Up until 11:15 p.m., February 25, 2002 had been an unremarkable Monday for Maricela Rodriguez-Gomez. After leaving her job in downtown Miami, she traveled to a location near Miami International Airport to meet her only child, Christopher Rodriguez del Rey, 19, at his favorite Mexican restaurant.

Afterward, Christopher departed on a borrowed motorcycle to say goodbye to friends and relatives, prior to setting off for Marine Corps boot camp. Rodriguez-Gomez drove to her Miami Lakes home to watch TV, and was relaxing when the doorbell chimed at quarter after eleven.

A Miami-Dade County Police detective standing at the front door had Christopher’s driver’s license and wanted to know if the teenager lived in the house. “I never had a bad feeling, which was weird,” Rodriguez-Gomez recalls. She was floored to learn Christopher had collided with a pickup truck that ran a stop sign in Miami, and had been declared dead at the scene.

“I kept saying, ‘How do you know, how do you know? It has to be a mistake!’” Rodriguez-Gomez says, shedding fresh tears at the memory. The deadly consequences of that tragic night spawned an event that memorializes Christopher, while simultaneously generating money for medical research.

The Third Annual Motorcycle Memorial Ride in Memory of Christopher Rodriguez del Rey, which took place February 21, raised funds for the Miller School’s William Lehman Injury Research Center. This year’s Memorial Ride generated $7,200 in donations, with additional pledges outstanding.

The William Lehman Injury Research Center improves automobile safety through research and education, but “there’s actually very, very little funding focusing on traffic accidents involving motorcycles,” says executive director Elana Perdeck.

“That makes Maricela’s interest and efforts very important,” adds Perdeck, who bemoans the fact that Florida has no law making motorcycle helmets mandatory.

Christopher was wearing a helmet, as well as gloves and a protective jacket, during his fatal accident. The Miami Senior High graduate was also driving within the speed limit and was found not to be at fault.

In 2008, 60 motorcyclists participated in his namesake motorcycle ride, which always starts at the corner of NW 32nd Avenue and NW 88th Street in Miami, the scene of Christopher’s accident. Next year, Rodriguez-Gomez’s goal is to attract hundreds of motorcyclists.

She’s also creating a Web site that will allow donors to make credit card contributions online.

Instead of being leery of motorcycles, Rodriguez-Gomez rode on the back of one during the 2008 Memorial Ride. A raffle associated with this year’s ride even featured a new motorcycle as a prize.

Rodriguez-Gomez is being true to the spirit of her fearless, would-be marine son. Along with loving motorcycles, he also participated in gymnastics and football.

“I think he would have approved of a motorcycle ride in his memory,” Rodriguez-Gomez offers.