4 JANUARY 19-25, 2023 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | The Hits Just Keep Coming THE GHOST BIKE MEMORIALIZING A HIT-AND-RUN VICTIM AT 38TH AND SHERIDAN KEEPS GETTING RUN OVER. BY CONOR MCCORMIC K- CAVANAGH On December 9, a driver speeding north on Sheridan Boulevard ran a red light at West 38th Avenue and killed Logan Rocklin, a 34-year-old biker who was riding in the crosswalk. The driver never stopped. In the days that followed, Rocklin’s loved ones set up a ghost bike — a memorial featur- ing a bicycle painted white to commemorate a biker killed by a motor vehicle — on the northeast corner of the intersection. They attached the bike to a cross-button pole. But since then, the ghost bike has gotten smashed into by a vehicle on two separate occa- sions, with the pole getting knocked over, too. “Some days, I fucking hate this corner. Other days, it’s a beautiful experience,” says Eric Elliott, the partner of Rocklin’s older sister, Andy Morris. Elliott has been visiting the northeast corner of Sheridan and 38th every night since December 15. He holds a sign for passersby that reads “Fatal Hit & Run” at the top. “If you know drivers & any eye- witnesses, come forward. Big reward,” the sign continues, with Elliott’s phone number listed at the bottom. The Denver Police De- partment notes that the fatal hit-and-run involving Rocklin is still being “actively investi- gated.” But with just two grainy camera images of the two cars that sped through the red light that night — one of which hit Rocklin — Elliott wants to ob- tain more information from members of the public who may have been in the area. “I’ve been there through the whole thing. I’m just trying to take some of the weight off the family by looking and searching and trying to keep this from getting swept under the rug. And I’m also interested in making this intersection a lot safer,” Elliott says, noting that he plans to hit 34 days at the corner to mark Rocklin’s 34 years of life. “I’m just digging and digging and digging and digging until this is done.” On a recent Thursday evening, Elliott, who tries to put in at least two hours every night at the intersec- tion, stands with his sign as some drivers honk in acknowledgment. He’s witnessed the full spectrum of humanity on these evenings. “It’s such a wide range of emotions. Sadness. And people will honk or wave and come by and bring hot chocolate or food. Someone came by and brought me Chick-fi l-A,” Elliott says, adding that other people have come up to put a hand on him and say a prayer. And around seventy people came out for a candlelight vigil for Rocklin at the inter- section on January 6. One person even brought $100 to donate to the GoFundMe set up to help support Rocklin’s wife, Hilary Van Noort. Rocklin’s death hit extra hard for Van Noort, who is currently battling leukemia and was set to celebrate her one-year anniversary with her husband on January 2. On December 9, the day that Rocklin was hit, Van Noort was in the hospital undergoing a stem cell transplant. “It seemed like it was going to have a happy ending and still will, God willing. But we lost Logan along the way. It was just terribly unfair,” says Morris, who describes her brother as someone who was outdoorsy and very social, with a big group of friends. On this particular Thursday night, one man waiting at a red light near where Elliott is standing rolls down his window to men- tion that he lost his mother twelve years ago. “I hope you fi nd that fucker,” the man says. “I’ve had at least a dozen people telling me a horrifi c story like that,” Elliott says. “Some- times people will come up and they’re in tears. Complete strangers. And they’re so moved. They’ll have a story, or they knew someone.” While he hasn’t seen an accident during the time he’s been standing on the corner, Elliott has witnessed the negatives associated with America’s car-centric culture, such as people running red lights. Right after the man who rolled down his window to speak with Elliott drives off, a truck turning right jumps over the curb, right near where Elliott is standing. “People go up onto the curb. People are driving very fast. A lot of people are on their phones,” Elliott says, noting that he believes the City of Den- ver should add arrows to the lanes and ban right turns on red at this particular intersection. “Following every fatal crash, a rapid response team from the department will re- view the police report and do a site review to determine if there are any short- or long-term improve- ments that could make the intersection where it happened safer. We are still looking at this particular site,” says Vanessa Lacayo, a spokesperson for the Denver Department of Transportation & Infrastructure. “In general, and as we work to build a transportation sys- tem that recognizes that humans make errors and that minimizes the potential for these errors to result in fatal and serious injuries, we are also looking for opportunities to do more from a community-wide perspective and build a culture of safety in Denver that speaks to every person, every time they get behind the wheel, and infl uences good driv- ing behaviors.” Neither Elliott nor Morris were advocates for infrastructure and pedestrian safety before Rocklin was killed. But they’re now feeling passionate about making the pedes- trian experience safer in a city where there were 82 traffi c deaths in 2022. “In order to make change and make these intersections safer, it’s going to take a whole community to bring a message to the city,” Morris says. Now that the ghost bike has gotten run over twice by vehicles, it’s a misshapen replica of its original form. And Elliott has moved it to a pole farther from the curb so that the fl owers and photos surrounding the bike won’t be ruined by cars hitting the memorial. “People should be able to feel safe riding their bikes and walking around and crossing the street,” Elliott says. Anyone with information about the December 9 hit-and-run at 38th and Sheridan can contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers, which is offering a reward of up to $2,000, at 720-913-7867; the family of Logan Rocklin is offering additional money for information that leads to an arrest or conviction. Email the author at conor. [email protected]. NEWS KEEP UP ON DENVER NEWS AT WESTWORD.COM/NEWS The now-battered ghost bike that was set up for hit-and-run victim Logan Rocklin. COURTESY OF ERIC ELLIOTT Logan Rocklin leaves behind a wife, Hilary Van Noort, who is currently battling leukemia. COURTESY OF ANDY MORRIS
