Hundreds of people are injured or killed in bicycle crashes each year in Philadelphia and summer is when accidents spike. Bicyclists are looking for new ways to protect themselves on the city’s streets, but their suggestions are not sitting well with some

Channabel Latham-Morris still vividly remembers the moment her life changed.

“It was Saturday morning,” she said. “Police came to my door.”

Latham-Morris soon learned the news. Her only son, 27-year-old Jamal, a Drexel grad, was struck and killed while riding his bike by a hit-and-run driver.

“Last night I’m in the house and I’m just roaring in tears,” Latham-Morris said. “I’m saying, ‘No, it’s Jamal! It’s my son that’s gone! I’m never going to see him again!'”

Jamal was one of the 11 victims of fatal bicycle-involved crashes in Philadelphia since 2015, according to Philadelphia Police Department records. That is significantly higher than the range of about 2-4 fatal bicycle crashes in prior years.