Walking out of the Bowery train station, on the corner of Delancey street and Bowery, I noticed a white bicycle that has been adorned with flowers. Naturally I assumed a cyclist lost their life nearby, that cyclist was Rasha Shamoon.
Rasha Shamoon was hit by an SVU on her way home to Greenpoint, in an attempt to cross the Williamsburg Bridge. She routinely road her bike and the attention to detail to being a safe cyclist was evident due to the visible reflective tape featured on her helmet. The accident caused her to go brain dead and she later died a few days later, on August 11, 2011, after being taken off life support. She was 31 years old. Rasha was not only a causious cyclist, but she was also a biology professor at LaGuardia Community College, in Long Island City. After understanding the bicycle memorial I had seen many times passing by the area, it now serves new meaning to me.
