A monthly group bike ride that often occupies the streets of Los Angeles is being dedicated to cyclists who have been victims of hit-and-run collisions, including one particularly horrific incident that left a rider barely alive last month.
The Friday night iteration of Critical Mass – an informal citywide event held on the last Friday of every month – is set to honor Damian Kevitt, who was severely injured after being struck in Griffith Park by a driver who fled.
Critical Mass rides are held in cities across the country; Los Angeles' ride starts at about 7:30 p.m. and travels a varying course through the city.
Friday's ride is "dedicated to Damian Kevitt and all victims of hit and run," according to the LA Critical Mass website. The ride will travel past Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center, where Kevitt is being treated.
Kevitt, 36, was dragged for 600 feet under the car and onto the 5 Freeway on the morning of Sunday, Feb. 17. After he rolled free of the car, another driver stopped mid-freeway to help him.
His right leg was amputated below the knee in surgery, and his left foot may have to be amputated too, according to cycling advocacy blog Biking in LA. Some 20 of Kevitt's bones were broken.
The driver of the minivan that hit him never stopped.
"This month's ride highlights the need to bring increased attention to the epidemic of hit and run collisions and advocating enhanced penalties for leaving the scene," the ride page states.
Last weekend, a community event was held near the site of the collision to draw focus to Kevitt's injuries and to a $25,000 reward being offered by the city of Los Angeles and the California Highway Patrol for the driver that hit him.
The minivan was described as an early model gray Toyota Sienna with a "for sale" sign in the rear window.
Photo Credit: Phillip Barron/flickr