Sebastián Muñoz, 29, co-founder of the activism collective Andando en Bici Carajo (roughly translated “Riding a Bike, Dammit!”) died last week. He was hit on bike on the Galo Plaza avenue in Quito, near his house, at about 3 p.m. on March 22.

Witnesses say the vehicle was exceeding the speed limit. The driver did not stop, and has not been located. Fragments of the car’s bumper and rear-view mirror remained at the scene.
Sebastián and friends started Andando en Bici Carajo seven years ago to promote the use of public space by urban cyclists.

But after traffic accidents caused the deaths of elite athletes such as Salomé Reyes (hit by a bus in Cumbamaya in 2012--the culprit has not been found) and Pablo Lazarini (hit in 2009), the non-profit took a more active role in activism and defending the rights of cyclists. They launched a campaign called “No more hit cyclists” in 2009 that is still active.

The group is responsible for white ghosts bikes chained at the scene of fatal accidents involving cyclists.

Galo Cárdenas, the president of Biciaction, says that in 2012 seven athletes were killed in the same way Sebástián was.

Dozens of Sebastián’s friends and family members gathered on Saturday to hold a vigil for the fallen cyclist. They placed bicycles in the roadway to obstruct traffic around the intersection where he was killed. They lit candles and raised signs, yelling the slogan “Bicycling is respect and life.”

“My son was killed because a driver wanted to do a u-turn and another car behind it was speeding. My son was hit and thrown 50 metres.” Elsy Proaño said at the vigil.

Original story
Original story (vigil)