by Andrew Alonzo | aalonzo@claremont-courier.com

Pilgrim Place resident Donna Orange, who died last month at 80 after being struck by a car while riding her bicycle, was honored in a “ghost bike” ceremony Saturday at the site of the collision in Upland.

Friends, family, and more than 70 cyclists attended the late morning memorial at the southwest corner of 16th Street and San Antonio Avenue, where Orange was gravely injured on November 12. She died from her injures November 16. The motorist remains at large.

Glen Banks, president of the Major Taylor Los Angeles Cycling Club, rode with Orange. He said she was a very safety conscious person. “So this really hits us very hard,” he said. “She was a phenomenal lady, a phenomenal cyclist, and an inspiration to all of us, every last one of us. She defied all types of things, particularly riding at her age. So we really, really miss her.”

Upland Mayor Bill Velto, members of the Claremont Senior Bike Group, Cycling Connection, and SoCal Velo were also on hand Saturday. Claremont Club trainer Joanne Loveli read a statement from Orange’s husband, Don Orange. Friend Fairbairn Powers remembered Orange with a statement and a prayer.

According to the Upland Police Department Orange was heading east on 16th Street at about 3:13 p.m. November 12 when a driver heading west attempted to turn left on San Antonio Avenue, striking her. Orange was then transported to a nearby hospital, where she was taken off life support on November 16.

Cyclist Max Freund, who attended Saturday’s event, was struck by a car while riding three years ago. The collision left him with a separated acromioclavicular joint in his shoulder. He called on cities to do more to keep cyclists safe.

“There’s more than enough space,” Freund said. “And honestly, the way the roads work, the more they build, the more cars come, and so it’s not a question of a finite amount of space, it’s about using the space we have wisely. The fact that we don’t even have any police presence [at Saturday’s event] to help support us and keep us safe right now tells me that the city really doesn’t care about anything other than the vehicles on the roads.”

In 2022, 1,105 cyclists died in accidents and 46,195 were injured, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

“You always look back as a community and say, ‘Is there anything we could have done to prevent this?’” Mayor Velto said. “And there’s really not much you can do to prevent these types of things. The roads are controlled by laws and traffic studies, and there’s not much you can do other than awareness … and that’s what we have to focus on, is awareness.”

Scot Moga, founder of Moga Law Firm, said there is dashcam footage of the collision taken from a vehicle positioned behind the car that struck Orange, and that subpoenas have been issued to get the footage. Moga said Orange’s husband Don plans to file a wrongful death civil suit once the dashcam footage and police report are released.