Bike Fatalities

Yesterday, in response to four recent Chicago bike fatalities apparently caused by reckless drivers, the Tribune ran a well-meaning but wrongheaded editorial that largely puts the onus for creating safer streets on people who bike.

This weekend’s Cuttin Crew Classic racing series will be held in honor of fallen courier Blaine “Beezy” Klingenberg, 29, fatally struck by a double-decker tour bus driver at Oak and Michigan on June 15. And this Saturday there will be a group ride from the finish line to Milwaukee and Racine, where a Ghost Bike memorial will be installed as a tribute to art student Lisa Kuivinen, 20, struck and killed by a flatbed truck driver at the intersection on August 16.

Family and friends are remembering Francisco “Frank” Cruz, fatally struck on his bike by a hit-and-run van driver in West Garfield Park Wednesday night, as someone who went out of his way to help others. Meanwhile, police have yet to apprehend the motorist, despite the fact that the van bore the name and phone number of a local realty company.

The case of Lisa Kuivinen, a 20-year-old art student who was fatally struck by an 18-wheel flatbed truck driver while cycling on Milwaukee Avenue yesterday morning, has moved many Chicagoans, from everyday bike riders to city officials.

We have been notified that Lisa Kuivinen identified as non-binary and preferred gender-neutral pronouns. The post has been edited accordingly.

[This article was produced in partnership with the Chicago Reader.]

This morning the parents of fallen cyclist Virginia “Ginny” Murray, fatally struck by a flatbed truck driver on July 1, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the driver and his company, A&B Flooring Supplies. The family’s attorney says safer bike infrastructure could have helped prevent the crash.

Motorists drove carefully around the large crowd of supporters that had gathered and spilled into the roadway last night at the corner of Belmont and Sacramento, where Virginia Murray was fatally struck while riding a bicycle on July 1.

Safe streets advocates are inviting the public to the installation of a white-painted “ghost bike” memorial as a tribute to Virginia Murray, who was fatally struck by a truck driver while cycling last Friday. The installation will take place this Sunday, July 10, at 7 p.m. at the crash site at Belmont venue and Sacramento Avenue.