Dr. Gilbert Beauperthuy-Rojas, a longtime South Florida orthopedic surgeon, is fighting for his life after being struck by a vehicle while riding his bicycle along the Rickenbacker Causeway in Miami.
The 63-year-old physician was critically injured Saturday morning while cycling on the heavily traveled route connecting mainland Miami with Virginia Key and Key Biscayne. Family members later identified Beauperthuy-Rojas as the cyclist and provided troubling details about the severity of his injuries.
He was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center following the collision and remained hospitalized in critical condition as his family, colleagues, former patients and members of South Florida’s cycling community awaited further updates.
According to his brother-in-law, Carlos G. Mendia, Beauperthuy-Rojas suffered a spinal cord injury as well as lacerations to his liver and kidney and multiple cuts across his body.
Mendia said early indications showed the surgeon had no movement from the waist down.
The devastating accident has attracted particular attention in Miami because Beauperthuy-Rojas has spent decades helping patients recover from orthopedic injuries. It has also renewed concerns about cyclist safety along the Rickenbacker Causeway, one of South Florida’s best-known cycling routes.
What Happened to Dr. Gilbert Beauperthuy-Rojas?
The crash happened at approximately 8:30 a.m. Saturday, August 29, 2026, in the area of 3501 Rickenbacker Causeway.
Miami Police responded to a traffic collision involving a vehicle and a cyclist.
Beauperthuy-Rojas was riding in the area when he was struck by a sport utility vehicle, according to accounts provided by his family.
Miami Fire Rescue transported him to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he received emergency treatment.
His family said Beauperthuy-Rojas was riding alone that morning.
That was unusual compared with his normal weekend routine.
For approximately 16 years, the doctor, Mendia and a friend had regularly cycled along the Rickenbacker Causeway together on Saturday mornings. Mendia said Beauperthuy-Rojas was the person who introduced him to cycling around 2010.
On the morning of the crash, however, Beauperthuy-Rojas made the ride without his usual companions.
Mendia told local media that the doctor was riding in the designated bicycle lane when the collision occurred.
Police have not yet publicly released a final determination explaining exactly how or why the crash happened.
The driver remained at the scene and has been cooperating with investigators.
Dr. Beauperthuy-Rojas Suffered Serious Spinal and Internal Injuries
The most concerning information has come directly from Beauperthuy-Rojas’ family.
Mendia said his brother-in-law suffered a spinal cord injury in addition to liver and kidney lacerations.
He also sustained cuts across his body.
Early medical indications, according to the family, showed that Beauperthuy-Rojas did not have movement or the ability to move from the waist down.
His family has therefore warned that even if he survives the immediate medical crisis, he could face paralysis.
Because Beauperthuy-Rojas remains hospitalized and his condition may evolve, the full long-term impact of his injuries has not yet been established publicly.
There has also been no announcement that he has died.
Reports or social media posts describing Beauperthuy-Rojas as deceased should therefore not be treated as accurate based on the information currently available.
His condition has been described as critical.
Who Is Dr. Gilbert Beauperthuy-Rojas?
Gilbert D. Beauperthuy-Rojas, DO, FAAOS, is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon who has practiced in the Miami area for decades.
Long before Saturday’s accident placed his name in news headlines, Beauperthuy-Rojas had established himself within South Florida’s medical community through his work treating sports injuries and degenerative conditions affecting the shoulder, hip and knee.
He grew up in Miami and developed an early connection to healthcare.
As a teenager, Beauperthuy-Rojas volunteered at a local hospital at approximately 17 years old. That early experience eventually developed into a medical career that brought him back to serve the same broader South Florida community.
He attended Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine, graduating in 1990.
Beauperthuy-Rojas then completed his orthopedic training in Michigan, including an internship and orthopedic surgery residency associated with the Bi-County/Henry Ford Macomb system.
He returned to Florida and entered private practice.
By the time of the 2026 accident, Beauperthuy-Rojas had accumulated more than three decades of experience in orthopedic medicine.
A Career Treating Sports Injuries and Joint Conditions
Beauperthuy-Rojas’ professional focus has included the treatment of injuries and degenerative conditions involving major joints.
His areas of expertise have included the shoulder, hip and knee, with particular attention to sports medicine, arthroscopy and joint replacement.
His medical philosophy has emphasized helping patients recover sufficiently to return to their normal activities, including work and sports.
That focus also reflected his own active lifestyle.
Beauperthuy-Rojas has been described professionally as an avid athlete who continued participating in competitive events.
Cycling became a major part of that lifestyle.
The contrast surrounding Saturday’s accident is therefore especially painful for those familiar with his work. A physician who spent much of his career restoring mobility to injured patients is now confronting a serious spinal injury that could affect his own ability to move.
Beauperthuy-Rojas Helped Build an Orthopedic Center of Excellence
One of the major achievements of Beauperthuy-Rojas’ career came through his work at Coral Gables Hospital.
He helped establish the hospital’s Orthopedic Center of Excellence in 2015 and served as medical director of the program.
Under his leadership, the hospital reached an important milestone in 2017 when it became the first facility in the Miami-Dade area to achieve Joint Commission Center of Excellence certification for both total hip and total knee replacement.
Beauperthuy-Rojas later described the achievement as one of the proudest moments of his career.
Developing the program required more than simply performing orthopedic procedures.
The medical team worked on improving quality measures such as reducing readmissions and surgical-site infections while increasing the number of patients able to return home rather than being discharged to rehabilitation facilities.
The program later earned advanced certification and other recognition for hip and knee replacement care.
