THIS CYCLIST LOST HIS LEG, NOW HE ADVOCATES FOR SAFER STREETS

Damian Kevitt grew up cycling. His parents used to take him on mini-cycling tours as a kid, riding 20-30 miles as a family. They would cycle down the coast of Southern California…he loved it. Even after Daman got a car at 17, he would still ride his bike. He cycled because he enjoyed it and it was a mode of transportation.

In February 2013, he and his wife were cycling and headed to Griffith Park for a picnic at Los Angeles Zoo. He was only a few hundred feet from his destination when he was struck by a car, pinned and dragged for nearly a quarter mile on the streets, onto and down I-5 are freeway speeds. His right leg was ripped off. He survived…the driver never stopped and was never caught.

During his time in the hospital, he learned about how deadly the streets of Los Angeles are—not just for cyclists, but everyone including pedestrians, kids, the elderly, drivers, and motorcyclists. More importantly, he found out that L.A. is the hit and run capital of the U.S. An estimated 48% of all collisions in L.A. are hit and runs.

He had a story to tell…so he launched a cycling event called Finish The Ride to tackle the epidemic of hit and runs in Los Angeles. That event and the actions before and after it helped to drop hit and run crimes by 16% in a single year. More importantly, that event became his organization Streets Are For Everyone (SAFE-he is the executive director), a non-profit with the mission of making streets safer for all road users. They have a free support service for victims of traffic violence, and Damian is very proud of the lives they touch.

Ride Protected, Ride Safe, with Bike Legal