Vigil held for skateboarder killed in downtown crash
Posted May 16, 2012 7:21 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A vigil was held for a skateboarder killed in a downtown crash earlier this week, a collision police allege was intentional.
Ralph Bissonnette, 28, died after he was hit by a taxi at King and Jarvis streets around 6 p.m. Monday.
The cab driver, 43-year-old Adib Ibrahim, was charged with second-degree murder.
The vigil was held at 6 p.m. at St. James Park, near where Bissonnette was run down. A Facebook page for the event asked participants to bring their longboards, helmets and candles to remember Bissonnette.
Bissonnette, a Montreal native, worked as a cook at Aria restaurant and was preparing to move to Vancouver in August with his girlfriend.
Ibrahim is in custody pending a bail hearing until May 22.
Fellow longboarder Aaron Beamish, 25, was killed in a collision with a garbage truck last year. Beamish died Oct. 21, 2011. His death prompted a call for bikers and skateboarders to wear brighter lights while riding. The group “Be Bright Wear Lights” was expected to be at Bissonnette’s service.
