Daniel Bertini, a 54 year old cyclist from Richmond Hill, was struck and killed last Friday, July 24 2020 while he was riding on Keele St just north of King City. The exact circumstances of the death are still under investigation. Today we installed a ghost bike in his memory.
King City bound by GO.
Off the train at King City.
Riding north on Keele.
Arriving at the crash site.
There was already a memorial there.
Geoffrey does a last minute touch up on the ghost bike.
Installing the ghost bike.
Getting ready for the long ride back along Keele St.
Downhill with a bit of a tailwind.
The most dangerous bit of the ride back was crossing the 401.
Thanks as always to Geoffrey for building the ghost bike, and Joey for leading, and taking the lane all the way home.
RIP Dan Bertini. Deepest condolences to his family and friends. Hopefully the driver who fled the scene on foot will be put away for a while.
Five cyclists dead in the GTA in the last month and a half.
Enough already.
Joey has posted his pictures here:
Update: Toronto Star profile of Daniel Bertini.
August 30, 2020. The sign on the ghost bike was been updated. Thanks to Yvonne Bambrick for providing the new sign.
Update Feb 18, 2021: the officer involved in the police chase has been cleared of wrongdoing.
Update Dec 13, 2021: the driver who killed Daniel Bertini pleads guilty.
Update March 8, 2022: heartbreaking coverage of victim impact statements.
Hi
While I find your act of placing a white bicycle on the site of Dan’s death most admirable and a a visible reminder that cyclists need to be protected I am unsure whether you needed the family permission to place the bicycle, and if so whether this was done.
Thank you
The tradition is to place the ghost bike the week after the fatality. In this case, there was still no public information about the deceased and so we were not able to contact the family. If the family does not want the ghost bike, please let us know. A key for the lock was left with the property owner adjacent to the crash site.
Hello, Dan is my brother and we are honoured that you placed the bike at the site. Please ride safely and respect our cyclists. Thank you. Cathy
would it be possible to get a date of birth for Dan? I want to get a better sign made, and I will bike up there to replace the hand lettered one that is on the ghost bike right now.
Hello. Thanks for asking. He was born on January 14 1966.
thanks very much. We will have a better sign made, and I will bike up and install it in a couple of weeks.
RIP Daniel
Fellow cyclist