Oconomowoc family advocates for safer bike paths after daughter killed in accident

OCONOMOWOC, Wis. (CBS 58) -- An Oconomowoc family is advocating for safer bike paths after their daughter and sister, Sarah Debbink Langenkamp, was killed in an accident in August 2022.

Langenkamp was biking in Bethesda, Maryland when the driver of a semi-truck hit and killed her while turning right into a parking lot.

"All that white line is, is an invitation. It's a death trap to bicyclists who think they're safe because they're in a bike lane," Dirk Debbink, Langenkamp's father, said.

Langenkamp's family immediately channeled their pain into action by gaining the attention of U.S. lawmakers who sponsored the Sarah Debbink Langenkamp Active Transportation Act.

"It can't bring Sarah back, but over 1,000 people are killed every year, bicyclists and pedestrians in our country -- but can we make a 5% difference? That's 50 people. Ten percent? That's 100 people that don't have to go through this," Debbink said.

The bill would allocate existing federal funding to allow state and local government to build safer pathways for bicyclists and pedestrians.

"Every day the dollars sit there and not out here, it's another day somebody else could get killed," Debbink said.

The Oconomowoc Common Council voted unanimously to support the Sarah Debbink Langenkamp Active Transportation Act on Tuesday.

"We're going to do our best to help this tragedy become something positive," Oconomowoc Mayor Robert Magnus said.

Magnus and the Common Council are sending the Debbink family off to Washington D.C. with their signed letter of support.

Langenkamp's parents, Dirk and Terry Debbink, are meeting with lawmakers, including Sen. Ron Johnson and Sen. Tammy Baldwin on Wednesday.

"We're all in. Let's make a difference if we can," Dirk Debbink said.

Langenkamp's family told CBS 58 she learned how to ride a bike in Oconomowoc where she grew up. Her passion for biking carried her throughout the world in countries like Uganda and Ukraine, where she served as a U.S. diplomat.

"She loved biking and really committed to commuting by bike in whatever country she was working in," Alicia Bosscher, Langenkamp's sister, said.

Debbink said lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have the chance to come together to support safer biking in communities across the country.