WASHINGTON — At the corner of 21st and I Streets NW there’s a new fixture that will be a permanent reminder of the tragedy that unfolded days prior, a bicycle painted white.
The ghost bike was planted on the corner of a sidewalk Monday during a vigil for 40-year-old Shawn O’Donnell who was killed Wednesday, July 20 after she was run over by a heavy truck while bicycling to work.
The ghost bike is the third to be placed along a D.C. street in one week after three bicyclists were killed by drivers in D.C. in the month of July.
“It's terrible to do one. It's terrible to do two. It's heartbreaking to do three. And there's going to be more. More people are going to die because of the way our roads are designed,” Monica Morin who painted the three bikes said.
Five days before O’Donnell was killed, 65-year-old Michael Gordon died after he was hit by a dump truck in the area of 5th Street and Rhode Island Avenue NW in the early morning hours of Friday, July 15, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
A memorial bike installation was held for him Friday by safety advocates and family members.
“I just love him dearly. He will truly be missed. I just feel like something’s missing. And that’s him here,” Ebony Gordon, Michael Gordon’s daughter said.
A day after Gordon’s memorial there a ghost bike was placed at the intersection of Minnesota Avenue and Nannie Hellen Burroughs Avenue NE for 70-year-old Michael Hawkins Randall who was killed on Saturday, July 2 after a driver suffered a medical emergency and crashed into Randall before driving into a firework stand.
“It's what I would want to be done for me when I am hit and killed,” Morin who painted the three ghost bikes said. “And it is a reminder to everyone that we all deserve to get home safely at night. It's a reminder that everyone should be able to travel without fear of serious injury or death.”
Morin said there needs to be more done by the city and the D.C. Council. The Washington Area Bicyclist Associations is organizing a protest at the Wilson Building demanding the city enact new laws, like a ban on right turns on red lights, which is slated for a full council vote in the fall. Organizers are also pushing police to enforce laws already on the books.