Obituaries

Memorial on BART Path for Cyclist Who Died in Crash

A memorial display with photos, flowers and messages has been set up on the Ohlone Greenway in North Berkeley where a UC Berkeley assistant manager died in a bicycle crash late Friday afternoon.

The tribute to Steve Maranzana, 39, was placed Monday on the fence next to the Greenway (also known as the BART path) where he crashed about 5:15 p.m. on the way home from campus as he swerved to avoid hitting someone else on the path, according to official and witness accounts. The crash occurred on the path between Hopkins and Gilman streets, where the BART tracks emerge from underground in Berkeley.

Maranzana, an El Cerrito resident, was known to have heart problems and apparently died from cardiac arrest.

He worked as an assistant manager in the campus Office of Environment, Health and Safety. His duties included conducting health and safety training, and he was also project manager for the campus' new "Breathe Campaign," under which smoking on campus will be prohibited as of Jan. 1. 

The display was put up by colleagues and friends from the university, who also held a small remembrance gathering at the site. One of them, Anne Marie-Pine, described the event and shared remembrances of Maranzana in a reader's comment on the original Patch article about the crash.

In the central photo on the memorial, he's wearing a Breathe Campaign t-shirt. The photos show him in several of the activities that were part of his life, including his job, paintball and bicycling. In 2009, he joined the AIDS LifeCycle ride on his bicycle from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

Several people left messages with a marker that had been attached to the memorial display, including one that said:

"Fierce, funny friend. Miss you always. Deb"

A member of Maranzana's family, asked by Patch if any family member wished to communicate any information or messages to the public, said, "The family wishes to say they are devastated by the loss."
 
Published Dec. 23, 2013, 7:41 p.m.; updated Dec. 24, 11:32 a.m.


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