WDBJ7 Roanoke News and Weather NRV Lynchburg Danville | Cyclist killed at Virginia Tech remembered for devotion to activism
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61-year-old Bonnie Tinker died when the bicycle she was riding collided with a dump truck.It's still unclear what caused a fatal accident on the Virginia Tech campus Thursday.
61-year-old Bonnie Tinker died when the bicycle she was riding collided with a dump truck.
The Oregon woman was in Blacksburg for a religious conference on the Tech campus.
She was taking part in a gathering of the Religious Society of Friends, a group of Quakers working to promote social justice.
Friends say Tinker was an avid Peace Activist.
"She really believed that she had no enemies and that any advisory she met, she could build a bridge of understanding an communication with," says Tinker's colleague Traci Hjelt Sullivan.
The two women worked together on issues of social justice and peace.
"She grew up in activism and continued that her whole life," says Hjelt Sullivan.
That call to service may have put Tinker on a bike Thursday afternoon.
She was training for a fundraiser when she collided with a truck at West Campus and Drill Field Drives on the Virginia Tech Campus.
Police haven't released any details about what led to the accident or who was at fault, but bikers on the Tech campus say the site of the accident is a safe intersection for them.
"You can see really far up the hill and down the hill." says Virginia Tech Sophomore Shane Duncan, who bikes to campus often. He says separate lanes on either side of West Campus Drive make it easy to share the road with vehicles.
When asked if a cyclist who might not be familiar with the Tech campus would have trouble with the West Campus Drive intersection, Duncan said "I wouldn't think so. I mean, you can see everything from so far away. The duck pond is just this big open area."
A flower now marks the spot where Tinker lost her life. A marker left by a Society of Friends - now one Friend short.
"She was an enormous inspiration to us and we miss her already," says Hjelt Sullivan.
Tinker is survived by her wife of 32 years, Sara Graham.
Tinker was the founder and director of Love Makes a Family, a national organization that promotes understanding and acceptance of gay and lesbian families.