His career eventually included affiliations with HCA Florida Mercy Hospital and HCA Florida Biscayne Bay Orthopaedics.
Former President of the Miami Orthopaedic Society
Beauperthuy-Rojas also held leadership positions outside his individual medical practice.
In 2022, he was announced as president of the Miami Orthopaedic Society.
At the time, the organization described him as a national and international leader in treating sports injuries and degenerative conditions involving the shoulder, hip and knee.
The position reflected more than 25 years of service to patients in the Miami community.
He has also been associated professionally with organizations including the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American Osteopathic Association and Florida Orthopaedic Society.
His career includes research as well.
A medical publication from the 1990s lists Beauperthuy-Rojas as a co-author of research concerning partial tears of the flexor hallucis longus, a tendon involved in movement of the foot and big toe.
Those professional accomplishments explain why news of his accident quickly spread beyond his immediate family.
For many people in South Florida, Beauperthuy-Rojas was not simply an unidentified cyclist injured on the causeway. He was a physician who had treated patients and worked alongside other healthcare professionals for decades.
HCA Florida Mercy Hospital Responds to the Accident
HCA Florida Mercy Hospital publicly expressed support for Beauperthuy-Rojas and his family after the crash.
Hospital leadership described him as a deeply valued member of its healthcare community and asked colleagues, patients and residents to keep the surgeon and his loved ones in their thoughts and prayers.
A hospital spokesperson also said colleagues describe Beauperthuy-Rojas not only as a highly regarded physician but as a good person.
The response reflects the length of his connection to South Florida healthcare.
His professional career has been based largely in the same region where he grew up, trained as a young volunteer and eventually became an established orthopedic specialist.
Now many of the people connected to that career are hoping for his recovery.
A Dedicated Cyclist for More Than 16 Years
Cycling was not an occasional hobby for Beauperthuy-Rojas.
According to his family, he had been riding the Rickenbacker route on Saturday mornings for approximately 16 years.
Mendia said Beauperthuy-Rojas introduced him to the sport in 2010.
Together with another friend, they developed a routine of riding the causeway every Saturday morning.
That history makes the location of the accident significant.
The Rickenbacker Causeway is one of Miami-Dade County’s most recognizable recreational corridors and is heavily used by cyclists and runners.
The approximately 3.6-mile causeway provides the primary road connection between mainland Miami and Key Biscayne, passing through areas including Hobie Island and Virginia Key before reaching the Bear Cut Bridge and Crandon Boulevard.
For cyclists, however, sharing portions of the corridor with vehicle traffic has generated longstanding safety concerns.
Saturday’s collision has brought those concerns back into focus.
Family Calls for Greater Cycling Safety
Following Beauperthuy-Rojas’ accident, Mendia publicly appealed to officials to address safety conditions along the Rickenbacker Causeway.
He described cycling on the roadway as extremely dangerous and called for a solution.
The concern extends beyond this single accident.
Rickenbacker Causeway is both an important transportation route and one of the busiest cycling and running corridors in Miami-Dade County.
That combination creates a complicated environment where vehicles, cyclists and recreational users frequently share nearby spaces.
Miami-Dade County has previously examined transportation improvements along the corridor, including efforts aimed at reducing conflict points between cyclists and vehicles.
Beauperthuy-Rojas’ crash has added a deeply personal example to that wider safety discussion.
His family says he was an experienced cyclist who had ridden the route consistently for years.
Police Investigation Remains Ongoing
Miami Police continued investigating the circumstances surrounding the collision.
The driver involved remained at the scene after Beauperthuy-Rojas was struck and has been cooperating with authorities.
No public announcement has established that the driver was impaired, speeding or intentionally responsible for the collision.
No criminal charge connected with the crash had been publicly announced in the initial reports.
Those details are important because the investigation remains incomplete.
Until police determine what happened, speculation about the driver’s conduct should not be presented as fact.
Investigators will need to establish the movements of both the vehicle and bicycle, road conditions and other circumstances surrounding the collision.
Additional information may become available as that investigation progresses.
Dr. Gilbert Beauperthuy-Rojas Remains Hospitalized
For now, attention remains focused primarily on Beauperthuy-Rojas’ health.
His injuries are severe.
His family has described damage involving his spinal cord, kidney and liver, along with numerous cuts.
The possibility of paralysis has also been raised based on his condition following the accident.
However, the long-term medical prognosis remains uncertain.
Spinal cord injuries are complex, and Beauperthuy-Rojas’ family and medical team have not publicly released a complete prognosis detailing what recovery may ultimately look like.
He remains the patient now rather than the surgeon.
For someone who has spent decades helping injured people regain movement and return to active lives, that reversal has resonated strongly among colleagues and members of the community.
The coming days could provide a clearer picture of his condition.
Until then, his family, hospital colleagues and South Florida community are hoping that the longtime orthopedic surgeon survives his injuries and begins what could be an extensive recovery process.
Disclaimer
This article is based on information released by Miami Police, statements from Dr. Gilbert Beauperthuy-Rojas’ family and hospital representatives, and credible local reporting available at the time of publication.
Dr. Beauperthuy-Rojas was reported to be alive and hospitalized in critical condition following the August 29, 2026 bicycle crash. References to possible paralysis are based on information provided by his family concerning his spinal cord injury and lack of movement from the waist down following the collision. His final neurological prognosis has not been publicly established.
The cause of the crash remains under police investigation. The driver stayed at the scene and was reported to be cooperating with authorities. This article does not assign legal responsibility for the collision. Details may be updated as police, family members or medical representatives release additional verified information.