Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

Cyclists conduct memorial for friend killed while riding

Bike vigil 1

Jackie Valley

Dozens of bicyclists, family members and co-workers gathered Wednesday evening at the Rampart Boulevard location in Summerlin where 27-year-old Francisco De Jesus was hit and killed while riding his bike Tuesday morning.

Bike vigil

Dozens of bicyclists pedaled Wednesday evening to the Rampart Boulevard location in Summerlin where 27-year-old Francisco De Jesus was hit and killed Tuesday morning. De Jesus was an avid bicyclist who was part of an informal cycling group called Team 04:50. Launch slideshow »
Click to enlarge photo

Feliciano Gonzales

Fatal collision

Dozens of bicyclists rode Wednesday night to the spot along Rampart Boulevard where their friend and fellow cyclist, 27-year-old Francisco De Jesus, was hit and killed by a suspected drunken driver Tuesday morning.

But before they embarked on the memorial bike ride to a candlelight vigil, organizer Lisa Caterbone gave everyone special instructions.

“Let’s please ride single-file on Rampart and be safe, because that is where Francisco was hit,” said Caterbone, creator of BikingLasVegas.com, a site for bicycling enthusiasts. “We’re doing this for Francisco, and it means a lot that everyone is here.”

Metro Police said De Jesus was riding his bike Tuesday morning on Rampart, just north of Del Webb Boulevard, when a 1999 Toyota Rav4 traveling north went off the road and hit him from behind.

The collision ejected De Jesus, who was in the bicycle lane, and he landed on the landscaped shoulder of the road, police said. He was taken to University Medical Center, where he died.

Police arrested the driver of the sport utility vehicle, 38-year-old Feliciano Gonzales, on Tuesday on suspicion of drunken driving resulting in death and hit-and-run causing a death, both felonies.

As the bicyclists, De Jesus’s family and his co-workers at Desert Springs Hospital gathered at the spot where he was hit, they lit candles and reminisced about De Jesus, who was passionate about cycling.

Lance Wilson met De Jesus in their informal cycling group, Team 04:50, a name derived from the time they gathered to ride every weekday morning.

“Francisco died doing something he loved,” Wilson said. “And I know he’s in a better place.”

During what turned out to be their final bike ride together last week, Wilson said, he had a hard time keeping up with De Jesus on their Blue Diamond route.

As they parted ways, he told De Jesus to be safe.

“And I know he’s safe now,” Wilson said, as he urged others to work through their anger to find forgiveness for the senseless tragedy.

Al Figer, a fellow Team 04:50 cyclist who met De Jesus at work, said it took a few months for De Jesus to work up the courage to join the team.

But afterward, he frequently called Figer at home or sent him e-mails to share cycling stories.

“From then on, he was so happy riding his bicycle,” said Figer, who added that co-workers often teased them about their “addiction to cycling.”

It’s those nightly phone calls about cycling and other similar gestures that Alfred Serrano said he will miss about his cousin.

The two shared many things growing up, including a bedroom, and they eventually shared a passion for cycling as well.

“Maybe in another life, we’ll ride together again,” Serrano said.

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