Desiree’s mom: ‘I don’t want anyone else to lose their future on something that’s so preventable’

Friends and family of Desiree McCloud painted her bike white and decorated it with notes, flowers and Magic cards. Unlike most ghost bikes, this one is the bike she was riding when she crashed.

Family members of Desiree McCloud spoke with KOMO for a powerful story about her untimely death on Yesler Way near 13th Ave.

Desiree crashed May 13 while biking westbound on Yesler with friends. She was passing a friend on the left when a friend saw her wobble and fall hard over her handlebars. The police report and SDOT note that it is not clear whether she crashed due to the streetcar tracks, but that is a very common cause of over-the-handlebar crashes along the South Lake Union and First Hill Streetcar lines.

Desiree's brother Cody has also crashed on streetcar tracks, he told KOMO.

News of her death last week after several weeks in the ICU drew a flood of beautiful remembrances from friends. Desiree clearly touched a lot of lives both as a friend and through her work with the Girl Scouts.

Her family is putting pressure on the city to make sure the street is safe for biking so nobody else is hurt the way Desiree was.

"I don't want any other parent to have to go through what I went through," Desiree's mother Penny told KOMO. "I don't want anyone else to lose their future on something that's so preventable, something so ridiculous."

Watch the full heartbreaking report:

Our deepest condolences go to her friends and family.