Make wishtv.com your home page

Cyclists to ride, dedicate ‘ghost bike’ to teacher

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Cyclists of all abilities have been invited to take part in a short ride to memorialize a kindergarten teacher killed while riding her bicycle.

On Oct. 12, police said a box truck struck Erika Wells, 38, on State Road 37 near Greenwood.

The Indianapolis based cycling advocacy group, Bicycle Indiana organized a 2.5 mile ride on Sunday, Nov. 6 in Wells’ name.

Participants will travel to where a “ghost bike” has been placed in Wells’ memory, near the location of the crash.

Ghost bikes are bicycles that are painted white and left to mark the scene where a cyclist was killed or severely wounded.

“It’s two fold. It’s in memory of the cyclist and it is an awareness message,” Bicycle Indiana’s executive director Nancy Tibbett explained.

Tibbett said she knows of six ghost bikes in the Indianapolis area.

“It’s sad that we have to put them up,” Tibbett said. “I hope that it will remind (drivers) that as we’re driving a vehicle, it really is a weapon. A car and cyclist, the cyclist always loses and it is legal for cyclists to be on our roadways other than interstates. I hope that drivers are aware of that and just take a minute to reflect that could have been someone they knew.”

Sunday’s ride is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.