Man killed saves dozens of lives

CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) - A 20-year-old Chesapeake man killed while riding his bicycle on a busy street is now remembered permanently through the dozens of lives he saved and a statue in his honor.

Tyler Hirst was killed on Bainbridge Boulevard in April 2012, when he was struck by a van.

His father, Christopher Hirst, remembers his son as an aspiring chef full of life. He put up a memorial of bicycle with Tyler's name close to the accident scene last month.

"That safety awareness let him know that there is something good out of this outcome," Hirst said.

Tyler, who was signed up to be an organ donor years before his death, helped save nine lives by donating his kidneys, liver, pancreas, eyes, lungs and heart.

His generosity did not end with his organs. 

"He has given 29 bone donations, nine ligament donations and it's a selfless gift," Tyler's uncle Charlie Spearman said. "His generosity lives on. Tyler continues to live on in the lives of all these people."

Family and friends gathered around his memorial Thursday.

"Everybody knows that Tyler is not with us, but he has donated a lot for somebody else."

Family members tell 10 On Your Side they home to one day get the chance to meet the recipients of Tyler's organs.