Memorial installed at site of hit-and-run
Two bouquets of flowers have been added to the memorial.
Mark Phillips
Sunday, October 5, 2025
A MEMORIAL has been installed in Moreland Road for a cyclist who was killed in an alleged hit-and-run collision in August.
The ‘ghost bike’ – an old bike spraypainted white – has been placed near the site opposite the John Fawkner Private Hospital where the 40-year-old man, whose identity has not been released, was hit on August 24.
Coburg resident and keen cyclist Alex Flore put the memorial in place on the first month anniversary of the incident, attaching a short note to the bike explaining the circumstances of the fatality. Since then, at least two small bouquets of flowers have been added to the memorial.
Flore said he had wanted to arrange a memorial both to ensure the cyclist was not forgotten but also to alert motorists to be extra cautious around bikes.
“I’m really passionate about cycling, and cycling is big part of my life … Whenever any cyclist is a victim, it always hits close to home, but this one’s particular sad, the victim in this particular case was the same age as myself, and it’s near where I pass sometimes on my bike.
“It’s important to put these up for everyone’s knowledge that someone did pass away here, that there was something pretty horrible that happened, to spread a bit of awareness.
“I didn’t know who this person was, not sure about their life, but I felt very sad about it, and I just wanted to make a small token gesture to commemorate them. And internationally, ghost bikes are really well known as a marker for where people have passed away.”
Flores said there had been an overwhelming response of goodwill since he had installed the memorial, and he was gratified that other people had added to his memorial by attaching flowers to the bike.
The cyclist was hit while standing in the bike lane on the south side of Moreland Road on the evening of August 24. He died in hospital from his injuries the following morning.
The driver of the car did not stop, sparking a major police effort to locate them and bring them to justice.
Three weeks later, Crystal Portelli, 40, of Clifton Hill was arrested and charged with failing to stop at the scene of an accident, failing to render assistance, failing to report a collision to police and driving while suspended.
She was refused bail when she appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on September 16. Portelli will return to court in January.
Police have been unable to locate the car that Portelli was allegedly driving, which is believed to be a white 2016 Audi Q5 SUV. It is likely to have visible damage to both the front and passenger side.
The August 24 incident was the second fatality in the same stretch of Moreland Road this year.
In mid-May, a male skateboarder died after he was struck by a car near Gordon Street, about 1 km further west.
Flore said Moreland Road was particularly dangerous for cyclists and he hoped the fatality would force changes to make it safer.
He believes there needs to be a physical separation between cyclists and motorists with a barrier between the road and the bike lane.
“It’s a terrible, terrible road for any cyclist to be on, to be honest.
“The change in speeds, I think, affects how drivers use the road. It goes from, I think, 40 [kmh] to 50 to 60, then on to the freeway, so I think drivers tend to just drive fast through there, because it is like a major connection road.
“Also, that bike lane, it’s just paint to mark out the lane, and it’s quite narrow, and you’re essentially passing in between parked cars and fast moving traffic.
“It’s just not a safe bike lane.”
More than 500 people have signed a petition to the Victorian Parliament calling for additional safety measures in Moreland Road, including reduced speed limits, protected bike lanes and more signalised pedestrian crossings.
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