Community remembers former Osceola County commissioner fatally struck while riding bicycle

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — Former Osceola County Commissioner Frank Attkisson died Thursday evening while riding his bicycle near St. Cloud, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

Attkisson, 61, of St. Cloud, was riding west on Kissimmee Park Road near Lake Tohopekaliga Road when he was hit from behind by a 2016 Hyundai Elantra driven by Kristie Jean Knoebel, 26, troopers said.

He was taken to Osceola Regional Medical Center, where he died.

Attkisson, who was elected to the county commission in 2010, previously served as the mayor and a city commissioner in Kissimmee. He also spent eight years as a member of the Florida House of Representatives.

"Frank Attkisson's numerous contributions to our community over decades of public service made Osceola County a better place," Osceola County Chairman Brandon Arrington said. "His vision over the years was always about serving the people who lived here."

He grew up in Winter Haven, graduated from Polk Community College and later earned a business degree from Florida Southern College, according to the county's website.

Osceola Republican Executive Committee Chairman Mark Oxner said Attkisson's focus was always on other people.

"He touched people's lives in this county through all types of different ways through his public service," Oxner said. "He wasn't about Frank Attkisson, he was about Osceola County and what he could do to improve the lives of the people in this county."

"His ability to think of challenges as opportunities always engaged everyone around him to find the solutions that were the best for all of us," Arrington said. "We miss him, and we offer our support and condolences to his family, who were always his top priority."

The crash remains under investigation.

No other details were immediately released.

Cox Media Group