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SAN JOSE, Calif. – Family and friends gathered Sunday to mourn a 31-year-old mother of two who was struck and killed while riding her bicycle to work in East San Jose.<\/p>\n
Remembering Jacinta Resendiz Reyes, new mother <\/p>\n
Why you should care:<\/p>\n
Loved ones released balloons and gathered at a growing memorial for Jacinta Resendiz Reyes, who grew up in San Jose and had recently given birth to a baby boy.<\/p>\n
“My heart is broken. My heart is broken because we lost a soul, like a nice, beautiful, happy, cheerful person. Like if we sit in the living room, we were quiet. She’d come and light up everything,” said Viviana Resendiz, Resendiz Reyes’ aunt.<\/p>\n
Family members said Resendiz Reyes often rode her bicycle and was on her way to her security job around 6:15 a.m. Friday when she was struck at Capitol Expressway and Ocala Avenue.<\/p>\n
San Jose police said the driver of a Ford F-350 pickup truck was traveling north on Capitol Expressway through a green light when he struck Resendiz Reyes as she rode east on Ocala Avenue.<\/p>\n
Reyes died at the scene.<\/p>\n
Police said the driver remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators. A preliminary investigation does not indicate drugs or alcohol were factors in the collision.<\/p>\n
“This pain that we – I don’t want nobody to go through with it, and especially the way she ended up. There’s no way. There’s no way that I want somebody to go through. You know, it’s so painful for me, for everybody that is here,” said Resendiz.<\/p>\n
Resendiz said she and her niece were extremely close. At the memorial, she played the last voice message she received from Reyes.<\/p>\n
“Thank you, tia,” Resendiz Reyes could be heard saying in the recording.<\/p>\n
“Everybody’s really sad. We feel like it’s a dream,” said Abigail Farias, Resendiz Reyes’ cousin.<\/p>\n
“She was really funny, and she liked to dance and she was really motivated and she really cared about her family,” said Farias.<\/p>\n
Cyclist’s death renews calls for safety improvements <\/p>\n
What you can do:<\/p>\n
Resendiz Reyes’ family said she lived in the East San Jose neighborhood and regularly traveled by bicycle.<\/p>\n
Her death is renewing concerns about safety at the busy, multi-lane intersection where she was killed.<\/p>\n
Thanh Nguyen, a safety advocate with the Cassell Neighborhood Association, said he has had several close calls at the intersection and is pushing for concrete barriers and other protections for bicyclists.<\/p>\n
“I’ve had three or four close calls right here. Most of the time it’s due to drivers on their phones, they’re looking at their maps, so they’re not paying attention. No matter how much lighting or reflective gear you have, they just don’t see us,” said Nguyen.<\/p>\n
In a heartbreaking coincidence, Resendiz said she drove past the crash scene Friday morning without knowing the person who had been killed was her niece.<\/p>\n
“I wish she could hug me. If you guys have your loved ones, hug them because you never know it’s going to be your last day in this world. You know what I mean? Like, you don’t expect that call,” said Resendiz.<\/p>\n
Resendiz Reyes’ death marks San Jose’s 37th traffic-related death of the year. The city recorded 41 traffic-related deaths last year.<\/p>\n