An accident killed a bicyclist Wednesday night, with a GoFundMe account identifying her as 15-year-old Kendra Ahrens.
“We can confirm that the crash involved a young bicyclist and there is a fatality,” the Cape Coral Police Department said in an email from its public information officer. “For any further information, we will still defer to records.”
More: Cape Coral bicyclist, 66, dies after crossing into path of car, Cape Coral police say
The city’s records manager did not respond Friday morning by afternoon. Reports indicate she was riding along Santa Barbara Boulevard and Mid Cape Terrace when a U.S. Postal Service truck hit her.
The GoFundMe campaign started by Aedan Campus, said Ahrens was trying to get home safely from work “when she was unfortunately struck while riding her bicycle.”
Ahrens was a junior varsity and varsity cheerleader at Mariner High School.
“She was a sweet and bubbly girl and her life was cut short too soon,” he said. “She was loved by so many people. All money raised will go to her mum who she loved so much to help with any funeral or memorial costs.”
As of Friday morning, the campaign had raised more than $15,500, surpassing the $10,000 goal.
The GoFundMe stated that Ahrens lived his life according to a Bible verse, Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; submit to him in all your ways, and he will make your paths straight.
At least Ahrens is the one eighth bicycle-related death inn Lee County in 2024 according to the Florida Department of Safety and Motor Vehicles. The department also said pedestrian-related crashes totaled 230, with 12 pedestrians killed.
Nationwide, at least 111 bicyclists have died in 5,116 crashes since January, the department reports.
Stacey Henson is the breaking news and pictures editor for the Naples Daily News and the Fort Myers News-Press. You can reach her at shenson@gannett.com
This article was originally published on the Fort Myers News-Press: Kendra Ahrens, 15, died in a Cape Coral bicycle accident on Wesneday