Patty Kruszewski is pointing at a locked bike leaning against a telephone poll on River Road in Richmond. The bike is painted entirely white from the back tire to the tips of the handlebars.
“We're at the scene of the ghost bike where my daughter was killed on July 29, 2012,” she notes.
Ghost bikes are placed as memorials to honor those who were killed by drivers.
Kruszewski’s 24-year-old daughter Lanie was riding home from work at night. About 26,000 cars use this route daily, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.
“It's a narrow road," Kruszewski points out. "And when she told me she was riding home on this road, I said, Lanie, you can't trust those drivers. All it takes is one texter. You know, there's just no room for error. And she'd say 'oh, Mom, you know, I have lots of lights on my bike, I change into light clothing, I wear a helmet.'”
In 2023, more than 40.000 people were killed in car crashes nationally, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. In Virginia of that same year, over 900 people were killed, with almost 64,000 suffering injuries, according to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.
To deal with her loss, Kruszewski first found her way to Drive Smart Virginia, a nonprofit that works to improve road safety. The group helped get the hands free cellphone use law passed in 2020. She then found her way to Families for Safe Streets.
“We often describe ourselves as the group nobody should ever have to join. We all lost a family member or suffered a serious injury in a traffic crash,” says Families for Safe Streets Co-Founder Amy Cohen. Cohen lost her 12-year-old son Sammy when he was killed crossing a street on his way to soccer practice.
The New York-based group started in 2014 and has now grown nationwide with over 1,000 members and with 20 chapters, including one in Richmond. Families for Safe Streets have support groups in English and Spanish. Last month, the group launched an interactive story map that allows users to post pictures and stories.
“So that people can honor their loved ones or themselves if they were injured so that we can really give a broad face to this crisis,” Cohen explains.
Kruszewski's daughter Lanie can be found on the story map. And so can Jay Hightman’s daughter, Robyn. The Charlottesville resident lost his daughter in 2019 when they were working as a bike messenger in New York.
Hightman says he’s been with Families for Safe Streets for five years.
“I appreciate those that, when I share my story, say 'I'm sorry for your loss.' But really it's those that have been down this road that know truly the magnitude of it,” Hightman says.
Both Hightman and Kruszewski will be participating in World Day of Remembrance. Families for Safe Streets is organizing the national effort.
Kruszewski, who’ll be at her daughter’s gravesite at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, says she’s looking forward to the day. “Because it's a way, even just saying my child's name and holding up her picture, it helps me.”
Jay Hightman might drive up to Washington D.C. or head to New York, to be with local chapters. He says he hopes the day brings more attention to the staggering number of people who are killed each year because of traffic violence.
“I truly wish that not just those leaders in the United States, but leaders all around the planet would address this crisis in the same way that the pandemic was addressed," Hightman explains. "Because this is a pandemic that has not abated.”
Cohen says last year, Families for Safe Streets held more than 75 events across the nation. The closest event this year to Central Virginia will be a “Ride for your Life,” in Washington D.C. It’s a 10-mile slow ride with a separate one-mile walk to the Lincoln Memorial.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.