Memorial unveiled for 5 bicyclists killed in December crash
Las Vegas bicyclists on Saturday morning unveiled a memorial in Summerlin for the five bicyclists killed in December in a crash on U.S. Highway 95. (Elliot Bauman / Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Updated January 23, 2021 - 3:54 pm

Donna Trauger, left, signs the bike for her late husband Tom Trauger as Tom's parents Susan and John Trauger look on during the LV5 Ghost Bike Unveiling & Memorial adjacent to the Las Vegas Ballpark on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Las Vegas. Tom Trauger was among the five cyclists killed recently near Searchlight. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

Donna Trauger, left, talks with Jasmine Ahmet, 17, center and her mother Angela Ahmet, right, during the LV5 Ghost Bike Unveiling & Memorial adjacent to the Las Vegas Ballpark on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Las Vegas. Donna's husband Tom Trauger and Angela's husband Aksoy Ahmet were among the five cyclists killed recently near Searchlight. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

(From left) John, Susan and Donna Trauger offer family recollections of Tom Trauger during the LV5 Ghost Bike Unveiling & Memorial adjacent to the Las Vegas Ballpark on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Las Vegas. Tom Trauger was among the five cyclists killed recently near Searchlight. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

Cyclist James Emory, center, was amongst those who survived the fatal crash that recently took the five cyclists in Searchlight now honored during the LV5 Ghost Bike Unveiling & Memorial adjacent to the Las Vegas Ballpark on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

(Clockwise from bottom right) Family members Doug Murray, Annette and Judy Brown with Dave Murray gather to sign the Ghost Bike during the LV5 Ghost Bike Unveiling & Memorial adjacent to the Las Vegas Ballpark on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Las Vegas. Mike Murray was one of the five cyclists recently killed during the crash near Searchlight. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

Family members Doug Murray, Annette Brown, Dave Murray and Judy Brown gather to honor Mike Murray during the LV5 Ghost Bike Unveiling & Memorial adjacent to the Las Vegas Ballpark on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Las Vegas. Mike Murray was one of the five cyclists recently killed during the crash near Searchlight. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

Some cyclists weep as friends and family gather to honor the five cyclists recently killed in Searchlight during the LV5 Ghost Bike Unveiling & Memorial adjacent to the Las Vegas Ballpark on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

Friends and family gather to honor the five cyclists recently killed in Searchlight during the LV5 Ghost Bike Unveiling & Memorial adjacent to the Las Vegas Ballpark on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

Pat Treichel with Ghost Bike Las Vegas addresses the crowd on hand for the LV5 Ghost Bike Unveiling & Memorial adjacent to the Las Vegas Ballpark on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

Mark Weimer with Breakaway Cycling addresses the crowd on hand during the LV5 Ghost Bike Unveiling & Memorial adjacent to the Las Vegas Ballpark on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

Christina Gonzalez, center, speaks about her lost husband Gerrard Nieva as friends and family gather to honor the five cyclists recently killed in Searchlight during the LV5 Ghost Bike Unveiling & Memorial adjacent to the Las Vegas Ballpark on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Las Vegas. She is joined by daughter Kailea Mendoza, son Johansen Pico and mother Gloria Fowler. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

Cyclists weep as friends and family gather to honor the five cyclists recently killed in Searchlight during the LV5 Ghost Bike Unveiling & Memorial adjacent to the Las Vegas Ballpark on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

Pat Treichel with Ghost Bike Las Vegas addresses the crowd on hand for the LV5 Ghost Bike Unveiling & Memorial adjacent to the Las Vegas Ballpark on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

A few of the notes written on the Ghost Bike during the LV5 Ghost Bike Unveiling & Memorial adjacent to the Las Vegas Ballpark on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

Friends and family gather to honor the five cyclists recently killed in Searchlight during the LV5 Ghost Bike Unveiling & Memorial adjacent to the Las Vegas Ballpark on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

Cyclists hold their bikes over their heads as friends and family gather to honor the five cyclists recently killed in Searchlight during the LV5 Ghost Bike Unveiling & Memorial adjacent to the Las Vegas Ballpark on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

A custom metal plate in recognition for TEAMG during the LV5 Ghost Bike Unveiling & Memorial adjacent to the Las Vegas Ballpark on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

The crew are reflected in Jared Fischer's sunglasses as they mount the newest bike near the intersection of W. Charleston Blvd. and the I-215 following the LV5 Ghost Bike Unveiling & Memorial adjacent to the Las Vegas Ballpark on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

Friends and family sign the Ghost Bike to honor the five cyclists recently killed in Searchlight during the LV5 Ghost Bike Unveiling & Memorial adjacent to the Las Vegas Ballpark on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

