Andria Ligas ghostbike needs to be moved, says property owner
The owner of the property that the Andria Ligas ghostbike is in front of has told us to remove it. I think it is in a city right-of-way, but he’d probably remove it himself if we don’t, and this way at least we get to keep it.
Ligas’s case is a very troubling one to me. She was a 19 year-old UA student on a prestigious scholarship.
Ms. Ligas was hit from behind by Jerett E. Hindman while cycling northbound between Adams and Lee on Euclid Avenue on December 21, 2006. A witness described the vehicle as a blue van with a white stripe. The driver fled the scene.
About eight hours later a woman called the police and said she had just been nearly run over by a blue van with a white stripe, and had “exchanged words” with the driver. She knew nothing about Ligas–she was just reporting an aggressive and dangerous driver who she felt had nearly killed her. As it turned out, he had killed someone the previous evening.
Later that day the police found the vehicle, complete with a smashed-in windshield, parked at an apartment complex. They searched it and towed it. Shortly afterward the driver appeared at the police station and turned himself in.
The witness told police he was going 45 mph and the van was going faster than he was when Ligas was struck.
The police report lays some of the blame on Ligas, noting that she was “wearing dark clothing” and had no front light.
It concludes that “While Mr. Hindeman may have been going too fast for the conditions and probably over the speed limit, the bicyclist also had some problems as mentioned above. Thus, the cause of the collision is inconclusive.”
They charged the driver with leaving the scene of an accident. He received 12 months in the county jail.
RIP Andria Ligas. I will try to do something with your ghostbike.
–Erik Ryberg
July 27th, 2008 at 8:15 am
Erik, I would like to help. I knew Andria.