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Indy man to ride wheelchair 50 miles for Orlando victims

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – A local man plans to travel 50 miles in one day to honor each person who died in the Orlando shooting — and he’ll make the trip by wheelchair.

Richard Propes laughed and smiled as he wheeled down Washington Street on Monday, but Sunday was different.

“I spent most of the morning with just overwhelming sadness,” Propes said. “I honestly cried a lot Sunday morning.”

He cried for the people shot and killed in Orlando.

Propes fought through the darkness and found a bright idea.

“I think when these really big things happen, we all feel so helpless,” he said. “But everyone has something they can do to make a difference.”

His plan is to ride back and forth on the Monon Trail from 62nd Street to 86th Street on June 25. He said he won’t stop until he’s wheeled one mile for every person who died.

“I’m not a paralympian or anything like that,” he said. “This is a form of activism. This is really what it’s about for me.”

In January, Propes wheeled around Monument Circle more than 100 times for local kids who died from gun violence.

He lost his legs after an accident in his early 20s. Two years later, he wheeled 1,000 miles in 41 days to raise awareness and money for child abuse prevention.

Now he’s raising $5,000 for Indiana Youth Group to provide education and support for LGBT kids.

“To let these youth know that there are people out here who are going to do whatever it takes for them,” he said. “To protect them and to nurture them.”

Propes is hoping people will join him on June 25. He said bad weather doesn’t stop violence and it won’t stop him.

Click here to learn more about his fundraiser.