WASHINGTON -- More than one hundred people participated in a memorial bike ride Thursday afternoon to remember a Virginia cyclist who was hit and killed by a speeding car.
Thomas Hollowell, 64, was riding his bike at the intersection of Constitution Avenue and 12th Street NW, in late September, when a car hit him just steps away from his office.
Hollowell's wife joined his fellow cyclists Thursday afternoon at Farragut Square to honor him.
The group cycled from the park to L Street NW. From that point, the cyclists then headed east toward 10th Street NW before finally ending their ride at the intersection where Hollowell was killed.
"He was very, very interested in coming up with new ideas about how to make cycling more safe," said Hollowell's wife, Carol Regier. "How to make it so cars could see the bicycles on the road better and how to get the cars to be a little more conscious of the fact that there are other people on the road."
Under police escort, the cyclists placed their bikes down in the middle of Constitution Avenue and 12th Street NW for more than 10 minutes.
The group then stood silent in the intersection before chaining a white painted "ghost bike" to a nearby stoplight for passing cars to see.
"It sends a signal that we are there, we matter, we are a part of the streetscape, and we are a part of everyday life," said cyclist Rudi Riet.
Cyclists called for city leaders to install signaled right and left turns on Constitution and Independence Avenues and protected infrastructure for cyclists along the National Mall. The group also wants the DC Auditor to review the budget of the city's Vision Zero initiative, among other items.
"I really hope this is our last memorial ride for a very long time," said ride organizer Rachel Maisler.
Hollowell is at least the fourth cyclist or scooter rider to die on D.C. streets since June.
The most recent accident involved 20-year-old Maryland resident Carlos Alejandro Sanchez-Martin. He was hit and killed by a car in September while traveling through Dupont Circle.
A ghost scooter remains chained to a Dupont Circle stoplight in Sanchez-Martin's memory.
