Friends and family gathered at a memorial service Saturday afternoon for an Edmonton woman who was killed while cycling in Prince Edward Island last weekend.
Elizabeth Sovis, 63, was struck and killed by an alleged drunk driver while bicycling with her husband near Hunter River in Prince Edward Island last Saturday.
Clarence Moase, 49, from Kensington, P.E.I., has been charged with impaired driving causing death.
Sovis was one year away from retirement and had planned to spend her retired years working on the development of safe cycling trails in Alberta.
Sovis’ husband Edmund Aunger said his wife’s death raises the issue of making roads safer for cyclists and pedestrians. It’s a cause he has pledged to carry on.
Allan Effa, who led the memorial service and is a longtime friend to Sovis, said everyone needs to be more careful on roads.
"It just highlights the cause even more fo all of us, to just be concerned about watching out for cyclists and sharing the road and seeking ways to make it safe," Effa said.
"Even creating dedicated trails is not the final solution. People just have to be more careful."
The memorial service for Sovis was held at the Central Baptist Church and Effa said Sovis' death is being felt not just in Edmonton, but across the country as well.
"People from all across Canada have shown concern for Ed and the family," Effa said.
"Even the drivers' mother has indicated interest to send a letter to him of condolences so the pain is much more than what we feel just here but communities in P.E.I have experienced that pain as well."
Family members are asking memorial donations be made to the Trans Canada Trail Foundation or the Mustard Seed.
