The following is a first-person account from TSTC New Jersey Advocate Zoe Baldwin:
On February 18, Dan Valle was killed while riding his bike in Brooklyn. Just 26 years old, he was an artist, activist, teacher and friend, who touched the lives of everyone he knew, and I am just thankful that I was one of them. Dan leaves us our memories, his art and music, and unfortunately, a renewed sense of purpose.
As an advocate, I sling statistics, shaping numbers into arguments, aggregating tragedy to effect positive change. Percents of pedestrian deaths. Bike fatality trends. Publishing big picture data so the trees don’t obscure the forest. But Dan’s passing really took my breath away. Beyond the pain of losing a friend, I now have a face to attach to the statistics.
God Zoe, I’m so sorry. I feel awful writing about crashes when I don’t know the people involved…I can’t imagine what it’s like writing about a fallen friend. You have my sincere condolences.
[…] Remembering Fallen Cyclist Dan Valle, Killed by Auto Last Month (MTR) […]
Dear Zoe, I’m one of Danny’s cousins. I happened to find your message when I checked the newspaper article for people signing the guestbook today. I must tell you it brought tears to my eyes to see Danny memorialized in such a beautiful way. I couldn’t wait to get home and call his mom (who is my first cousin) and tell her to go to the webpage. She said she would wait for Danny’s dad to come home and look at it together and also send it to the rest of the family. Just to tell you a little about us we are a close family and we really cherish our beautiful younger generation. We support all they do and love them very much and this happening to one of our angels is beyond belief and comprehension. So thank you for posting and whoever put the ghostbike in Danny’s memory know we are forever grateful and may you always be blessed.
hi zoe,
i am danny’s cousin and i cant tell you how happy i was to not only hear about this but be able to see pictures((i know my aunt and uncle will smile when they see them too))…i can’t even express how hard it’s been to deal with such an awful thing like this…every day i get a little happier when i think of the memories i was able to take away with me and carry for the rest of my life…watching videos from when we were younger won’t bring him back, but will help heal my heart little by little…thank you again from the bottom of my heart<3
dana roselle
[…] Dan Valle, 26, Cyclist, Killed Feb. 18 in Brooklyn; No Known Media Reports (MTR) […]
[…] Dan Valle, 26, Cyclist, Killed Feb. 18 in Brooklyn; No Known Media Reports (MTR) […]
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