Five years after Alex Wolf’s death on a bicycle, his father carries on fight for bike safety

NINA MOINI: This month marks five years since 30-year-old Alex Wolf was killed on his bicycle in Minneapolis. Alex had been commuting home from work on November 20, 2019. He was hit by the driver of a semi truck that turned into his bike lane in downtown Minneapolis.

Alex was an advocate for safer streets during his short lifetime, and now his father, Keith, has turned his focus toward the same cause in Alex's honor. Keith joins me now on the line. Thank you so much for being here, Keith. Welcome.

KEITH WOLF: You're welcome. You're welcome, and thank you for inviting me. I just want to say, about the time that you contacted me, your staff contacted me, I had just been thinking, I wonder if anyone remembers Alex?

NINA MOINI: Oh.

KEITH WOLF: So it was so heartwarming to be contacted by you.

NINA MOINI: Thank you so much, Keith, and for all the work that you're doing. I wish I had had the chance to meet Alex. I think we're actually about the same age, and I've seen some photos of him. And I wondered if you would want to share with folks just kind of, what was he passionate about? Obviously, safer streets.

KEITH WOLF: Alex-- he was very interested in communication arts. That's what he studied in college at UW Madison. And he was involved with the Minnesota Film Festival, screening films for many years up until the time he was killed.

He also loved indie music. When he was in college, he had a little spot on the public radio station for the campus, and he would play some of his favorite indie songs. And those were interests, and he was always experimenting with new interests.

But I think the one thing that was always constant for Alex was his tolerance of other people, his acceptance of them where they were, and his expectation that people should try to be the best version of themselves. But he wasn't judgmental. He was just-- through accepting people, he allowed them to develop on their own.

NINA MOINI: Sure. There's a photo, speaking of photos, again, of Alex holding up a sign for Minneapolis Vision Zero Initiative.

KEITH WOLF: Right.

NINA MOINI: And folks might know, that's a movement aiming to save lives of pedestrians on Minneapolis city streets, in fact, over 10 years. His sign is handwritten. It says, "My best idea for making our streets safer is lower speed limits and more protective bike lanes." And this photo circulated, as you know, on social media after his death. Why was Alex so passionate about street safety?

KEITH WOLF: Well, Alex-- he finally broke down and bought a car. But for the longest time, he never owned one, and his primary mode of transportation was bicycling. And so he was a commuter. And his passion for that came from his concern for the environment and his own carbon footprint.

And so being a biker, he-- obviously, it took him from us. Eventually, the streets did. So he was aware of the dangers to pedestrians and cyclists firsthand.

NINA MOINI: He has left a tremendous legacy. Just a few months after his death, city leaders in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, in fact, lowered speed limits to 20 miles per hour on city streets. How did that make you feel?

KEITH WOLF: I saw that, and I read the article that was written about it, and I was kind of shocked, in a sense. I was really happy that the writer credited Alex to a huge part in that happening.

And I just saw a video from the Wisconsin Bike Federation here talking about side streets and how it's so much easier, sometimes, to ride on those because people are driving slower. And I just-- I hope Minneapolis maintains the 20-mile-per-hour speed limit.

NINA MOINI: And, Keith, I know that you've actually been doing a lot of work in this area since your son's passing, which I'm sure takes a tremendous amount of ongoing strength. Some of the initiatives you're involved with-- the Institute for Safer Trucking, a nonprofit based in DC. What kinds of initiatives are you pushing for at the federal level? I'm reading things like AI assistance for drivers. What can be done to improve safety?

KEITH WOLF: Yeah. Let's see. In June of 2022, I did go to Washington, DC. It was a roundtable that was held by the Institute for Safer Trucking, a nonprofit group that promotes safer streets for drivers and pedestrians and cyclists.

And I was able to meet with staff from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Senator Tammy Baldwin's staff, Senator Tina Smith's staff, who you just were speaking to. And the issues that we are promoting-- one is to try to have side underride guards placed on semi-trucks to prevent cars from going under the semi if there's an accident.

And then another one is to use technology. There's a lot of effort going into advanced driver-assistance systems.

NINA MOINI: Sure.

KEITH WOLF: And that includes the use of sensors and cameras, GPS, satellites, and AI to assist the drivers and their employers-- things like lane departure warnings that some people may already have in their cars--

NINA MOINI: Sure.

KEITH WOLF: --and blind spot detection, collision mitigation systems, and then also using software, whereby the employers can monitor the performance of their drivers in real time and monitor them for fatigue, monitor their performance, their speed. And then, also, they can use that to enhance driver training and simulation.

So that's exciting. I think the idea that technology can be used to prevent these accidents is so promising. We're always going to have human error. And so the more we can reduce that risk, the better.

NINA MOINI: And you continue to push for these important changes. And I read that you're retired now, but you previously had a career as a social worker and then a pastor. So I can't help but think you've seen a lot of tragedy. You've seen a lot of things over the course of your lifetime, and also a lot of joy. When you talk to people, what keeps you going, and what keeps your heart open to change and moving forward? And what would you want to share with others?

KEITH WOLF: It's funny you should ask that. Even though I'm retired, I still step into the pulpit once in a while to cover for someone. And I was just working on a sermon for the first Sunday in December, which, for the Christian church, is advent, where we prepare for Christmas. And the theme is hope.

And so I think my faith really keeps me going because I've been through-- even before Alex died, I had been through a period of depression and anxiety due to compounding stressors. And I got through it, and I was able to experience joy again.

And so I know that, having experienced that, everyone can, if they can get through the trial, will find joy on the other side. And so I want to help not only to reduce deaths and injuries, but I also want people to have hope.

NINA MOINI: That's so important. Thank you for your work, Keith. Thank you for sharing these personal, difficult stories with the world. I wish you all the best, and I thank you for sharing your time with us today.

KEITH WOLF: Thank you, Nina. My pleasure.

NINA MOINI: That was Keith Wolf.