Bike West Hartford calls on the public to join us for a brief vigil on Wednesday December 4th 2024 at 6pm at the corner of Sedgwick Road and Cornell Road.
We will gather to memorialize the life of Anne Rapkin, age 74, a pedestrian who was killed by a driver on Wednesday November 27th at the location above. Although we do not know all of the details about this crash, we recognize that any fatality or serious injury on our roadways is one too many.
To serve as a reminder of the life we have lost here, and as a public symbol against traffic violence in our community, we will bring flowers and a pair of white sneakers, also known as “ghost shoes.”
We will pause for a moment of silence to remember the life we have lost. We invite anyone who knew the deceased to share a few words in remembrance.
We stand together and recall the names of other pedestrians we have also lost in West Hartford:
- Patricia Brulotte, age 87, killed by a driver while walking near Oakwood Avenue and St. James Street on November 8th, 2024.
- David Goldfarb, age 80, killed by a driver while walking near Albany Ave and Mohegan Drive on January 6th 2024
- Carlos Garlaza, age 60, killed by a driver while assisting a person at the corner of Mohegan Drive and Carlyle Road on December 21st 2022.
- Eugenia Yurovsky, age 89, killed by driver while walking across Boulevard at Whiting Lane on December 20th 2022.
- Bob O’Neal, age 61, killed by a driver while standing on the sidewalk on the corner of Farmington Avenue and Main Street on June 3rd 2022.
Lastly, we will call on everyone to move from our moment of silence to a public call to action: let us find ways to work together to prevent crashes like this from ever happening again.
Our community has embraced the principles of Vision Zero: rather than accepting so-called “traffic accidents” as a routine part of life, we can take proactive steps and prevent these tragedies by prioritizing traffic safety as a public health issue.
Bike West Hartford, Inc. is an all-volunteer non-profit organization with a mission:
- Advocate for biking, walking, and mass transit infrastructure and mobility justice across all neighborhoods in West Hartford,
- Build stronger engagement with biking, walking, and mass transit across our local and regional communities;
- Connect with activists and organizations pursuing complementary goals in the Hartford region and Connecticut.
To learn more about this event, contact co-organizers Tracy Frankel and Jason Wang.