Biking Community Mourns Cyclist Killed in a Beacon Hill Hit-and-Run

South End cycling advocates are calling for safer streets after a bicyclist was killed in a hit-and-run collision in Beacon Hill.

Shortly after midnight on Dec. 14, a 38-year-old cyclist was crossing the intersection at South Stevens Street on Beacon Hill when a vehicle traveling southbound on South Beacon Avenue struck the cyclist and drove away, according to the Seattle Police Department (SPD). Medics pronounced the person dead at the scene. The Traffic Collision Investigation Squad (TCIS) has not identified a suspect.

This was the first fatal bicycle collision in Seattle reported since 2023.

Community members gathered at the intersection on the evening of Dec. 14 to honor the deceased, holding banners that read "Stop Killing Cyclists" and "Ban Cars from Cities." SPD has not identified the victim, but cyclists in the community know them as "Allie."

"Allie was a person first, they were not [just] a cyclist or a bicyclist," Tyler Vasquez of Cascadia Bicycle Club said. "They were a person trying to cross the road."

In a written statement, D2 Councilmember Eddie Lin honored Allie as a "beloved community member, and an avid biker" as well as an advocate for traffic safety.

"To my friends and neighbors who drive, please slow down and pay close attention. Whatever you may be rushing to get to is not worth endangering the lives of others," Lin wrote. "We must treat injuries and deaths from vehicles as seriously as any other threat to public health, such as gun violence."

Rob McCain at Bike Works, a South Seattle organization that promotes cycling, said after the accident that his colleagues often wonder about their own mortality as cyclists: "What if it happened to one of us?"

A statement that Bike Works posted on Instagram said in part, "Whenever we get on a bike, we assume an incalculable level of risk, and assume that the people we share the roads with are attentive, considerate and careful. We mourn for a fellow cyclist alongside the ones they loved."

The cyclist's death comes less than two months after the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) made street improvements, including protected bike lanes on 15th Avenue South and Beacon Avenue South, as part of a city initiative to reduce traffic deaths and injuries by 2030. In a statement, Mariam Ali, deputy press secretary for the city's Department of Transportation, wrote "Once we have a chance to review the police report, we can determine appropriate next steps."

Vasquez suggested that Seattle needs to build infrastructure for all road users to "change certain behaviors," like reducing speed. This can be done with more stoplights, speed bumps, or raised intersections.

But safer infrastructure for cyclists isn't specific to Seattle — it's a statewide issue, Vasquez said. In 2024, 168 deaths were reported in Washington involving pedestrians, cyclists, and personal conveyances like e-scooters and wheelchairs.

"Anybody killed in our transportation system is too many, specifically those killed biking, scooting, or walking," Vasquez said. "Those are vulnerable users who aren't in cars."

SPD's Traffic Collision Investigation Squad is accepting tips on the case at 206-684-8923.