Here we are again, about to host our 11th Annual Finish The Ride and Finish The Run Griffith Park. It’s hard to believe we’ve been doing this now for 11 years. It’s incredible how much it’s grown in that time.

Many of you know the basic history of Finish the Ride, how I was hit cycling in Griffith Park in 2013, dragged nearly a quarter mile under a car onto and down the 5 Freeway. How it was a hit-and-run, and I lost my leg and nearly my life. How Finish The Ride started as an advocacy campaign on hit-and-run crimes to help make roads safer for everyone. For those who have been at a Finish The Ride event, you’ve heard me describe the story, and I’ve described the story every year since the first year. I’ve told the simple story so many times I can almost say it in my sleep (check with my wife, I likely do!)

Most of you don’t know that Finish The Ride, the deep roots of Finish The Ride, actually goes back to 1-2 days after I was hit. I was in intensive care at LAC+USC Hospital (now LA County General Hospital), and I was waking up from my first emergency surgery, where the doctors officially amputated what was left of my right leg.

Why Los Angeles Gets an “F” Grade for 2023

I am starting this report with a question that anyone reading this must think about:

How many more Angelenos need to die before we, as a collective city, start treating traffic violence with the urgency it deserves?

In addition to other challenges, our schools are facing a public health crisis because of speeding, and it is only getting worse. Children and teens are dying, and they will keep dying unless change happens. While writing this report, yet another tragedy occurred near our SAFE office. On April 25th, 2023, 33-year-old Ghadah Abduljabbar, and her 6-year-old daughter were struck by a speeding vehicle in Hancock Park, a community of Los Angeles, CA. The mother was pronounced dead at the scene, and the daughter, a six-year-old, was severely injured but survived. The pair were hit while walking across a crosswalk near Hancock Park Elementary School, where the child attends the first grade. We cannot ignore speeding. Measures must be taken to mitigate speeding and keep our children safe.

For the last several years, the holidays in Los Angeles have served as a grim reminder that the streets of this otherwise world-class city are fast and deadly. As Streets Are For Everyone (known as SAFE) rang in the new year, we learned that 2022 was no exception.