Advocates push for bike safety following bicyclist’s death

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — The New Orleans Police Department arrested 19-year-old Thomas Riggio in connection with a deadly hit-and-run crash that killed a cyclist early Saturday morning.

“Nobody should have to go through the loss of someone,” said Bike Easy Executive Director Allene La Spina.

La Spina says the tragedy is a stark reminder of the urgent need for safety on our streets.

“It could be anybody in my group. It could have been me. Also on the crash. So it is a bit shaken for me a bit. It makes me hesitant to get on my bike, especially, the next day. It’s, like, hard to just get back on the bike,” said La Spina.

While advocating for safer streets for years, she says she keeps in touch with victims’ families and that grief often stays fresh long after the crash.

“That emptiness is never going to be filled, unfortunately. So I think, you know, we try to help direct the families to use that energy to be, you know, advocates in their communities or here,” said La Spina.

She acknowledges there’s been some progress but says, it’s not enough, she’s calling on city leaders to take more aggressive steps.

“They could be more aggressive in, holding accountability for, people who drive recklessly. There are ways that we can enforce more accountability for better behavior on the road,” said La Spina.

She believes safety has to be a shared priority for both drivers and cyclists, and that everyone in the city has a role to play.

“So every citizen, everybody in the same table to be like, how can we work on this together versus pointing fingers of like, it’s a spade road, is there a problem or is it, city’s responsibility to enforce. At the end of the day, it’s New Orleanians that are riding on these roads,” said La Spina.

There will be a bike ride tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. at the intersection of Alvar and St. Claude for a memorial. Those attending are asked to bring a white flower if they can.

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