'Our lives are forever changed:' Family mourns motorcyclist killed in Calgary crash

On a snowy Monday evening, dozens of family, friends and motorcyclistsgathered in southeast Calgary to say goodbye to a man killed in a collision on Sept. 23.

"I am without a father today because somebody got in the car while drinking, and that's not right," said Ashley Ross, daughter of Kelly Ross.

Police have said that alcohol was a possible factor in the crash.

Kelly died after an SUV collided with his motorcycle at Peigan Trail and 36th Street S.E. He was on his way home from an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.

"He was leaving a meeting, because he had worked really hard to get his own life together," Ross said. "It just seemed very ironic to me that you're leaving an AA meeting just to be taken out by [an alleged] drunk driver.

"So it's really important to me to get that message out there, even if it's just to save one person's life."

That message, Ross said, is to raise awareness for motorcyclists and urge motorists to never drink and drive.

"If people just paid a little bit more attention on the roads, there would be one more biker on the road with us here today," she said.

Ghost bike

RidersYYC, a local group of biking enthusiasts, organized the Monday evening gathering to remember Kelly, donating a ghost bike to the family.

Painted white, the bike serves as a memorial that people can sign, write a story on or leave last thoughts to an individual who has died.

"I was trying to do something good for everybody to raise awareness," said Ali Chehade, founder of RidersYYC. "There's been lots of tragedies in the past year and even the year before, so just trying to help out and make a change on the impact for everybody."

Ross said her family was appreciative of the work the group had done.

"I feel overwhelmed with support by all the bike communities that helped organize this," she said. "It's a very lovely thing that they do for people in a very tough situation."

'I remember him as a jokester'

Ross said her father would have loved the ghost bike, adding he would probably want to take it for a spin.

"I like to remember him as a jokester, as a real funny guy. He just wanted to make people laugh," Ross said. "It's the truth. He was just a funny guy, and everybody was always laughing any time he was around."

She said her father would often show up at her house unannounced, and said though she would often complain about those visits, she would really miss them in the future.

"I really loved my dad, and so did my nine-year-old brother," she said. "Our lives are forever changed because of one person's terrible actions."

Calgary police said alcohol was a possible factor in the collision, but no charges have been laid.