Around 1,500 cyclists rode 16 miles from Wilshire and Western in Los Angeles to Pershing Drive in Playa Del Ray in remembrance of Regan Cole Graham and her unborn child, Ophelia. 

The mother of two boys, who was seven months pregnant, was riding an electric bicycle with her family along Pershing Drive last month. The Los Angeles Police Department said an 87-year-old driver hit her from behind, killing Regan and her baby. 

“Being a mom, that was central to her core,” Regan’s father, Jeff Cole, said. 

Cole said his daughter always wanted a little girl. 

“They discovered early on it was going to be a girl, and you could just see the twinkle in her eye,” Cole said. “That was just what makes it even more tragic, that we lost them both.”

Cole said that he’s honored to see this many people showing up for his girls. Street activists in the crowd said the city of Los Angeles has historically been slow to roll out safety improvements. In some cases, the city reverses them, such as a bike lane that used to be on the same street where Regan was hit. 

“A small group of people complained,” activist Damian Kevitt said. ” A small group of people sued the city and said these bike lanes shouldn’t be here, even though the city determined they needed to be here for safety reasons.”

Kevitt, the executive director of Streets Are For Everyone, called on Mayor Karen Bass to prioritize safer streets during the vigil. 

“We’ve got a city that’s out of control on traffic violence,” Kevitt said. “What’s going to be done? Where’s the leadership?”

Some neighbors said the bike lanes won’t solve the problem. They believe the city needs to implement other safety measures to force drivers to slow down.

“Everybody should feel safe out here and be able to use the streets,” Cole said. 

Mayor Karen Bass’ office said they were deeply saddened by the deadly crash. Her office added that she has prioritized safe streets by fast tracking speedbumps, signage and an executive directive for street safety infrastructure.

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