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Alexa Gomberg says her life can be separated into two parts: before and after the tragic death of her lifelong friend, Minh-Thi Nguyen, a cyclist who was fatally struck by a truck in Cambridge in June 2024. “I was not aware of anything to do with the Massachusetts legislature on transportation or any local politics before Minh-Thi was killed,” Gomberg, a graduate student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said. “Now I see it all very differently.” In the months that followed, Gomberg turned her grief into activism. She co-founded Families for Safe Streets Massachusetts and is an organizer for Ride for Your Life Boston. The initiative is partnering with several other bike safety advocacy groups to organize a series of events for World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims on Nov. 16. Observed globally, the day honors those killed or injured in road crashes and urges legislators to pass legislation aimed at preventing crashes. “Ride and Walk for Your Life Boston” events include a memorial bike ride, a memorial walk, and a rally at the State House, organizers said in a press release. Gomberg said the tone at last year’s Ride for Your Life event, which brought more than 400 people to Boston Common, was “urgent,” as it occurred in the aftermath of three Cambridge cyclists’ deaths. “This year, I’m hoping that the ride can also be more of a forward thinking way for people who’ve lost their loved ones to collectively join in action,” Gomberg said. In Massachusetts, 78 pedestrians died in crashes in 2024, a 16 percent increase from 2023, according to AAA. The event’s organizers believe these deaths are preventable, the release said. Organizer: Missed opportunities for change mean ‘those fatalities are our responsibility.’ The events are aimed at garnering support for two bills in the Massachusetts House and Senate, one proposing the implementation of camera enforcement of some traffic law violations and the other asking to increase truck safety requirements, Gomberg said. “Every single time we pass up on an opportunity or choose not to create safe streets, every single time we decide that we are not going to prioritize infrastructure that will keep people safe, those fatalities are our responsibility,” Tiffany Cogell, executive director of Boston Cyclists Union, said. Cogell said the Boston Cyclists Union, along with other organizations involved in Ride and Walk for Your Life, aim to be “changemakers” in curbing traffic violence. “We want to be a part of this process to honor the traffic victims who have been either impacted or lost their lives,” Cogell said. At the rally at the State House, several advocacy group members will share personal experiences regarding road safety and propose solutions to combat traffic violence. Eric Olson, president of Sidney’s Rainbows, will be one of the speakers at the State House rally. Sidney’s Rainbows is a fund in honor of Olson’s five-year-old daughter, Sidney Mae Olson, who was fatally hit by a truck in Andover in May 2023. “We’re sending the message that these are common sense solutions that have been implemented in other states successfully and save lives,” Olson said. “That this is a problem worth solving, people’s lives are on the line.” While biking in Andover last year, Olson was hit by a truck, just a year after Sidney was killed. He suffered a broken wrist, and noted how the accident symbolizes how common traffic violence is. “We want all lawmakers to know that these are just common sense measures that we should be embracing as quickly as we can,” he said. Father of 5-year-old killed: ‘None of this stuff gets done alone.’ Olson recalled feeling like an “astronaut” after his daughter was killed, like he was “ripped away from my normal life and all alone.” However, through connecting with other families and coalition groups, he found a path forward. “I think one of the things you realize when something like this happens is that you’re not alone. There’s a lot of other people like this out there,” Olson said. “You realize that our voices together are much more powerful than they are one by one.” He said he hopes the event inspires attendees to feel there is a “path toward progress” in combatting traffic violence, also spurred by teamwork between advocacy groups. “None of this stuff gets done alone,” Olson said. “Our ability to create this coalition across the state is a good accomplishment, because it gives people the support they need.” Gomberg echoed this sentiment, emphasizing how the event was made possible through a tightknit network of advocacy groups. “You do not have to have lost someone that you love directly in a crash to feel that it is a personal issue,” Gomberg said. “It is personal, whether or not you are holding a flower. It is personal, because we want it to be better for ourselves and for our friends and for our families.”
