MIAMI (CBSMiami) — The twentieth Annual Ride of Silence passed off Wednesday night.
The 5.5-mile double loop on Crandon Boulevard is supposed to commemorate cyclists who’ve been killed in accidents and lift consciousness for security.
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“We talked about the fact that it would happen again if nothing gets done, and, sadly, it did,” says Maribel Reyes.
She was devastated to be taught of the 2 lives misplaced this previous weekend on the Rickenbacker Causeway.
Her husband, Walter, was the final biking fatality on the Causeway seven years in the past.
“It draws cyclists. It draws people walking. It’s just a beautiful section of Miami,” she says. “We have been fighting for years to make it safer.”
She says Walter was killed by a drunk driver in January 2015.
“Wednesday morning at 5:00 he got up to do his training, because he was riding 100 miles for the Dolphins Challenge, and he didn’t come back,” she recounts. “Changes my life and those of my daughters in an instant.”
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Those that took half within the trip say they need to ship a message about each biking and driving safely.
“The number one issue is right here,” Joe Lluhi says, holding his telephone up. “Distracted drivers.”
“If you go slower to pass a cyclist, you’re only going to be late maybe a minute or two,” notes Karina Abadia, who has taken half within the trip earlier than.
This previous Sunday, Yaudys Vera and Ogniana Reyes had been struck and killed by the motive force of a jeep. They had been biking on the causeway simply earlier than 5 p.m. Police haven’t stated what triggered that crash.
Still, others proceed to hope to see adjustments.
“Barriers are better than green paint,” Reyes says. “I will celebrate anything that will save one life.”
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According to information from Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, final 12 months, in Miami-Dade, there have been 730 bike crashes leading to accidents and 17 fatalities.
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