Panoramic as friends and family gather about the Ghost Bike to honor the five cyclists recently killed in Searchlight during the LV5 Ghost Bike Unveiling & Memorial adjacent to the Las Vegas Ballpark on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

Pat Treichel with Ghost Bike Las Vegas hangs a sign above the newly mounted bike near the intersection of W. Charleston Blvd. and the I-215 following the LV5 Ghost Bike Unveiling & Memorial adjacent to the Las Vegas Ballpark on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

(From left) Stephen White, Pat Treichel , Shelly White and Jared Fischer mount the newest bike near the intersection of W. Charleston Blvd. and the I-215 following the LV5 Ghost Bike Unveiling & Memorial adjacent to the Las Vegas Ballpark on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
When Donna Trauger addressed a crowd of more than 300 in Summerlin on Saturday morning, she told them not to view the death of her husband and four other bicyclists as “an accident.”
“Cyclists are rarely injured accidentally,” she said. “On the contrary, in the overwhelming number of occurrences, a driver made a choice or failed to make a choice, and that choice caused injuries — often life-changing, sometimes fatal.”
Trauger was just one family member who spoke outside the Las Vegas Ballpark during the unveiling of a monument for five bicyclists killed Dec. 10 in a suspected DUI crash on U.S. Highway 95 near Searchlight. The memorial — a five-person tandem bicycle painted white — was built by Ghost Bikes Las Vegas and will be temporarily displayed near the Beltway 215 and Charleston Boulevard, for drivers and fellow bicyclists to be reminded of those killed, said Pat Treichel, one of the organization’s founders.
The bicyclists killed in the crash were Erin Ray, 39, Gerrard Nieva, 41, Michael Murray, 57, Aksoy Ahmet, 48, and Tom Trauger, 57. Family members and friends on Saturday told the crowd about their loved ones and urged others to help prevent such deaths.
The organization is also planning to place five more bicycles at the site of the crash. The memorial revealed on Saturday will stay in the Summerlin area for at least a month before it will be moved to the southeast valley, and then hopefully installed in a permanent location to serve as a constant reminder, Treichel said.
Family members and survivors from the crash signed the white memorial, which had handle bars painted in the favorite color of each person killed. Some in the crowd wore shirts reading “TEAMG,” an acronym for the first letter of each victim’s first name.
Cristina Nieva was the last family member to address the crowd, and her voice shook with tears on her face as she talked about her husband. She’s still struck by disbelief when she wakes up every morning and realizes he didn’t come home from the Dec. 10 ride, she said.
“But here we are,” she said. “We must find a new path forward with Gerrard only in our hearts, only in our memories.”
Push for safer roads
The five bicyclists were killed when 45-year-old Jordan Barson, who was driving a box truck, crashed into the group and pinned them against an SUV that was acting as their safety vehicle, police said. Barson, who faces numerous DUI charges, had more than nine times the amount of methamphetamine in his system needed to be legally considered impaired at the time of the crash, according to police and court reports.
In the aftermath of the crash, bicycling organizations including Ghost Bikes Las Vegas, Breakaway Cycling, Save Red Rock and the Southern Nevada Bicycle Coalition, have raised more than $260,000 for the families of those killed and injured through the Las Vegas Cyclist Memorial Fund, according to its website.
Instead of focusing on Barson and DUI crashes, the organizations have instead pushed to educate drivers about Nevada’s laws requiring motorists to stay 3 feet from bicyclists and to switch lanes when possible to avoid them.
“At this point, one of the biggest things we need in Las Vegas and around the world is education,” Treichel said. “Far too many of the motorists don’t know the laws.”
Michael Anderson, a spokesman for the Southern Nevada Bicycle Coalition who also survived the Dec. 10 crash, said he’s been riding his bicycle in the past six weeks. But sometimes, when he’s alone and vehicles speed past him on the road, he has to pull over to stop and collect himself.
Anderson, who recently retired from the Metropolitan Police Department, said witnessing the immediate aftermath of the gruesome crash was the “worst day” of his life, including when he helped respond to the Oct. 1, 2017, mass shooting on the Strip. But he continues to ride to honor his friends, and he joined hundreds of other bicyclists who peddled together on a Summerlin trail after the memorial on Saturday.
“We continue to ride as a group, and we continue to think of our loved ones,” he said in a phone interview this week. “And we just keep going.”
The victims’ family members also called for safer roads, including Donna Trauger, who asked motorists to be respectful, responsible and kind while driving.
“Today I ask you to choose to value the life of a cyclist when you share the road,” she said. “The seconds it takes to make the right choice may make all the difference.”
Donations to the memorial fund can be made at lasvegascyclistmemorial.com.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.