Amazon Will Help Raise Bike Safety Funds for Newport

People who shop on Amazon.com are encouraged to access the online site through the newportbeachmemorialbikeride.com to help raise money for bike safety improvements.

At Tuesday's city council meeting, Councilman Rush Hill announced organizers of the Newport Beach Memorial Bike Ride have partnered with Amazon to add to the more than $60,000 that has been raised for bike safety in Newport Beach.

"They are willing to provide a portion of sales proceeds to the bike safety fund if customers enter the Amazon site through the newportbeachmemorialbike ride.com portal," Hill explained. "Organizers are aggressively moving forward to maximize the opportunity to increase bike safety in Newport Beach."

April Morris, who helped organize the memorial bike ride, said the Amazon contribution will be anywhere between four and 10 percent of the purchase price.

"This is a major accomplishment to help us achieve our fundraising goals," Morris said. "Especially with the holidays approaching this could really push our donations forward."

In October the city council said for every dollar raised by the community, the city will match three additional dollars in bike safety expenditures up to $450,000.

More than 1,200 bike riders from around Orange County participated in October's memorial bike ride held in honor of cyclists Sarah Leaf and Catherine "Kit" Campion-Ritz who were killed one day apart in bicycle-related accidents in Newport Beach.

Leaf, 29, worked as a nutritionist in Corona del Mar. She was killed in a bicycle collision on the morning of Friday, Sept. 14 when she was cycling on Pacific Coast Highway and the driver of a stake bed truck turned right onto Bayside Drive. In October police announced the driver of the truck was not at fault.

Campion, a doctor who treated patients in Newport Beach for close to 30 years, was killed during a fatal hit-and-run on Saturday, Sept. 15 as she cycled on Newport Coast Drive with her husband. Michael Jason Lopez, 39, of Anaheim, was arrested three days after Campion died. If convicted, Lopez faces a maximum sentence of eight years in state prison for the deadly hit-and-run crash.

To shop on Amazon and donate to the bike safety fund through your purchase, visit newportbeachmemorialbikeride.com.

In addition to the Amazon partnership, residents can also contribute to the bike safety improvement fund at donation jars located at the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in Corona del Mar, Kean Coffee on Westcliff Drive,  Newport Beach Training Zone on 17th Street in Costa Mesa, Sea Schwinn on 17th Street, Haute Cakes on Westcliff Drive and Hershey's Market on Balboa Island.