COVINGTON — “Gloria was one of the kindest souls you’ll ever meet.”
Gloria San Miguel was riding her bike home with her partner Saturday morning when she was struck and killed by a driver on the 11th Street Bridge. The driver drove off.
“She loved to hike, camp, bike, and just explore,” said Jake Lee, a friend of eight years. “She was just incredibly fun, incredibly sweet, she had a very contagious laugh.”
And she wasn’t the only cyclist killed this past weekend. In Indian Hill, 71-year-old Jeffery Robbins was hit and killed near the intersection of Given Road and Beech Trail. The driver was a juvenile who remained at the scene.
With a heavy heart, we share the passing of Dr. Jeff Robbins, retired executive co-director of the Heart Institute. Jeff was a celebrated cardiovascular researcher & his work transformed the field of molecular cardiovascular biology. A dear colleague & friend, he will be missed. pic.twitter.com/e8OqAWMWBX
— Cincinnati Children's Heart Institute (@CincyKidsHeart) August 22, 2022
“It makes me very sad first of all,” said Susan Hoffmann with Cincinnati Cycling Club.
Hoffmann has been advocating for cyclist safety for years.
“I think education is key. I think we need to educate the motorists as well as the cyclists,” she said. “We need to educate motorists to be safe around cyclists and be patient with us.”
According to data from the Ohio Bicycle Federation, there have been 913 crashes involving cyclists in the Greater Cincinnati area since 2016, and 20 were fatal. Of those crashes 536 happened in Hamilton County and 8 were fatal.
Lee would like to see more bike lanes in Covington. He started a GoFundMe to help San Miguel's family and said there is an online petition calling for those bike lanes to be named “Gloria Lanes.”
“Just making it more accessible for cyclists. The Gloria Lanes have bike lanes, so there’s designated lanes for bicyclists to bike and really bringing awareness to the community,” Lee said.
Hoffman is cautious that bike lanes will solve all of the issues because she said bike riders can get hit by parked cars when drivers open their doors.
If you’re driving behind a cyclist, Hoffmann said drivers should follow the rules of movement. Both agree something needs to be done to improve cyclist safety.
Lee wants the driver who hit San Miguel to come forward, or if anyone knows any information, contact the police.
In a tweet, Matt Butler with the Devou Good Foundation said he contacted the Kentucky Transportation cabinet to try to make the 4th and 11th Street Bridges safer for people who ride bikes.
We will be contacting @KYTCDistrict6 to ask for repurposing a drive lane to a two-way protected bike lane on this bridge (Girl Scout Bridge) and the Veteran's Memorial Bridge. We have some barriers we can donate to help make this happen.
— Matt Butler (@Matt_C_Butler) August 22, 2022
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