A Ghost Bike For Eli: Event Will Honor NJ Boy, 6, And Other 'Road Traffic Victims'

JERSEY CITY, NJ — Just days after finishing kindergarten this past June, Eli Bender, 6, was killed while riding his bike alongside his father in their tree-lined neighborhood.

Weeks after Eli was killed by a UPS truck, a white bicycle appeared alongside a makeshift memorial to him on the corner of his street. And the memorial grew.

The "ghost bike" is one of six around the city, most from past years, symbolizing residents who died on their bicycles in Jersey City, said Tyler Newcomb, the head of the group BikeJC.

The city has at least four other memorials to pedestrians and bicyclists killed by vehicles in recent years, including a pair of "ghost shoes" for a pedestrian who died, he said.

This Sunday, the groups Bike JC and Safe Streets JC will hold a local ceremony for Eli and others as part of the annual World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims — an international event also celebrated in a New York City ceremony and at other locations.

As part of the event, they will stop at ghost bikes and memorials around the city, some of which will be maintained or replaced soon.

"We acknowledge that there are no accidents, and that traffic deaths are preventable, and we recommit to our advocacy for safe speeds and safe streets infrastructure," said Colin DeVries of Safe Streets JC, in a statement about the upcoming events.

Missing Ghost Bike To Be Replaced

At the local event, advocates and families of victims will make remarks. This year's event will be held next to Eli's memorial at Sixth Street and Jersey Avenue, according to Safe Streets.

After the remarks, the participants will embark on a slow-paced memorial bike ride to honor Eli and other recent victims.

The ride will pause at several other sites of tragedy across the city.

Newcomb told Patch that while no other ghost bikes have been placed this year, his group and others will continue to maintain them. It was community members who placed the bike for Eli, he said.

A white bike placed in 2019 for Hoboken resident and artist Peggy McGeary, who was struck and killed by a truck while riding in Jersey City Heights, has disappeared, he said. But it will be replaced this year at its location at Paterson Plan Road and Palisade Avenue, just up the hill from Hoboken. READ MORE: Memorial Will Honor Hoboken Artist, 79

The bike ride will stop at at least five memorial sites around the city, including where McGeary was killed. It will also stop at Summit and Sip, to honor a 73-year-old man killed there earlier this year, and at the sites where several other recent victims died, including two teens struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver.

The ride will start around 10:15, group said.

The event begins at 10 a.m. Sunday at the corner of Jersey Avenue and Sixth streets.

"Maintaining these memorials is some of the most solemn and important work that we do," Newcomb said Tuesday. "We hope that community members and elected officials will look at these memorials not only to remember those we've lost, but to gain the courage needed to make changes that ensure nobody else is killed on our streets."

READ MORE: Boy, 6, Struck And Killed By Truck While Riding Bike In Jersey City