HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. — The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and Douglas County School District joined forces Saturday to host a free bike safety event for kids at Mountain Vista High School. DCSO Spokesperson Deborah Takahara said 500 children had registered for the first-of-its-kind event.
Deputies helped children go through different courses for beginning, intermediate, and advanced riders. They taught them skills and safety practices, such as proper helmet usage and how to approach crossing streets safely.
10-year-old Gianna paid attention.
“When you're at a stop sign, you should look both ways, and you should make sure you have eye contact with the car,” she learned.
Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly said with school starting again in August, the timing of the safety event was critical.
“People out on the road are not used to seeing those kids in crosswalks,” Weekly said.
Victoria Cegielski knows the pain that inattentive driving can cause. She lost her 13-year-old son, Alex Mackiewicz, in March of 2024. He was on his way to Mountain Ridge Middle School when he was struck by a vehicle that ran a red light.
“Please, please, please, tell your kids, tell your loved one, no matter how safe you are, there's always going to be somebody who is not,” Cegielski said.
Cegielski has founded a nonprofit in her son's name, Alex’s Legacy Compass. Funds will be used to reward students who practice compassion and help prevent bullying, the way she says her son always did.
Many families attending the safety event routinely drive past a memorial dedicated to Alex on Highlands Ranch Parkway, serving as a constant reminder that it takes a community effort to protect children both inside schools and on their way to school.
“That incident certainly hit close to home for us,” said Patrick Llewellyn, who brought his daughter Cassidy to learn to ride a bike.
“We see kids speeding in the neighborhood. So it's always been super important for us to instill safety on the road as early as possible,” Llewellyn said.
