MILWAUKEE — Bicyclist Ronald Ekker continues to recover after he biked into a thin wire hanging from a light pole on the Oak Leaf Trail two weeks ago.
He shared his story with us on Thursday, September 26.
Previous Coverage: Bicyclist speaks out after colliding with wire strung across Oak Leaf Trail (tmj4.com)
Ekker shared his frustration that a few days later, another wire was hung up across Lincoln Memorial Drive, near the Linnwood Water Treatment Plant.
“Knowing that somebody was almost decapitated by what appears to be the last one, that is just about as incompetent and negligent as you could possibly be, in my eyes,” Ekker said.
The incident happened Wednesday, September 18 at 3:01 p.m.
TMJ4 confirmed with Rabbi Yisroel Lein of Chabad of the East Side that wire was part of the East Side Eruv, used by Milwaukee’s East Side Jewish Community.
Rabbi Lein said this allows the community to celebrate the Sabbath more freely. The Sabbath, which takes place on Saturdays, is the weekly Jewish day of rest and worship.
Several Jewish communities in the Milwaukee area have their own Eruv.
“We need to be in an enclosed space, what we call a private domain,” Rabbi Lein said. “One of the ways of doing that is by encircling the community with fence wall, or in some cases, utility wire and cable, and that allows us to go to our friend's houses, bring our kids to synagogue, carry things outside of our home.”
Learn More: HOME | East Side Eruv
The week Ronald was hurt by the wire while biking. Lein said that part of the Eruv was damaged for the first time since it was put in place.
“Wednesday, the wire came down,” said Rabbi Lein. “We found out about it late Wednesday or early Thursday. By Thursday morning, we had done the repair, not really knowing the backstory of what happened and who got hurt. We didn't know about that until much later on.”
Ekker told TMJ4 that he still wants the wire to come down so no one else can get hurt. Rabbi Lein said he reached out to Ekker to apologize.
He also said they’re willing to make any changes if needed.
“We have a commitment with the county that if the county chooses to ask us to make changes, of course, we're going to do that, but we're going to work with the county to see whatever the county wants us to do,” said Rabbi Lein.
It remains unclear how the wire got draped over part of the Oak Leaf Trail.
The Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office and Milwaukee County Parks are investigating the incident.
TMJ4 has requested to see the agreement between the county and the East Side Eruv.
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