(Photo: Kristi Finney)
On August 12th, 28-year old Dustin Finney was riding his bike in the bike lane on SE Division Ave just past 85th when he was hit from behind by a teenager who was later arrested for reckless and drunk driving.
The impact killed Finney instantly. Now his family, still struggling to cope with this tragedy, is inviting the public to a memorial service in Dustin’s honor. The Memorial Celebration for Dustin Finney will be held at 7:00 pm on Friday, November 11th — which would have been his 29th birthday.
“I made a decision after his death that he is not going to be invisible or unknown or forgotten,” wrote his mother Kristi Finney in an email to BikePortland, “He was not being quiet in life himself, so I’m not going to be quiet about his life either.”
Dustin was living in SE Portland (to attend school) at the time of the collision, but his family and many of his friends live in Vancouver, Washington. See the flyer above for more information and please consider showing up. Ms. Finney is looking to connect with others that have experienced similar tragedies and, as you can imagine, community support would mean a lot to her.
I lost my older brother, my only sibling, to a drunk driver in 1993. My thoughts are with the Finney family.
A line of paint is not enough. Cyclists need physical protection from 3,000 lb vehicles traveling at 30+ mph, even if it means traveling at slightly slower speeds.
“cyclists need physical protection from 3,000 lb vehicles”
How about legal protection from those who drive these vehicles as well?
Yes. Cyclists desperately need that too!
Dustin will be missed and never forgotten. My thoughts are with his family and friends.
He has not died in vain. Every death moves us to a place where we will all be safer. Slowly.