Prosecutors in Lewis County, W.Va., are reviewing a bicycle accident last week that killed a 58-year-old newspaper publisher to determine if a teenager's prank amounted to criminal liability in the death.

The death of J. Cecil Jarvis in the May 22 accident on Skin Creek Road near Stonewall Jackson Lake shocked and saddened the community. Mr. Jarvis was a civic leader, respected attorney and president of Clarksburg Publishing Co., which publishes the Clarksburg Exponent Telegram newspaper.

J. Cecil Jarvis

The accident occurred as Mr. Jarvis, an avid outdoorsman, marathoner and Ironman triathlete, was with four other bicyclists on a weekly Tuesday night ride sponsored by a Buckhannon bike shop.

The accident occurred when they were about an hour into the planned 2¹/₂-hour ride and Mr. Jarvis was between two groups of riders, so none of the other cyclists witnessed it. However, they believe it was caused by a teenager in a group of about 10 milling about the bike route who had been trying to startle riders with a rubber snake.

Lewis County Prosecutor Joe Wagoner, who was unavailable yesterday, received the findings of the probe by the Lewis County Sheriff's Department last week, according to Chief Deputy Sheriff David Coffman. He added the probe is continuing. Mr. Wagoner must decide whether the teenager should be criminally charged for contributing to Mr. Jarvis' accident and subsequent death.

Michael Miller, a dentist in Clarksburg, said yesterday he was riding about a minute behind Mr. Jarvis when the incident occurred on a bridge at the bottom of a hill. He estimated that Mr. Jarvis was going 28 to 30 mph when the accident occurred.

When Dr. Miller arrived on the scene, he saw that Mr. Jarvis, who had been wearing a helmet, had a forehead injury. "He was lying on his back unconscious, opening and closing his mouth. His breathing was getting shallower and shallower."

There was a group of about 10 teenagers on the bridge, though they didn't all seem to know one another, Dr. Miller said. The teenager who had the snake was about 17 and "he was hysterical. He thought that it was his fault."

At Dr. Miller's urging, the teenager went to the other side of the road, but Dr. Miller could still overhear him sobbing and saying, "I wish the police would just come and take me away."

As Mr. Jarvis' breathing decreased more, Dr. Miller and others on the scene began to administer CPR. Mr. Jarvis still had a pulse when the ambulance arrived. "We were thinking he'd still be OK," Dr. Miller said.

Only later did they learn that Mr. Jarvis died en route to Stonewall Jackson Memorial Hospital in Weston.

"He was an absolutely wonderful man," said Sarah Wells, who with her husband owns Fat Tire Cycle in Buckhannon, which sponsored the Tuesday night rides along varying routes. "He made you feel like a friend when you first met him. He wore suspenders, bib overalls. He was a humble man. He was just Cecil. Just a really good guy."

Ms. Wells' comments echoed those of many others, including U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, Gov. Joe Manchin III and other state and local politicians who lauded the civic leader at his funeral Saturday.

Mike Florio, an attorney who regularly ran with Mr. Jarvis, said his friend was always in good spirits and was a credit to the legal profession.

"He was never in a bad mood and I never heard him say a bad word about anyone," Mr. Florio recalled. "He was always smiling, he was always happy.

"He was nothing like what anybody would think a lawyer would be. If every lawyer acted like Cecil Jarvis, we would not be represented as we are by so many segments of society. We need more people like that in the legal profession."