Seattle cyclists hoping for safer roads after fatal hit-and-run in July

Dozens of cyclists gathered outside of Seattle City Hall Friday night to begin a memorial ride for Robb Mason, the man who was killed in a hit-and-run back in July.

Their path took them from City Hall to the Spokane Street Bridge, where they held a memorial service to honor Mason and raise awareness of cyclist safety in Seattle.

“And the loss of any one of us is a terrible tragedy,” Claudia Mason, Robb’s wife, said.

Mason addressed the crowd at the site where it all happened. She says the community lost an amazing man.

“Robb Mason, my husband, was an important and irreplaceable member of our community,” Mason said.

She says it’s a pain she lives with to this day.

“Tragically, my husband Robb Mason was tragically killed on this street. Right here. On July 15th. 77 days ago,” Mason said.

As she addressed the crowd, she made note that her husband was not the only cyclist killed in the city limits this year.

“Robb wasn’t the first or second or even 10th person to be killed by a car this year in Seattle. He was the 13th person to die on our streets,” Mason said.

Before the ride, several of Seattle’s prominent political leaders addressed the cyclists, including SDOT Director Greg Spotts and Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell.

“Safety has got to be the first thing that every single one of the 1,300 who work at SDOT think about every day when they come to work,” Spotts said.

Harrell said during his address to the crowd that the city can do better by keeping everyone safe.

“Ways to honor his memory and take the pain that you feel and the healing process and use it to be a better city,” Harrell said.

As she addressed the crowd on Friday, Mason had a strong message to the person who left the scene.

“To this person I say take a look at this photograph,” Mason said.

“Now imagine the person you love most in the world. Bloody, broken and dead in the street. Just like you left my husband,” Mason said.