Ghost bike to honour cyclist fatally struck at busy Montreal intersection
Friends, concerned residents, and family members of a cyclist struck and killed last week at a busy Montreal intersection gathered Sunday to honour his life and to call for action on bike safety.
Montreal bike safetey advocacy group Vélo fantôme installed its 15th memorial "ghost bike" -- a white bicycle -- to serve as a cenotaphe for Andrea Rovere, who died following an accident at Park Street and Mount Royal Avenue.
On Sept. 27, at around 3:30 p.m., police received several 911 calls to report a truck driver allegedly hit the cyclist and fled the scene.
A suspect was arrested a short time after in the Outremont borough.
Like the other 14 ghost bikes (one was removed in May) after the city installed a bike path where the accident occurred) Rovere's bike will be installed at the location of the crash.
A DEAR FRIEND
Rovere's death was followed by an outpouring of condolences from his friends and community.
"He was the kindest and most generous guy any of us knew," wrote Aurélie Petit, Rovere's friend, on a call for public donations to pay for his funeral services.
Originally from Italy, friends of Rovere organized the fundraiser to transport his body back to his home country.
"His family had not seen him for some years," wrote Petit. "And they deserve to see him again."
On the day of his ghost bike ceremony, the fundraiser had accumilated more than double the original ask of $20,000.
Organizers say any extra money will be spent on Rovere's funeral or donated to his family.
Rovere was also a multi-instrumentalist, and a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute of Scientific Research (INRS).
“We are deeply shaken. His death is an invaluable loss for the INRS community and for my group, because we had forged strong ties, both personally and professionally. A fruitful future awaited him," wrote INRS professor Luca Razzari, who supervisied Rovere in his studies, in a public statement.
“Andrea was a very open-minded and cheerful person, always ready to help others," added Giacomo Balistreri, another postdoctoral fellow at INRS
"His disappearance leaves a great void."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Nissan warns owners of older vehicles not to drive them due to risk of exploding air bag inflators
Nissan is urging the owners of about 84,000 older vehicles to stop driving them because their Takata air bag inflators have an increased risk of exploding in a crash and hurling dangerous metal fragments.
Tessa Virtue reveals she's expecting her first child. Here's what Canadians had to say
Canadian figure-skating icon Tessa Virtue is expecting her first child, she revealed via social media Tuesday.
P.E.I. kiteboarder 'lucky to be alive' after shark attack in Turks and Caicos
A professional kiteboarder from P.E.I. says he has been seriously injured in a shark attack that occurred while he was snorkelling in the Turks and Caicos Islands last week.
'Scandals and secrets': On board the world's most exclusive private residential ship
It’s a floating city exclusively home to the 1 per cent, a playground for multimillionaires and billionaires that circumnavigates the world's oceans.
What weather experts say to expect this summer in Canada
Get ready to feel the heat, Canada. Weather experts are predicting more sunshine and warmer temperatures for the summer.
Canada announces $11B for military aircraft training
Canada has announced an $11.2-billion contract to improve training platforms for the military, including the purchase of 70 training aircraft for the Future Aircrew Training program.
CNN Exclusive: A federal grand jury may soon hear from Sean 'Diddy' Combs' accusers
Federal investigators are preparing to bring accusers of music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs before a federal grand jury, two sources familiar with the probe tell CNN — signaling the U.S. Justice Department is moving toward potentially seeking an indictment of Combs.
In bizarre provocation, North Korea flies trash, manure balloons over the South
North Korea flew hundreds of balloons carrying trash and manure toward South Korea in one of its most bizarre provocations against its rival in years, prompting the South’s military to mobilize chemical and explosive response teams to recover objects and debris in different parts of the country.
Fire outside Fort McMurray now under control, says Alberta Wildfire
The fire that prompted the evacuation of several neighbourhoods in Fort McMurray earlier in May was classified as under control on Tuesday.