Memorial For Virginia Murray, Divvy's First Fatality, To Be Held Sunday (Updated)
By Stephen Gossett in News on Jul 6, 2016 9:12PM
Update 7/7: To allow family to attend, the memorial has moved from Thursday to Sunday, July 10, at 7p.m.
A ghost-bike memorial dedication will take place Sunday for Virginia Murray, the cyclist who was fatally struck by a flatbed truck Friday morning. It was the first bike-share-related fatality in the nation. The memorial will gather at 7 p.m. at Belmont Ave. and Sacramento Ave., near the crash site.
Murray, 25, was riding northbound on Sacramento at approximately 9 a.m. when the truck driver made a right turn toward Belmont and struck her. She was taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.
Attorney Michael Keating, of the Illinois Bicycle Lawyers at Keating Law Offices, categorized it as a right-hook crash. "In the video it is clear that Ms. Murray was within the field of view of the truck's driver as the flat-bed truck began its turn," he wrote. "Ms. Murray's path was exactly the one that a Chicago bicyclist should follow." (ABC 7 Chicago posted video of the collision on July 1.)
It's been a particularly difficult past several weeks for cyclists in Chicago. Courier Blaine Klingenberg was killed last month after being pinned underneath a double-decker bus near Michigan Ave and Oak Street. Another cyclist was severely injured on Sunday after reportedly being doored by a motorist in Roscoe Village—an injury that would have been even worse if not for the quick medical attention administered by off-duty police officer Sean Hayes.
It was announced in January that Chicago would participate in the Focus Cities Program of the Vision Zero Network, an international safety movement that works to eliminate fatalities and serious injuries in road traffic. The most recent update provided at the Mayor's Bicycle Advisory Council, in June, said, "The Chicago Department of Transportation is working with multiple City departments, particularly Police, Public Health, and the Mayor’s Office to develop a three-year Vision Zero action plan." Their findings are expected to be released in the fall.
CDOT has not yet returned a request made on Tuesday by Chicagoist for official bike-automobile injury totals in 2016.