Gardner dies from crash injuries

CHARLESTON - Community leader and avid cyclist Edwin Gardner died Friday morning from injuries suffered when his bicycle collided with a car Wednesday.

Gardner's legacy can be found all over the peninsula, from a transportation proposal being considered by city government to a handmade boat fleet for Charleston youth to a simple flower-bouquet memorial near the site of his fatal accident.

Mayor Joe Riley said he and Gardner met when Gardner moved to Charleston to direct fundraising for the South Carolina Aquarium. He said the news of Gardner's death broke his heart.

"He'd be the kind of person, if he was in your neighborhood, you had a better neighborhood; if you knew him, you had a better life," Riley said.

At 8 a.m. Friday, Gardner's absence was felt in the Peninsula Task Force, a group formed this year to discuss quality-of-life issues for Charleston residents. Riley said the members set aside a moment to pray for Gardner, who had been to every meeting.

At 11:20 a.m., Gardner died at Medical University Hospital. He was 64.

Tom Bradford, president of the advocacy group Charleston Moves, was on the group's transportation subcommittee with Gardner. He said it was "a bit of a misnomer" to call Gardner a bicycle advocate, because it only captured one part of his passion.

"The best thing about him was that he lived as he believed," Bradford said. "He just really lived a very considered life."

Bradford said that when Gardner got in the accident Wednesday, he was on his way from rowing in the Ashley River with the New Charleston Mosquito Fleet, a pair of long, wooden boats that were among Gardner's brainchildren.

The idea, in 1995, was to get middle and high school students from a wide swath of socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds to work together to build and man a pair of 34-foot gigs. It worked, and the boats are still in use.

John Glover, the owner of Charleston Bicycle Co., was a student at the College of Charleston when he volunteered for the program. He said it was about "responsibility and having a good time," and he said he still keeps in touch with other people who were involved.

John Kennedy, an orchestra conductor from New Mexico who regularly conducts at the Spoleto Festival, said Gardner's love for children was an important thing to remember.

"He's just a great guy, and he's an adult for kids too," Kennedy said. "He was an adult who could be a friend to kids on a really extraordinary level."

Kennedy, who met Gardner when he introduced himself after a Spoleto concert, said their families had grown close over the years. Whitney Powers, Gardner's wife, said her husband cared about making the world a better place and about touching individual lives.

"Every person he met had a story that he thought was worth knowing," Power said.

"I don't think there's anybody who came in contact with him that doesn't think they've got to carry on what he was all about."