Erin Michelle Ray, 39; Michael Todd Murray, 57; Aksoy Ahmet, 48; Thomas Chamberlin Trauger, 57; and Gerrard Suarez Nieva, 41, were killed in the collision.
It’s a striking memorial: Five white bikes stacked on top of each other in tribute to five dead cyclists. Fellow bikers leave flowers at the Ghost Bikes, a memorial erected in the spot where five cyclists were accidentally struck from behind by a box truck along a stretch of highway outside Las Vegas, officials said.
The victims were killed as they participated in a long-distance ride called the Nipton Loop, which runs 135 miles from Las Vegas into California and back.
Erin Michelle Ray, 39; Michael Todd Murray, 57; Aksoy Ahmet, 48; Thomas Chamberlin Trauger, 57; and Gerrard Suarez Nieva, 41, were killed in the collision.
Fellow cyclist Michael Anderson watched Ray take her last breath.
“I want you to know that I was with Erin at the end. she was so strong,” Anderson said. “She fought so hard.”
Now, the biking community mourns the loss of those friends with a poignant ride around the Ghost Bike Memorial.
Anderson has created a GoFundMe account to the families of victims of the incident. To date, it has raised about $86,000 of its $100,000 goal.
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