GOODYEAR, AZ — The West Valley Cycle group ride starts in a parking lot, with new and old friends meeting up.
"I started this 22 years ago," David Herzog said. "We have over 3,000 members, and often we’ll get 100 riders in the spring time.”
This ride on March 2 has a deeper meaning.
“Today is kind of a sad day, we’re two years from a tragic accident," Herzog said. "Maybe one of the worst cycling accidents in all of Arizona. We lost two, and 16 others were injured. Several of those riders are here today.”
One of those riders is Clay Wells.
"I was minutes away from not making it," Wells said.
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Despite needing eight surgeries after he was run over by a driver on the Cotton Lane Bridge in Goodyear in February of 2023, he's back on his bike.
“We had our first memorial ride a year ago, and I was determined to make the ride," Wells said. " I did, but it wasn’t pretty. This year, I hope to do a little more.”
It's a seven mile ride to the bridge, and fittingly, Wells led the group to the memorial site.
There, they stopped to say a prayer, honor David Kero and Karen Malisa, and support the members of the group who were there the day of the crash.
Karen’s husband, Steve Malisa speaks in front of the group as well. He never was a bicyclist himself until after the crash.
“One thing I’ve learned is how strong this cycling community is," he said.
He thanked the group for helping him and his sons heal and for the opportunity to continue riding alongside them
“The fact we are where we are now, it’s amazing we’ve gotten here," Malisa said. "We will continue to grow stronger. The legacy will continue. Mainly my wife, and the group as a whole.”
The driver, Pedro Quintana Lujan, is facing 12 misdemeanor charges. The case is still going through Goodyear Municipal Court, and his next court date is on March 20.
