The white bicycle installed on the side of Camillien-Houde Way to memorialize 18-year-old traffic victim Clément Ouimet, was vandalized overnight on Thursday night.
Ouimet was the aspiring competitive cyclist who was killed last Oct. 4 when an SUV driver pulled an illegal U-turn on Camillien-Houde Way. On Thursday, the Crown prosecutor's office announced that the driver, a California tourist, would not face charges in the case.
It's been a custom for bike safety activists to install white bicycles — or 'ghost bikes' — to memorialize those who die in cycling accidents, and to remind people of the dangers cyclists have to face while sharing the road with motorists.
Vandals painted over some of the messages Ouimet's friends had written on the railing where the bike was set up, and it appears the miscreants attempted to pull the bike off its perch, and strip it of its accessories.
Police say they've been informed of the incident, but have no leads in the case.
Meantime, some of Ouimet's friends took their dismay to social media on Friday, saying the vandals who defaced the memorial should be ashamed of themselves.