Memorial Bike Ride Set for July 25, 2012 to Honor the Fallen and Demand Action

July 17, 2012
|In Event
|By BikeSD Staff
San Diegans tired of living in a City that is dangerous to vulnerable road users protest and demand a more livable San Diego at the Charles Gilbreth Memorial Ride. Photo: Randy Van Vleck

San Diego, CA- Local bicyclists are organizing a memorial bike ride for riders who were struck and killed by motor vehicles in the past weeks.

Theodore Jones, a 56-year old San Diego resident, was pronounced dead on Sunday, July 8 after suffering severe head injuries when a vehicle collided with him on Tuesday, July 3rd on the 4700 block of Solola Avenue in Lincoln Park.

Angel Bojorquez, 18, of Escondido, was killed by a hit and run driver as he rode home from work in Rancho Santa Fe early in the morning of July 6, 2012. 19-year-old Jin Hyuk Byun has been arrested for the incident. Police say that Byun hit Angel with his 2008 Chevy Avalanche and left him in the bushes at the side of the road, where he died. If convicted of the charge of felony hit-and-run, Byun faces only 4 years in prison. His bail was set at only $50,000, a pittance given the senseless loss of life that he caused.

Angel’s brother Steve, said they both worked at the same place and often drove together, but Angel was riding his bike home because their schedules did not match.

These incidents raise the total of cycling fatalities in Southern California to 10 since July 4, and 39 year-to-date.
Angel Bojorquez was one of 10 fatal bike-related hit- and-runs in Southern California this year. There have been 4 just since July 6, 2012.

The people who are dying on our city streets are not just reckless or inexperienced bicyclists, they are often cautious and experienced riders who are often simply commuting to or from work and school.

Solutions to these tragedies are simple. Protected bike lanes, reduced speed limits, safer road design, and grade-separated bike lanes will protect cyclists and give more people the opportunity to use this healthy, green, and practical transportation alternative.

The ride will take place Wednesday, July 25, 2012 at 4:30pm. It will begin at the fountain in Balboa Park and conclude at 202 C Street in front of the City Administration Building. At the conclusion of the ride, bicyclists will use chalk to trace their bodies to send a message to city officials that their continued failure to design safer
roads is unacceptable.