Brotherhood will travel 8423 minutes in favor of cyclists, pedestrians will die

BOULDER, Colo. — It’s a bad week for cycling in Boulder.

Specifically, an exercise bike that will be located near the fountain at the University Memorial Center (UMC) on the University of Colorado Boulder (California) campus from November 2 to November 8.

Members of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, also known as Pike, will ride a stationary bike for 8,423 minutes straight in honor of cyclists and pedestrians killed on roads across the country. The charity event is called Pike on a bicycleand the goal is to raise $100,000 for White Line Foundation.

“We were talking in our basement. Every year we hold charity events; one way or another, we are raising money for something. What better way to give back to our community and our dear friend Magnus?” Graydon Abel, a member of Pike, explained: “By supporting The White Line, they are supporting a larger issue than just Magnus.”

The White Line Foundation is a non-profit organization founded by Jill and Michael White, parents of Magnus White.

Sent to Denver7

Magnus was 17 years old when he was hit by a driver while riding his bicycle in the summer of 2023. He died during a training trip to the World Junior Mountain Bike Championships in Scotland. He was proudly wearing his Team USA jersey when a car crashed into him from behind.

Graydon and Gavin Abel, twins, knew Magnus from Boulder Junior cycling.

“There was never a shortage of fun. It was always good with him. Lots of adventures. He’s a very funny person, but at the same time he has a very caring side to him,” Graydon said. “He was always the fastest guy on the track. He didn’t settle for second place.”

“What happened last summer was truly tragic. This should never happen to anyone and his life was truly stolen that day,” Gavin said.

Another brotherhood member, Sebastian Edwards, knew Magnus from a young age.

“I’m actually from Boulder, and I’ve known Magnus since… we went to the same elementary, middle and high school,” Edwards said. “It really is a feeling you never expect. I mean such a tragic loss to society, especially for someone like Magnus, who really is such a powerful figure.”

Boulder

Thousands ride to support Magnus White, the teenage cyclist killed last summer in Boulder

The brothers would cycle for 8,423 minutes, which is equal to the number of cyclists killed nationwide in 2022, combined with the number of pedestrians killed nationwide in 2023.

“Heartbreaking, really. It’s kind of crazy because a minute isn’t that long, but if you add up all the lives lost in just one year, it’s almost a whole week,” Edwards said.

All Pike members have signed up for different cycling shifts, and some will be riding late into the evening. Fundraising will begin on November 2 at 5:05 p.m.

“The reason we think this project is so special is that not only will we remember Magnus and all the other 8,423 deaths in America, we will also send a good message to young people in general by remembering that driving is something… “That’s very dangerous, even in itself,” Edwards said. “Nobody wants to be killed by a driver. Nobody wants to kill someone while driving. So, it’s more than just raising this money. »

It will end on November 8th at 12:28 p.m., the same time of day that Magnus was hit by a driver on Highway 119.

“The bike will be ridden entirely by our brothers, with the exception of two spots which will be ridden by Jill White and Michael White towards the end of the event,” Edwards said.

Magnus White Family

Jill and Michael White are also co-founders of the White Line Foundation, which they founded after the death of their eldest son.

“We didn’t want it to be named after Magnus. We wanted it to have more of a meaning so that people could get behind and start moving while respecting the white line and respecting those people on the road,” Michael said.

The Whites said Pike approached them about fundraising.

“They wanted to ride for about 10,000 minutes straight. And I thought there are about 10,000 minutes in a week. Let’s put meaning into this number, not just a week in a row,” Michael said. “They came to us with the idea, but they’re the ones who actually do everything from the attraction logo to the event name, setting up the website and pledge site, securing the location with CU and organizing it all. It’s all on them.”

According to his parents, Magnus would have turned 19 in a couple of weeks.

“This year he’ll be a freshman (in college) or riding a bike, cycling professionally in Europe,” they said, finishing each other’s sentences.

Jill said she found the Pike Brothers fundraising idea touching, inspiring and meaningful.

“It gives us hope for the future, even though our future and Magnus’ future were stolen. But to see that spark of change in these young people is inspiring,” Jill said. “It keeps Magnus’ legacy alive. “Hope for the future, even though our future and Magnus’ future were stolen. But to see that spark of change in these young people is inspiring,” Jill said. “It keeps Magnus’ legacy alive.”

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Jacqueline Claudia is the new executive director of the White Line Foundation.

“White Line is a manifestation of how we take a terrible tragedy that happens thousands of times across the country every day and turn it into action and change,” Claudia said. “We actually spent quite a lot of time discussing exactly what we wanted to achieve. What does success look like to us? And we’ve identified three main areas that we’re going to focus on.”

These three areas are raising awareness, creating evidence that requires action, and creating a national community network focused primarily on young people affected by these types of tragedies.

“There are many ways we are planning or currently using AI,” said Claudia, who has a background in artificial intelligence. “This is a non-profit organization. Its activities are carried out through donations.”

According to Claudia, data aggregation is another huge area where AI can help.

“We can have dynamically updated dashboards. We can begin to identify correlations between actions that occur and outcomes that occur elsewhere. Our ability to quickly analyze data at scale has never been more possible than it is today.” – said Claudia. “Even trying to find out the names of (killed cyclists or pedestrians) in the state of Colorado is incredibly difficult. You have to go to the coroner’s office next to the coroner’s office to get them because the aggregation agencies either can’t or don’t have a process for releasing this information in a way that people can really understand the impact of what’s going on. . It’s a very disjointed system, and we have an opportunity to really look at it and see if we can bring it together in a way that makes a difference.”

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The $100,000 goal will allow The White Line to scale up the changes they hope to make, Claudia said.

“This is a huge problem. This has been a huge problem for a long time. It’s only growing. It’s kind of paralyzing. “What can I do to change this? What can I do?’ It’s really easy. You can change your own behavior and donate to organizations that are trying to put together the tools and awareness to be able to create big changes in other people. So support people who want change,” Claudia said.

Those wishing to donate to the fundraiser can do so by following this link. As of Wednesday evening, Pike had raised more than $12,000 for the White Line Foundation.

The event will also be live broadcast.

Trial Eva Smilyanskayathe woman accused of killing Magnus is currently scheduled to begin in December. However, White’s family was told that the defense plans to file a motion to delay the case. They believe it will be moved to early next year.

“It’s hard to move forward in grief when you know everything that’s going to happen in this week of trial and what we’ll hear and see that we may not have known yet will be traumatic. ” said Jill.

Denver7 reached out to the 20th Judicial Circuit, which said the defense will likely file a motion to stay the case this week. The spokesman added that prosecutors are communicating with the defense to set a new trial date.

White’s family filed a lawsuit. Wrongful death lawsuit against Smelyanskaya Also.