Friends and supporters of Alley Rodriguez have shut down traffic at the intersection of S Stevens Street and Beacon Avenue S multiple times since Rodriguez was struck and killed by a driver who fled the scene December 14. In all my years writing Seattle Bike Blog, I have never seen a community response quite like this before. They refused to let Rodriguez’s death go by without protest, and their protest helped bring the incident to the attention of more community members who may have information or camera footage of the person responsible. They also made sure that Rodriguez’s life would be known and remembered, as the South Seattle Emerald reported. They were 38.
“If there’s anything we can do to raise awareness and bring it an closer to getting justice for Sergio/Alley, then that’s what I want to do,” said Sarah Kerr, a friend who created a GoFundMe to support Rodriguez’s family. Kerr said Rodriguez was biking home after an evening with friends at the Punk Rock Flea Market and the Equinox holiday party. They had only returned to town recently after several years away working on fishing boats in Alaska. Many people in town and many family members knew them as Serge or Sergio, also their official government name, though they were transitioning to Alley. (Seattle Bike Blog is including their previous names because it seems they were still in the process of changing it when this tragedy happened, and this is how several friends have been referring to them).
Both Councilmember Eddie Lin (whose District 2 includes the collision location) and Mayor Katie Wilson released statements of mourning and support. “Thank you to neighbors & activists who held a vigil last night, raising the visibility of this tragic crime,” posted Lin a day after the tragedy. “We must shine a spotlight on traffic safety — thankfully the vigil resulted in a nearby business coming forward to share potentially helpful video footage with SPD officers on the scene.”…