Bike rides will remember girls killed while playing in Forest Grove street

Two group bike rides have been planned to celebrate the lives of Anna Dieter-Eckerdt and Abigail Robinson. The two girls, who were half-sisters, were playing in the leaves in the street outside their home in Forest Grove on October 20th when an 18-year old woman driving a car inadvertently swerved into them. Anna, 6, died at the scene while Abigail, 10, died in a hospital shortly after.

The rides are scheduled for this Saturday, November 9th. There’s a family-friendly “4K Cycle of Life” ride and a 40-mile, “Maggie’s Buns” bike ride led by the Portland Wheelmen Touring Club. The rides are part of a fundraising effort aimed at creating a new playground at Central School (1728 Main Street in Forest Grove), a place where both of the girls loved to play.

Here’s the event flyer, followed by more details on the rides:

Maggie Pike of Maggie’s Buns will be serving up delicious homemade bread, three different kinds of hot soup and her famous cinnamon buns at the Central School for riders starting around 11 a.m.! Donations for the scrumptious chow and fun activities will go towards the playground fund.

Here are two great group rides to consider:

4k Cycle of Life family bike ride, hosted by Adventures Without Limits. Ride departs promptly at 10:00 a.m. starting/finishing at the Central School. Rider release forms are required and can be downloaded online or picked up at Pacific University’s Outback Outdoors Program office on 21st Ave.

40 Mile “Maggie’s Buns” bike ride, with the Portland Wheelmen. Ride departs promptly at 10:00 a.m. starting/finishing at the Hillsboro REI parking lot, with a stop at the Central School for soup, buns and rolls.

Organizers are asking folks to RSVP to know how much food to prepare. You can register for the rides and/or learn more at the official event page or on the Facebook page.

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Founder of BikePortland (in 2005). Father of three. North Portlander. Basketball lover. Car owner and driver. If you have questions or feedback about this site or my work, feel free to contact me at @jonathan_maus on Twitter, via email at maus.jonathan@gmail.com, or phone/text at 503-706-8804. Also, if you read and appreciate this site, please become a supporter.

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John V
John V
10 years ago

Jonathon, I believe it was an 18 year woman that was driving.

GlowBoy
GlowBoy
10 years ago

This incident was just heartbreaking. I’m glad this is being done in the memory of these girls.

Joe
Joe
10 years ago

so sad for the family 🙁 and the poor girls… RIP

Steve Scarich
Steve Scarich
10 years ago

Inadvertently drove over the pile of leaves? I could be wrong, but I recall it being reported that she intentionally drove over the leaf pile. Correct me if I am wrong, but there is a big difference.

Adams Carroll (News Intern)
Reply to  Steve Scarich

Steve. I was trying to be very careful about how I said this. My intention was to show that she didn’t mean to hit the girls. I can see your point however, and I’ll consider a clarification/edit to that sentence. Thanks.

Steve Scarich
Steve Scarich
10 years ago

What the driver did was careless, meaning she did something without thinking or paying proper attention. I think this is also what happens in the vast majority of car/bike accidents. I know that drivers are not consciously trying to hit me, but they frequently do things that are so careless (not yielding, texting, etc.) that they endanger my safety. I actually think that penalties should be toughened when someone does something careless that harms another. Right now, as I understand it, if someone does not yield to me, hits me and causes great bodily harm, the only legal charge is ‘failure to yield’. That is not enough. End of rant.