'Ghost bike' memorial to be installed where Kelowna, B.C., cyclist was killed by truck

A group of cycling advocates will install a memorial at the site of a cyclist's death in Kelowna, B.C.

Kelowna resident Ernie Gabbs, 69, died after a collision with a semi-trailer truck on Monday at the intersection of Dilworth Drive and Harvey Avenue.

"This is a tragedy," said Landon Bradshaw, former president of the Kelowna Area Cycling Coalition.

Kelowna RCMP are asking anyone who may have seen the fatal crash to come forward with information. The driver of the truck has been cooperating with police.

On Sunday, the same day as Gabbs' funeral, Bradshaw and a group of fellow cyclists will install a "ghost bike" at the site of the accident. A ghost bike, or white cycle, is a bicycle roadside memorial placed where a cyclist has been killed or severely injured, usually by a motor vehicle.

This will be the fifth ghost bike to be installed in Kelowna. The bike memorializing Gabbs will include a wheel from the trike he was riding when he was struck.

"As drivers we're taught to look for other cars. But if you teach people to count cyclists, they will actually see cyclists. We need to be checking all of our directions," said Bradshaw.

He said Gabbs died at an intersection "known to be problematic for all road users."

Gabbs was riding a hand-cycle, a specially modified trike for those who don't have the use of their legs. It has two wheels in the back and one in the front. Bradshaw said Gabbs lost the use of his legs in a construction accident roughly 25 years ago.

Bradshaw said Gabbs used the money he received from an accident settlement to buy the trike. 

"That was a 22-year-old trike he was using," said Bradshaw.

Bradshaw, a stranger to Gabbs, remembers running into the 69-year-old on Monday shortly before the crash.

Bradshaw often rides a recumbent bicycle, which is also low-slung. He said motorists can have a hard time spotting recumbent bicycles because they don't typically look that low while driving.

"It makes me think of my child. Do I not let my child out of the house until they're four feet tall because they won't be seen by somebody else?"

Gabbs' family will be present during the installation of the ghost bike at 11 A.M. on August 18th.

With files from Daybreak South

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