By Jenine Clancy, Special Writer
HIGHTSTOWN — Nearly 1,000 motorcycles will pass through downtown Hightstown on Saturday, Aug 25 as part of America’s 9/11 Ride.
The 14th annual, national event remembers volunteers, heroes and victims who lost their lives in the 2001 deadly attacks.
America’s 9/11 Ride Hightstown Coordinator Paul Kocher said the ride will go from Route 130 to Route 33, and down through the center of the borough.
The three-day ride lasting from Thursday, Aug. 23 to Saturday Aug. 25, takes riders from all over the country to the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and finally into New York City.
According to Mr. Kocher the ride bypassed Hightstown in the first couple years of the event, but with help from the township and borough firefighters, Hightstown has become officially part of the route for the past five years.
"Hightstown is such a patriotic town," he said. "We gets hundreds of people down there now."
Two ladder trucks from the East Windsor Fire Company and the Hightstown Fire Company will drape an American flag, making a bridge that the motorcycles will pass under.
The ride is held in August to allow for mourning during September, America’s 911 Ride website said.
Money raised through the sponsorship ride will be used to provide educational scholarships to the children of the 9/11 first responders.
"I go to Home Depot and Lowes and they donate the little wooden flags and when I get downtown I pass them around and ask for donations, so that’s really cool," Mr. Kocher said. "Never forget what happened that day and support the riders that do this every year. This event is rain or shine and it’s a large commitment on the riders part to be going out that long. It’s a great cause to support those families that really need it."
