Memorial for Turkish Student, Salih Koc, killed on his bicycle by a hit and run driver – Corner of 38th and Tejon
Turkish flags and a “ghost bicycle” being dedicated at the corner of 38th and Tejon in Northwest Denver (neighborhood where Nancy and I have lived since 1976). 28-year-old Jonathan Jarabek in connection with the crash. He faces charges for leaving the scene after causing a fatal collision
It was a moving ceremony this morning (August 2, 2025) at the intersection of 38th and Tejon in Northwest Denver where a group of Denverites, in conjunction with representatives from Colorado’s Turkish Community, paid tribute to hit-and-run victim Salih Koh. Koh was a 21-year-old Turkish national, an Aerospace Engineering student at the prestigious Middle East Technical University in Türkiye.
Koh was struck down by a vehicle at this intersection on the evening of July 21, 2025. There was much coverage of this tragedy in the Turkish media than here in Denver, where, typically, despite minor coverage by some local tv stations, the death of an international guest with an otherwise bright future hardly made a ripple until a suspect was arrested in conjunction with the incident.
Denver Police confirmed the arrest of 28-year-old Jonathan Jarabek in connection with the crash. He faces charges for leaving the scene after causing a fatal collision. There is someone by that name that is listed as a broker at Freedom Life Co.
Although local tv stations did cover the tragedy a bit, the death hardly made a ripple here in Denver. Most of the reporting on the incident took place in the Turkish media.
Salih Koc was ranked in the top 1% of Türkiye’s national high school entrance exam. Koc was in the United States as part of a work and travel program, aiming to improve his English language skills and gain new experiences.
The memorial was organized by pedestrian and bicycle activists, the Denver Bicycle Lobby, in Denver, attended by a group of local Turkish people living in Denver. Alejandra Castañeda, a local “pedestrian rights organizer” and neighbor of ours, was involved.
An article on Koh’s death appeared in the Turkish online journal TRT Global. It claims that “the accident has renewed scrutiny over Denver’s delayed safety infrastructure projects. In 2021, the city’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) proposed a protected bike lane along Tejon Street, a key corridor in the area. The project was never implemented, and years later, its indefinite postponement continues to draw public frustration, especially after fatal incidents like this one. Authorities are continuing their investigation.”
Denver Police later confirmed the arrest of 28-year-old Jonathan Jarabek in connection with the crash. He faces charges for leaving the scene after causing a fatal collision
One of the spokespeople at the memorial, a bicycle rights activist from (I presume) noted how this particular corner on which sit a well-known North Denver restaurant, Gaetano’s, along with BMO banking center, that Tejon Street was scheduled to become a protected bike lane by the Denver’s Department of Transporation. Gaetano’s is a former mafia haunt back in the day turned upscale restaurant for a while owned by Colorado’s U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper. Nancy and I used to bank at the BMO banking center when it was owned and operated by another bank. In 2019, unnamed local business owners lobbied the then city council person to intervene to kill the proposal, preferring to keep the corner more amenable to parking. He also pointed out that in the first seven months of 2025 that 39 people – pedestrians and bicyclists – have been killed in Denver by automobile drivers.
Although there was a representative from Vision Zero, a city administrative body, I was disappointed that, given the international significance of this crash, that no one was present, as they should have been, from either the mayor’s office or that of City Councilwoman Amanda Sandoval’s office.
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Links:
Denver cyclists call for change as ghost bike is dedicated to Salih Koc
View from the Left Bank: Rob Prince's Blog 
From a friend in the district by email: Hi Rob Gaetano‘s is the restaurant Mary Anne broke her leg again. They didn’t give a shit about her and it’s their negligence that caused it as far as I’m concerned. Also, I read my bike a lot cause I love to ride bikes, but I am really upset at how drivers treat bicyclisteven when I’m on bike trails and bike line mark places it’s very difficult. I wear an officer safety. Even when I’m on bike trails and bike line mark places it’s very difficult. I wear an officer safety vest and help blinking lights in a car horn on my bicycle. Excuse the bad English I’m dictating. My arthritis is so bad but anyway, I sympathize entirely with this problem. I’ve had a lot of close calls, but I’m still riding my bike because it’s one of the few things I can do that. I enjoy.
Hi Rob, thank you for writing about this. I wanted to clear up a few things re: this post. The ghost bike dedication and vigil for Salih was organized by myself, a Pedestrian Dignity co-organizer and member of the Denver Bicycle Lobby (DBL, which is a different from Bicycle Colorado), along with other DBL members. We also had support from the Denver Streets Partnership, who donated the bike and lock. Neighbors, like Nancy (with whom I volunteer at Bienvenidos Food Bank, along with Nancy) brought flowers. The Turkish American Cultural Society of Colorado sent representatives who did a thoughtful effort to reach out to the family in their language and ensure their words were shared at the vigil. Gaetano’s has its own private parking lot just across the street, as it does the bank. The push-back that killed the protected bike lane and other interventions that would’ve made this intersection safer (like markings and a designated bike light) came from some businesses just south of W 38th Ave, like Cask & Craft who were opposed to on-street parking removal to ensure safety for people who bike (and everyone else, as protected bike lanes not only make roads safer for people on bikes but also to everyone else, including drivers). Here’s a video of one of the public virtual meetings in 2020, when our councilperson, A. Sandoval, intervenes to ask for more community engagement (despite plenty of community outreach that had already been done) and effectively delaying and then killing the project. There are also studies that show that bike lanes are either good for businesses or have a neutral effect. “Cars don’t shop; people shop.” Concerns about parking removal affecting long-time businesses like La Casita (which has a parking lot and it’s own by Sandoval’s family) and Lechuga’s (which also has a very large parking lot, larger than the restaurant building itself), plus a few other residential multi-units, were prioritized over our collective safety and people’s lives, like Salih’s. There are also people who get seriously injured and who don’t get the coverage fatal crashes get. There are also the witnesses who have to deal with the long-term effects of trauma. There are the hundreds of people who would like to bike but once they hear about crashes like this one, continue driving–even if they shouldn’t for whatever reason. There are also, and more importantly, those who cannot drive, because of physical, economic or legal reasons, and they are effectively excluded from our transportation system. On the issue of gentrification and displacement, I think we’ll have to start another thread…
Wow thank you for all the detail