The Pittsburgh bike community memorialized Rui Hui Lin tonight. He was hit and killed by a hit-and-run driver two days ago in Oakland. Today that driver turned himself in, thankfully.
There were 60-70 people at the event, perhaps more. It seemed that most of those in attendance were from the bike and/or college student communities. It was interesting that the Asian/Asian-American community wasn't better represented. I don't know how much was communicated to Rui Hui's family, friends, and workplace about what was happening. Perhaps they are grieving in their own way and this was not helpful to them. Nonetheless I hope they feel the support and inclusion in the greater Pittsburgh community, and that their loss is felt by us all.
My guess is that most people there did not know him. I didn't. It doesn't matter. He was a cyclist. He was a father. He was a friend we didn't know yet. This incident took away the most important thing he could give his 5-year old daughter, his unborn child, and his wife...his presence and his love.
It's been a sad couple of days for me. This could have been me, Bethany, or anyone else that rides a bike, walks on the sidewalk, or whatever. We're soft and prone with no chance against the horsepower, mass, and inertia of a car or truck. We all take our modes of transportation for granted. I'm happy that the 0.5% of our brainpower we use to propel ourselves around in our cars is normally enough to prevent this sort of tragedy. Sadly, none of us pays enough attention and this is the sad consequence. I'm happy to have survived being hit by a car. I happy for my family that I'm still here to be with them and love them. But there is a statistical chance that every time we walk out the door, it'll be for good.
Let's make a deal. I'll pay more attention on the bike and in the car and try to get along better. Can everyone else do the same? We'd all be better because of it.
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