VERO BEACH — The City Council Tuesday night voted to seek grant funding that will help construct a pier in memory of a high school student killed while riding his bicycle on the Alma Lee Loy bridge.
Cole Coppolla, a John Carroll Catholic High School student, was struck by a young woman accused of drunk driving as he rode over the bridge in the early morning hours in September 2014. He was killed just days after his 16th birthday.
Family and friends have begun raising money through the Live Like Cole Foundation to construct a pier at Vero’s Riverside Park in the teen’s memory, since he loved fishing and being on and near the water.
FIND may provide half the $156,000 to help with the project, while the foundation has pledged to raise the 50 percent match and the city is donating staff time and technical expertise for the design, permitting and construction.
For more information, go to www.livelikecole.org.
