(Photo by Gracie McKenzie)

A memorial ride is planned for September 26 to honor the 20-year-old man killed by an SUV driver in Dupont Circle on Friday while he had been riding a rented scooter.

Organizers of the ride are calling on the city to make changes in the often chaotic traffic circle, and they plan to install a seemingly first-of-its-kind “ghost scooter” memorial.

Carlos Sanchez-Martin, 20, was riding a Lime electric scooter in Dupont Circle shortly after 10 a.m. when he was struck by a BMW X3 and pinned underneath. Firefighters extricated Sanchez-Martin and transported him to the hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. No arrests have been made at this time, according to D.C. police.

It was the first fatality to involve a rented scooter, according to data kept by D.C.’s Department of Transportation. Operated by Bird, Lime, and Spin in the District, they are part of an extended pilot program of dockless vehicles around the city. There has been at least one other scooter-related fatality in D.C. this year as the motorized vehicles have surged in popularity.

D.C. transportation advocates now plan to extend the concept of “ghost bikes”—which are painted white and chained up at the site of cyclist fatalies—to memorialize Sanchez-Martin.

“We’re trying to figure out how to acquire a scooter that’s appropriate for a ghost scooter,” says Rachel Maisler, who serves as the Ward 4 representative on D.C.’s Bicycle Advisory Council. “Who has even put up a ghost scooter before?”

DCist could find no evidence that it has been done previously.

Attendees are asked to wear white and come either on bike, scooter, skateboard, or on foot.

Maisler is part of the same group of advocates who also organized memorials earlier this summer to honor two bicyclists, one who had been killed on H Street and the other in the West End.

“I’m both saddened and maddened that we’re planning yet another memorial ride for somebody who died on D.C.’s roads,” Maisler says.

She notes that although D.C. launched a Vision Zero program in 2015, which aims to reach zero traffic fatalities by 2024, the numbers have actually increased since then. A public roundtable on Vision Zero is slated for Thursday.

Maisler and her co-organizers are calling on the city to make changes to Dupont Circle, including protected lanes for bikes and personal mobility devices, raised crosswalks, longer pedestrian crossing times, and improved signage.

“Getting around Dupont Circle is a nightmare whether on foot, on bike, or scooter, or even in a vehicle,” Maisler said. “Throughout my many years in D.C., I’ve seen a number of crashes in Dupont Circle, and even more near misses.”

The need for change is echoed by the area’s local officials.

“As one of the mostly densely populated neighborhoods at the forefront of the adoption of the latest modes of transport in the District, we must figure out how to create safe streets for all,” ANC 2B Chair Daniel Warwick said in a statement. “This incident points out that the District’s broad vision of creating a safe and efficient multi-modal transport system has yet to be realized and will not be achieved without proper enforcement, education, and infrastructure changes.”

The memorial ride will take place on September 26 from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. Participants will meet at Sonny Bono Park, the corner of New Hampshire Avenue and O Street NW.

Previously:
Man Riding Scooter Dies After Being Hit By SUV In Dupont Circle
‘I’m Trying To Get Home Just Like You’: Cyclists Protest After Recent Deaths
Bike And Pedestrian Advocates Plan To Protest D.C.’s Failure To Prevent Road Deaths
A Year Into Bowser’s Plan To End Traffic Fatalities, There’s Much Work To Be Done

This post has been updated with the accurate date of the memorial—September 26.