President Obama leads tributes to White House aide killed in bike crash

President Obama has paid tribute to a White House senior technology advisor who was killed in a cycling crash while taking part in a charity ride in Maryland on Friday.
 
According to NBC News, Jake Brewer, aged 34, lost control of his bike on a bend while riding in the Ride to Conquer Cancer event, crossing the into the opposite carriageway and crashing into a Honda Pilot.

The 34-year-old’s wife Mary Katharine Ham is pregnant with their second child, and in an Instagram post published on Saturday she said: “We lost our Jake yesterday, and I lost part of my heart and the father of my sweet babies."

In a statement released on Saturday, President Obama said: "I am heartbroken at the tragic loss of one of my advisors, Jake Brewer.

"Simply put, Jake was one of the best. Armed with a brilliant mind, a big heart, and an insatiable desire to give back, Jake devoted his life to empowering people and making government work better for them,

"He worked to give citizens a louder voice in our society. He engaged our striving immigrants. He pushed for more transparency in our democracy. And he sought to expand opportunity for all."

President Obama added: "I've often said that today's younger generation is smarter, more determined, and more capable of making a difference than I was as a young man. Jake was proof of that," Obama said.

"Michelle and I are praying for all of Jake's family and his many friends, most of all his wife, Mary Katharine Ham, their daughter, Georgia, and their growing family. They'll always have a family here at the White House."