COVINGTON, Ky. — Gloria San Miguel is being remembered as a kindhearted community member in Covington. She worked at Roebling Point Books and Coffee for 8 years. San Miguel was killed in a hit-and-run accident while on her bike Friday, Aug. 19.
A memorial of candles, flowers, pictures, and kind words sits at Roebling Point Books so friends can remember her.
Emily Webster worked with Gloria and remembered her friend. She said, “(Gloria was)… interested in having fun and including others and bringing others forward. That was something she just naturally did all the time,”
Remembrances of Gloria surround the store. There are words on a chalkboard and white painted bike. Webster calls it a “ghost bike.”
“Someone should be here and is not,” Webster said.
Julia Keister, owner of Lil’s Bagels, said she’s come to know Gloria as a friend. Keister is from New York and is used to biking everywhere. She said she was upset and angry hearing the news of her friend’s death. Keister wants to know why safety measures for bikers aren’t in place. Keister has started a petition to get bike lanes added around Covington so other bikers don’t have to die.
“Bike lanes slow down traffic on roads, they make people more aware that people who ride bikes and pedestrians exist in general,” Keister said.
The City of Covington heard of the accident and knows of the petition. They released a statement that read, “Covington’s identity is rooted in the interesting, caring, and thoughtful people who live and work here. Gloria San Miguel was one of those people, and we are grieving her senseless death. We urge the driver and anyone else with information to step forward and contact Newport Police. Her death–and similar recent incidents in Greater Cincinnati–have brought renewed focus on the interaction between motorists and bicyclists, and we’re aware of calls for a broad network of dedicated bike lanes crisscrossing the region.”
Keister knows Gloria would advocate for anyone who’s life was lost in a similar situation and she just wants to do right by her friend.
“It’s the least we can do for someone who gave so much to the community,” Keister said.
Keister said they are fundraising for Gloria’s family. She is survived by her partner and her daughter. They will hold a group bike ride on September 9, 2022 in her honor.