Damian Kevitt is leading the 10th anniversary Finish the Ride event, 10 years after he was nearly killed by a hit-and-run driver while riding his bicycle in Griffith Park. (photo courtesy of SAFE)

More than 2,000 people will run, walk and bike through Griffith Park on June 10-11 during the 10th anniversary of Finish the Ride, an event started in 2013 by bicyclist and advocate Damian Kevitt after he was struck by a vehicle and severely injured while riding in the park.

Kevitt, who was dragged under a vehicle and lost a leg as a result of the hit-and-run collision, said he started the event to “finish the ride” he was unable to when he was struck and injured on Feb. 17, 2013. The goal was to call attention to hit-and-run collisions and the toll they take on victims’ lives.

Ten years later, Kevitt said he is gratified that so many people come together every year to support the cause, which raises awareness about traffic safety and the danger of what he calls traffic violence, like speeding and reckless driving. In 2014, Kevitt started Streets Are For Everyone, or SAFE, a nonprofit focused on improving the quality of life for pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers by reducing traffic fatalities.

“I am amazed. When we did the first event, we never intended it to be anything other than a single event. The intention was I was going to go back to my quiet life,” Kevitt said. “But too many people asked me to make roads safer. I didn’t feel like we were finished. I never imagined 10 years later that we would have this organization that is influential across the city, across the state and around the world. I would have never believed I would have touched so many lives.”

Kevitt highlighted many of the organization’s successes over the past decade. SAFE has helped to pass numerous traffic safety laws and has lobbied for the allocation of millions of dollars in public funding for safer roads. SAFE has also been influential in convincing city leaders to re-engineer roads to make them safer for cyclists and pedestrians, such as a stretch of Griffith Park Drive that was permanently closed in 2022 to vehicle traffic.

Finish the Ride has been expanded to two days this year, with runners and walkers participating on June 10, and cyclists riding on June 11. Events on both days will begin at the picnic area in Griffith Park at 4659 Crystal Springs Drive. A half-marathon starts at 7:30 a.m. on June 10, and opening ceremonies will be held at 8 a.m. A 10K run starts at 8:20 a.m. and a 5K run starts at 8:30 a.m. A Kids Run begins at 9:30 a.m. and a Puppies Run starts at 9:40 a.m.

On June 11, opening ceremonies will be held at 8 a.m. Cyclists will embark on five separate rides of different lengths between 7-8:40 a.m. An expo will be held at the starting area on both days of the event.

Registration is available onsite. For information, visit streetsareforeveryone.org/finish-the-ride-and-finish-the-run.