Hundreds honour 24-year-old cyclist struck and killed on Bloor with memorial ride

by Nisean Lorde for Post City Posted: August 1, 2024 Photo: Courtesy @JessicaBellTO/X

Hundreds of cyclists showed up for a memorial ride in downtown Toronto on Wednesday evening in honour of a cyclist who was struck and killed by a dump truck last week near Queen’s Park.

The fatal incident took place last Thursday morning at around 8:45 a.m. on Bloor Street West near Avenue Road. The 24-year-old female cyclist was traveling westbound in the bike lane when she exited the lane and merged into traffic, continuing westbound. At that point, the 39-year-old driver of a large dump truck, who was also traveling westbound, crashed into the cyclist, resulting in her death.  This marks the fifth cyclist to die on Toronto streets this year, making it the deadliest year for cyclists in almost 20 years.

The cyclists who participated in yesterday’s ride along Bloor Street rode in unison to the collision site where they set up a ghost bike in honour of the victim before holding a moment of silence for her. Many cyclists are taking to social media and demanding for safer streets and more physical protection for cyclists.

“Here we are at the intersection of Bloor St and Avenue Rd. I have never seen this many people at a memorial ride for a killed cyclist. We are mourning. We are angry. We demand safe streets,” MPP Jessica Bell wrote on X.

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, who also attended the gathering, highlighted the importance of making the roads safer for everyone.

“Yesterday, I joined hundreds in remembering a young woman who was tragically killed on Bloor while biking,” Chow said in an X post on Thursday. “It’s clear that we must do more for everyone’s safety on our roads. It was good to connect with her friends, family and activists and discuss how we can make that happen.”

Some have noted that a large dumpster obstruction might have forced the cyclist out of the bike lane and merge into traffic, where she was killed.  This bin was reportedly placed illegally in front of 150 Bloor St. W. before the cyclist was struck.

Others have noted that bike lanes in Toronto are often illegally obstructed, with an X user sharing a video a few days after the cyclist was killed of a bike lane at Bloor and Sherbourne being blocked by another dump truck.

On Tuesday, increased fines were introduced by the City, including an increase from $60 to $200 for vehicles parking in a bicycle path, foot path or pedestrian way.

The identities of the cyclist and truck driver have not been released, and the investigation is ongoing.

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