Families and road safety advocates are preparing for World Day of Remembrance

Patty Kruszewski points to a locked bicycle leaning against a telephone poll on River Road in Richmond. The bike is painted completely white from the rear tire to the tips of the handlebars.

“We are at the site of the ghost bike where my daughter was murdered on July 29, 2012,” she notes.

Ghost bikes are placed as a memorial to honor those killed by drivers.

Kruszewski’s 24-year-old daughter Lanie was driving home from work in daylight. According to the newspaper, around 26,000 cars use this route every day Virginia Department of Transportation.

“It’s a narrow road,” Kruszewski notes. “And when she told me she was driving home on this road, I said, Lanie, you can’t trust those drivers. All it takes is one text message. You know, there’s just no room for error. And she would say, ‘Oh mom, you know, I have a lot of lights on my bike, I put on light clothes, I wear a helmet.’

More than 40,000 people were killed in car crashes nationwide in 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. According to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, more than 900 people were killed in Virginia that same year, while nearly 64,000 people were injured.

To cope with her loss, Kruszewski first found her way to Drive smart Virginiaa non-profit organization committed to improving road safety. The group helped obtain the Hands-free mobile use law entered 2020. She then found her way to Families for Safe Streets.

“We often describe ourselves as the group that no one should ever join. We have all lost a family member or been seriously injured in a traffic accident,” said Amy Cohen, co-founder of Families for Safe Streets. Cohen lost her 12-year-old son Sammy when he was killed crossing a street on his way to football practice.

The New York-based group started in 2014 and has now grown nationally with more than 1,000 members and 20 chapters, including one in Richmond. Families for Safe Streets has support groups in English and Spanish. Last month, the group launched an interactive story card that allows users to post photos and stories.

“So people can honor their loved ones or themselves if they have been injured, so that we can really give a broad face to this crisis,” Cohen explains.

Kruszewski’s daughter Lanie can be found at the story map. And that includes Jay Hightman’s daughter, Robyn. The Charlottesville resident lost his daughter in 2019 while they worked as a bicycle courier in New York.

Hightman says he has been with Families for Safe Streets for five years.

“I appreciate those who, when I share my story, say, ‘I’m sorry for your loss.’ But really, it’s those who have walked this road who really know the magnitude of it,” Hightman says.

Both Hightman and Kruszewski will participate World Remembrance Day. Families for Safe Streets organizes the national effort.

Kruszewski, who will be at her daughter’s grave at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, said she is looking forward to the day. “Because it’s a way, even if I say my child’s name and hold up her picture, it helps me.”

Jay Hightman might drive to Washington DC or go to New York to visit local chapters. He says he hopes the day will draw more attention to the staggering number of people killed each year as a result of road rage.

“I really wish that not just those leaders in the United States, but leaders across the planet would address this crisis the same way they addressed the pandemic,” Hightman explained. “Because this is a pandemic that has not abated.”

Cohen says Families for Safe Streets hosted more than 75 events across the country last year. This year’s closest event to Central Virginia will be a “Drive for your life,” in Washington DC It’s a slow 10-mile ride with a separate 1-mile walk to the Lincoln Memorial.

This report, provided by Virginia Public Radiowas made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.