Remembering the San Diegan riders we lost in 2011

Typically I do not cover bicycling collisions  in San Diego although I do make exceptions if readers send in additional information. I find it very difficult to write about the death of fellow cyclists because I can empathize with the pain the family members must experience to lose a loved one in such a horrific manner. However, so many of our riders continue to be pioneers and ride despite the auto-centric design of our streets and built environment. The least we can do is honor those who we’ve lost to the deadly street design that surrounds us. We can do so by continuing to ride and continuing to ask our city officials to redesign our built environment so that we can ensure that their lives were not needlessly taken away.

In 2011 we lost:

60-year-old Marberry Ben Acree of San Diego on February 5, 2011.

44 year-old Suntat Peverley of Mira Mesa on February 11, 2011

73-year old Ignacio Manriques Sanchez of San Diego on March 6, 2011

21-year old Jordan Hickey of National City on April 25, 2011

47 year old Jaime Ruiz of San Diego on June 19, 2011

30-year old Justin Newman of San Diego on September 28, 2011

There is really no reason any of these cyclists should have had their lives cut short so unexpectedly. Here’s hoping that 2012 will be a better year for all of us who continue to ride.

These are just the listing that fell under the SDPD’s jurisdiction as listed under Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System. There were many others listed that fell under CHP’s purview not listed above. I have been analyzing the 2011 collisions involving cyclists and hope to post some sort of an report based on the data eventually.