Family members, bicyclists and motorcyclists tried countering “a trying time in a dark valley” with the Taylor Lee Banks Memorial Bike Ride followed by a ghost-bike dedication ceremony Sunday for the 23-year-old Beaver County man killed in a hit-and-run accident Halloween night in Aliquippa.
About 50 people on bikes and motorcycles took the 4.3-mile ride, with police escort, from the Moor Industrial Park in Monaca, along Route 51 to Baker Street, Aliquippa. Mr. Banks died about 9 p.m. Oct. 31 along Route 51 between that street and the West Aliquippa Bridge. Route 51 is a state-designated bike route.
Speeches during the memorial service focused on Mr. Banks, the need for safer bike routes and pleas to motorists to follow state laws requiring at least 4 feet of space between vehicles and bicyclists on public roads.
The event was conducted with an undercurrent of concern, even anger, over limited accident information from Aliquippa police and Beaver County detectives. No arrest has been made, and police never issued a news release nor plea for public help in locating the vehicle. The family said the eyewitness who called 911 and described the vehicle to police has stepped forward.
“This is a most trying time in a dark valley,” said Bill Blume, pastor of the Faith 2 Faith Ministry in Rochester and president of the Remnant Sons Motorcycle Club, one of four that participated. “That’s mean road out there, and this family needs our help. We love you, and someone out there who did this needs to man up and step forward. This is a crime scene,” he said.
Aliquippa Detective Ryan Pudik said he’s awaiting a reconstruction report of the accident from Beaver County detectives, who did not respond to inquiries. “We can’t make an official comment until we receive the reports out of respect for everyone involved,” he said. Such a report uses science to reconstruct events of the crash, he said.
Beaver County Coroner Teri Tatlovich-Rossi said Mr. Banks died of blunt-force trauma to the head.
Mr. Banks, who worked construction and in a Subway restaurant, was an experienced bicyclist who often rode from Beaver County to Pittsburgh, North Braddock and even Delmont, Westmoreland County.
Event organizer Ed Quigley, 56, of Monaca had participants write statements on orange ribbon that were worn as arm bands then draped over the white ghost bike before it was placed near the accident scene. He said participants came from four counties. The common theme was that all cyclists could face similar fates.
“We hope to memorialize the death of a bicyclist, pay respects to the family and highlight the issue of cyclist safety,” he said, noting that Mr. Banks’ death is the second on Route 51 in 16 months. Emily Rose Jancart, 17, of Moon, died July 21, 2013, after a vehcile struck her on University Boulevard near the Sewickley Bridge in Moon.
Saying she’s upset with police, Mr. Banks’ mother Beth Ann Banks said she’s hired an attorney to gather information about the accident and get “justice for Taylor.”
“The memorial means everything to the family, just knowing we’re not the only ones who want to cherish his memory,” she said. “It brings joy to my heart, and Taylor would absolutely have loved it. He’s up there dancing.”
First Published: November 17, 2014, 5:00 a.m.
