Some 500 cyclists took to the streets of Burlington on Wednesday evening to honor 16-year-old Shiloh Skalka, who was fatally struck by a vehicle last month while riding her e-bike. Friends, relatives and fellow cyclists converged on the intersection of Pine Street and Locust Street, the site of the July 16 crash, where a memorial for Skalka now includes an all-white “ghost bike.” Amid a steady, light rain, a procession of cyclists pedaled a two-mile circuit. The demonstration brought rush hour traffic to brief standstill. Most drivers remained patient, though several swung U-turns as the mass of bikes approached. Police say Skalka was riding south on Pine Street around 1 p.m. last month when prominent Burlington folk artist Douglas Knapp, who was driving in the same direction, hit her with his minivan. Skalka was wearing a helmet at the time; she died of her injuries later that day.  Knapp, 79, who paints under the moniker Dug Nap, was cited two weeks later for negligent operation with death resulting. He’s scheduled to appear in court August 27, when more details from the investigation will be made public.  Skalka was a rising junior at Burlington High School. Friends and family remember her as a joyous and fiercely independent teen who treated everyone around her with kindness. She was also a dedicated student, with a particular knack for art. “She was beautiful and righteous, and she loved to ride her bike and watch the world go by,” Skalka’s father, Christian, told the crowd before Wednesday’s ride. “This is a really fitting way to honor her.” Credit: Colin Flanders The vigil doubled as a call to action. Riders attached signs to their bikes with messages such as “LET ME RIDE, LET ME LIVE” and “OPEN YOUR EYES.” “Even those who never knew Shiloh, this loss has been devastating in a way that feels confusing and terrifying and enraging,” Jack Evans, a program specialist at bike advocacy organization Local Motion, told the crowd. “It’s a grief that feels inseparable from the feeling that we can see ourselves in her. We can see our children in her. It could be any one of us.” Evans asked attendees to donate to a memorial fund that Skalka’s family has established “to carry forward her legacy of kindness,” according to a write-up on the site GoFundMe. The fundraiser had brought in more than $100,000 to date. Evans also urged mourners to attend Knapp’s arraignment and show the court that the “community is watching.” “Tonight, when we ride, we ride as one, and our grief and our right to these streets will be undeniable,” he said. “Because Shiloh’s death is not an anomaly.” The post Vigil and Ride for Teen Cyclist Killed in Crash Draws Hundreds appeared first on Seven Days. ...read more read less