A funeral was held in Moncton on Saturday to honour 41-year-old Erin Robertson who died in a motorcycle collision.
Codiac RCMP responded to a call Thursday afternoon. They say the collision is believed to have occurred when a car that was travelling northbound collided with Robertson, who was said to be travelling southbound on Mountain Road near Plaza Boulevard. Robertson was taken to hospital, where she died as a result of her injuries.
Over 300 motorcyclists showed up outside Fair Haven funeral home Monday to pay their respects. Bikers showed up from all over New Brunswick, as well as other provinces, hoping to raise road safety awareness.
Motorcyclist Richard Wilson told Global News he met Robertson five years ago and says he’s one of hundreds who want to send a message to drivers.
“I just came to, like I said, pay my respects and also to give a little awareness to the community about motorcycles, the time of year, what can happen, and how easily it can happen with vehicles pulling out. You know not being aware,” Wilson said. “Because motorcycles are small and we realize that, so things happen, but making people realize to check twice sometimes is definitely the message we want to send here.”
Stacey Butler was in attendance Monday and was one of approximately 100 people at the funeral who had new decals on their bikes that said ‘Look twice, Save a life’.
“I’m hoping they see us. That’s all we want- to be seen. It’s to raise awareness, but every summer there’s more and more bikes on the road and people don’t see us. It doesn’t matter what we wear or how many lights we put on our bike, we’re just not seen,” Butler said.
Decal-creator Jason Stephens was upset by Erin’s death and the circumstances. He says if it can remind just one person to slow down and pay attention then that’s a start.
“I’m hoping they’ll look twice. Maybe they’ll recognize a bike that’s going by and give them a little bit more room, respect them some and hopefully everybody can ride safe,” Stephens said.
Butler says most motorcyclists won’t be fortunate enough to walk away from collisions. She hopes people will pay more attention to the road.
“Every single day that I go out on my bike, even if it’s for two hours, I guarantee you at least three times I’m almost run off the road or killed with people that are on their cell phones- they don’t check mirrors they don’t use blinkers- they just go, but for us there are no fender benders,” Butler said.
Butler says that while many view biking as dangerous, it’s a passion and a lifestyle.
Robertson’s husband Tony Leblanc was biking with her before the collision. He says he will be able to look back on many other happy memories he was fortunate to share with Erin.
“When we rode we were happy. There was never a bad moment. It’s a shame that it had to come to end this way,” LeBlanc said.
LeBlanc told Global News that riding was Erin’s passion.
While Erin’s mother Judy Robertson says she didn’t approve of her daughter’s hobby, she said she wants to celebrate Erin’s life, and hopes it makes drivers stop and think about what they’re doing.
“I hope that this will improve and make her life and death worth something,” Judy Robertson said.
“She used to say if she died riding, she would die happy,”Judy Robertson said.
The driver and lone occupant of the car were not injured.
The investigation into the cause of the collision is continuing.
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