WASHINGTON — Community advocates held a memorial to honor a 47-year-old bicyclist killed in a wreck in Northeast, D.C., more than a week ago.
Meanwhile, as the victim's death remains under investigation, the family's lawyer told WUSA9 that preliminary findings from the police report said the driver failed to yield. Charges are pending the outcome of the investigation.
Armando Martinez-Ramos was riding his bike to deliver for Uber Eats when the driver of a shuttle bus for National Children's Hospital struck him near the intersection of 10th Street and Michigan Avenue last Monday, according to police.
Surveillance video obtained by WUSA9 showed the bus making a turn as Martinez-Ramos was almost in the middle of the intersection.
A group of neighborhood leaders met at the same intersection at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday to remember Martinez-Ramos and call on the city to implement much-needed safety and traffic calming changes to Michigan Avenue. Protesters had blocked Michigan Avenue where he was hit and killed.
They will also be installing a ghost bike, a bike painted white to serve as a memorial for the victim while reminding people of the dangers of biking on the streets.
"I feel somewhat ashamed and embarrassed to admit that one of the first reactions I had when I heard the news was to say I'm not surprised," memorial co-organizer Nick Sementelli, of Ward 5 For All, said. "We don't want to have to keep doing these memorials to get people to pay attention."
Ward 5 For All had started a petition urging the city to not only fix the problems at the intersection, but prioritize the entire street as a whole. It said the District Department of Transportation should "move quickly to implement any and all street design improvements that would have helped prevent this tragedy."
Meanwhile, a letter sent to DDOT by Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners said officials have barely done anything to address the need to fix Michigan Avenue despite neighborhood studies a few years ago that determined the area is prone to crashes.
"Although DDOT has acknowledged these problems over the years, it has failed to devote adequate resources and attention to them, leaving residents and commuters unnecessarily susceptible to harm," the letter read.
Martinez-Ramos' siblings are demanding the city look into the intersection and make some safety changes including speed cameras. They also want to know if there will be an internal investigation into the driver of the bus.
"I think the intersection is dangerous and I think the government has to do something about it because [deaths] are going to continue happening," brother Rigoberto Martinez-Ramos said.
LAZ Parking, the company that operates the shuttle and employs the driver, initially said in a statement that it's cooperating with police and conducting its own internal review.
"There is an active investigation and we are unable to comment at this time," the company said Wednesday when WUSA9 reached out for an updated statement.
The family attorney is now looking into lawsuits against LAZ Parking and potentially the Office of Unified Communications. The 911 center admitted to miscoding the call that ultimately delayed sending out an ambulance.
One of Martinez-Ramos' sisters believed he would still be alive if an ambulance arrived sooner.