A local mother is using a billboard to honor her son’s memory and raise awareness about motorcycle safety, after he was killed in a motorcycle crash last year.
EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WEVV) — May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, and in Evansville, A local mother is using a billboard to honor her son’s memory and raise awareness about motorcycle safety, after he was killed in a motorcycle crash last year.
Leslie Robinson’s son, Jaryn Robinson, died in April 2024 at the intersection of North Green River Road and Lenape Lane, where road construction was underway. Since his death, Leslie Robinson has worked to spread the message to “Look Twice, Save a Life.”
“Jaryn wanted to do everything he could,” Robinson said. “He was a dirt bike rider since he was 7 at Camp Carson, he won dirt biker of the year several years, he wanted to be a dirt bike instructor but COVID hit and then he had his son which made him switch to motorcycle. He loved sports.”
Immediately after the crash, no memorial was placed at the site since it was on private property. On Easter Sunday of this year, a year since the accident, a roadside memorial was later added at Delaware Trace, but Robinson says it has since been taken down.
“It was very neat, because the candle someone put out there burned for over two days… the balloons floated for a week with the helium, so it was really nice,” she said.
Robinson said a final ride was held for Jaryn at his funeral, and again in July by Sin City Bike Club. Five bike clubs came together to honor him, including a ride to Boonville, where Jaryn went to high school. “It was a lot of food, bikes, fireworks. People I hadn’t even met before came out just to support him,” she said. Another memorial ride was held at Garvin Park on Jaryn’s birthday, with participants releasing Chinese lanterns.
After the roadside memorial was removed, Robinson decided to take her message to a larger platform.
“The billboard came about because they took down the memorial at Delaware Trace, and I had also wanted to do this for all the bike accidents in this past year,” she said.
She initially reached out on Facebook to ask if anyone was interested in working with her to get a couple billboards up around the city to raise awareness for motorcycle safety. “Because there were so many last year and it was heartbreaking. I didn’t get a lot of response so I decided just to put my own up,” Robinson said.
One day at Dunkin’ Donuts, she noticed a billboard nearby and called to ask if space was available for May—Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month. She secured both sides of the billboard through MNK Billboards.
“You know one day you have somebody and the next day you don’t,” Robinson said. “Jaryn has a 5-year-old son, who will never have a father again, because someone was trying to get out of that apartment complex.”
Robinson emphasized how easy it can be for drivers to miss seeing a motorcycle, urging people to take extra caution on the road.
“Do look twice, or four times and save a life,” she said. “So we should just get together as a community and just be more aware of what we got going on.”
She also encouraged other families to reach out to her if they want to join her mission and help promote motorcycle safety awareness across the city.
Jaryn was wearing full protective gear at the time of the crash, but Robinson says his abdominal injury was fatal.
“Even the best, you know gear whatever, and they call it, dress for the slide, not the ride. Definitely do not ride a bike in a halter top and shorts, you know what I mean, dress as if you might have an accident.”
According to the Evansville Police Department, from January to December 2024 there were 57 motorcycle collisions reported in the city. Of those, 16 resulted in property damage, 38 resulted in injury, and 3 were fatal. Police report 41 total injuries, including 27 incapacitating injuries.
Robinson hopes the billboard will help prevent more families from suffering similar heartbreak and raise awareness about motorcycles on the road.
