In 1980 musician Frank Barham was involved in a serious car accident, the collision left him paralysed in both legs.

Determined to lead an active lifestyle and spurred on by his father, who was also paralysed after being thrown in a swimming pool at a party, the 59-year-old signed up to the “Wheel 2 Live” expedition raising awareness for the Americans with Disability Act.

The 300 mile journey between Atlanta and Savannah was a fundraising to buy wheelchairs for disabled people in the US.

Mr Barham had benefited from the scheme and he wanted to help others “live life to the fullest.” Before he embarked on his trek Barham wrote on the Wheel 2 Live fundraising page…

“There are still many attitudes that minimize people with disabilities.

“Too often, many of us with disabilities have allowed ourselves to be influenced by those attitudes to the point that we unconsciously minimize ourselves…I want to use the uplifting power of music and personal determination to figuratively burn these minimizing attitudes and inspire people to live and dream to their full potential.”

Updating his progress on his Facebook page followers posted their inspirational messages of support, but the postings changed from uplifting words to sentences filled with sadness on Monday.

As he was about to complete his journey Mr Barham was hit by a van driven by his friend, Margaret Kargbo as she rammed into Frank driving down a motorway in Georgia. They were both killed, the lorry passenger was taken to a local hospital.

Just before he died Frank’s total stood at $12,300 (£8,000) after he rode an average of 30 miles a day.