In 1989, the tragic death of two schoolgirls killed by a motorist while riding their bikes along a Davie street traumatized the small town. The deaths of Brooke Hodges, 10, and Hillary Hedges, 11, brought the community together and became the impetus for the creation of Davie's Open Space Program and Trail System, which connects all town parks and is now 135 miles long, said Bonnie Stafiej, Davie's special projects director.

The town will honor the memory of the girls and mark the 20th year of its recreational pathways with the Brooke Hodges and Hillary Hedges Memorial Bike Ride at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, beginning at Davie's Oakhill Equestrian Park.

Brooke Hodges, who lived in Plantation, was visiting her friend, Hillary Hedges, in Davie when the accident took place. The girls were riding bikes on a Saturday when they were hit and killed by a driver who had fallen asleep at the wheel, Stafiej said.

``When it happened, they were these sweet 10- and 11-year-old girls, and the town started talking about how we needed recreational trails for bicycles,'' she said.

The saddened community came together to launch the program, she said. Bergeron Land Development donated the quarry rock to lay down the foundation and Weekley Asphalt donated the asphalt for the town's first bicycle trail, a two-mile stretch along Southwest 130th Avenue leading to Flamingo Elementary, where Hillary Hedges attended school.

Because the town is such an equestrian community, a horse trail was created by the bike path, Stafiej said. During the past 20 years, the town has continued to expand the bike trails and bridle paths.

``Now we have 135 miles of trails, all because of that one incident,'' Stafiej said.

The trails now connect all of the town's parks.

``You can come to Davie and go to any park and there will be a bike trail or horse trail that will take you to another park,'' she said.

Brooke's mother, Linda Oliver of Fort Lauderdale, said, ``It's too bad that it took something like this to make it happen, but I'm pleased that it's there.''

Stafiej said the trail system also includes a trail that runs from U.S. 27 to U.S. 441.

``It's right along Orange Drive, and there are picnic pavilions along the way, plus places to fish, so it makes for a nice afternoon out,'' she said.

Since the accident, Davie has held bike safety rallies at least once a year.

``We want to let people know they don't have to ride along the highway,'' Stafiej said. ``They can ride on a safe bike trail.''

On the morning of the memorial bike ride, the brick memorial and butterfly garden erected in the girls' memory will be the site of a butterfly release. Oliver said the families of both girls are planning to attend the event.

``The accident brought the community together in a way that I just couldn't believe, and it brought us friends, then and since, that I wouldn't have gotten through it without,'' Oliver said. ``You never get over it -- there will always be a hole in our hearts -- but over the years you learn how to handle it better.''

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