tragedy in Middle Tennessee.
Neal coached the 31-year-old Nolensville resident in a sport that took Schaeffer all over the world.
"Cycling took him to numerous different states, to Spain, to different countries outside of North America," said Neal.
The sport gave the two men lots of time to get to know each other.
"Lots of long conversations, lots of things about not just cycling and life and yes I got to know Blaise pretty well," Neal said.
He said the world has lost a special person.
"One of those guys that's great to be around. I don't know -- positive, easy to be with, kind," Neal said.
Neal went into even greater detail about Schaeffer in a Facebook post. You can read it by clicking here.
Neal said Schaeffer did everything right the night of the crash. He was wearing lights and gear and was always aware on the bike.
"I almost think a cyclist with proper gear on at night is sometimes more visible than in the daytime, as odd as that seems," Neal said.
Which, in a way, may make this tragedy all the more heartbreaking.
"I've had a lot of close calls too, and it's really scary," Neal said.
Neal added that for the first time in his nearly 40-year career of coaching cyclists, he's had five students involved in serious crashes this year alone.
"The happiest he's ever been"
Schaeffer's longtime girlfriend, Haley Kilman, reached out after the initial publication of this article to share more about her boyfriend's life.
Kilman says Blaise's love of cycling couldn't be understated. He often rode more than 20 hours a week to stay in shape, improve his mental health and because he simply loved it. "He set a goal of riding more than 12,000 miles this year," said Kilman.
Schaeffer actually achieved the goal shortly before his death.
In addition to cycling, she said he loved to tend to his house plants, enjoy delicious food and make his own sourdough bread.
Kilman says Schaeffer was the happiest he had ever been, these last few months, after working hard on his mental health. She specifically wanted to share this detail so that others might be reminded that it's okay to struggle with mental health.
She also emphasized that Schaeffer chose to often ride his bike at night because that's usually when it was safer to ride with less cars on the road.
She's hopeful anyone with useful information in this case will call Metro CrimeStoppers at 615-742-7463.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Chris.Davis@NewsChannel5.com.
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