Organizers are calling it “the ride Joe didn’t get to finish.”
On Saturday, May 11th advocates, family and friends of Joe Brausen will come together for a memorial ride to remember the 12-year-old boy who was killed by a driver while bicycling on a sidewalk in Hillsboro. Brausen was on his way to play basketball with a friend at a nearby school, and while pedaling along Southeast 10th Avenue just south of Washington Street he was involved in a collision with a driver as they turned into a driveway of a small side-street.
Advocates with the group Ride Westside have been in touch with Brausen’s family and have organized a ride to remember the young basketball fan. “To honor his memory, we will complete his ride to Lincoln Elementary School, by bike or on foot,” reads the event details on the Shift calendar.
Afterward, the group will return to the intersection where Brausen died to install a ghost bike. Everyone is welcome whether your are on foot, bike, or whatever else. It would mean a lot for family and friends to see a large turnout.
Meet behind the Walgreens between SE Washington and Baseline at 3:30 pm. The walk/ride begins at 4:00 and the ghost bike installation will happen around 4:30.
Thank you for covering this, Jonathan. I think a lot about hearing all those sirens that day.
I hope the community can show the family that we won’t let Joe be forgotten.
So heartbreaking. I want to live in a world where no kids are killed by cars.