‘Everyday you just miss him': Cyclists ride to remember rider killed in FDR Park

On Aug. 4 of 2023, 37-year-old Mario D'Adamo III was killed while he rode his bike through South Philadelphia's FDR Park.

And, over the weekend, on the anniversary of his death, bike riders took to the streets to remember the D'Adamo by riding silently through FDR Park and ringing bells at the spot where D'Adamo was struck while riding in a bike lane.

Earlier this year, a ghost bike memorial was placed in the spot where a driver struck and killed D'Adamo.

Over the weekend, the fallen rider's father, Mario D'Adamo, told NBC10 that they wanted to hold the weekend memorial ride in an effort to prevent other families from going through "the nightmare that we are going through."

"Everyday you just miss him and miss hearing him running up the steps and calling for his mother," said the elder D'Adamo. "He lived down the block and always came over for dinner."

The memorial comes shortly after another tragic death of a bike rider who was killed while using a bike lane.

Last month, Barbara Friedes, a doctor at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, was killed while riding in a Center City bike lane by a driver that was found to be driving while intoxicated at twice the legal limit.

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D'Adamo was struck and killed by a driver that attempted to flee the scene.

Last year, hit-and-run deaths in Philadelphia reached an all-time high.

According to numbers from the Philadelphia Police Department, last year, the city saw 39 deadly hit-and-run crashes.

In March, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker signed an executive order in the hopes of reaching the goal of no traffic deaths in the city.