“Let me give you a hug.” Key Biscayne remembers Megan Andrews

Megan Andrews had this habit when she saw somebody down in the dumps on Key Biscayne. 

“She said are you having a rough day? Let me give you a hug. That was Megan,” said former Council Member Alan Fein. 

Andrews, who was a tutor for decades, died on Valentine’s Day when the bicycle she was riding collided with an e-bike operated by a 12-year-old boy at the dark intersection of Hampton Lane and Woodcrest Drive. 

The tragedy led the Village Council to unanimously adopt an emergency 60-day ban Friday on all micro-mobility devices – shining a light on a growing safety problem for municipalities nationwide when it comes to this new mode of transportation. Authorities ruled the crash  accidental Friday. 

Those who loved her say she dedicated her life to teaching children of Key Biscayne — and that now,  in death, she can save children from themselves with the ban on e-bikes. The battery-powered devices can travel up to 28 mph and were described as lethal weapons at the Council meeting Friday.

REMEMBER ❤️: Readers are sharing their memories and tributes here.

The 66-year-old’s death hit Key Biscayne like a sledgehammer.  Her effervescent positivity hailed back to a different time on Key Biscayne and brought tributes from elected officials, community leaders, former students and her friends.

“The news that we lost our dear Megan is beyond comprehension. She was a true light in this community, said Melissa White, executive director of the Key Biscayne Community Foundation.

About a hundred residents showed up for the hastily called Council meeting – even more showed up for a  candlelight vigil Friday night in the dark intersection where the accident occurred.

“She was not supposed to be the one,” said Donatella Dylan, who knew Andrews for 48 years. 

Rev. Mandy Brandy of St. Christopher’s By-the-Sea Church, who spoke at the Vigil, said, “Megan was one of those rare people who truly saw the best in everyone that she met.”

Gabby Ulvert used to see Andrews when she was growing up on Key Biscayne to help her with homework. “She represented the past of Key Biscayne,” she said. “She was one of those familiar faces and when you saw her, she would bring you back to that old community that you grew up in.”

Jennifer Stearns Buttrick said she saw Andrews ride past her home the day she died.  “The quintessential Key Biscayne image was Megan riding her bike around the Key with a big smile on her face,” she said.

Resident Bill Stephens said Andrews represented the best of Key Biscayne. “The world will be a much better place if we all embrace the qualities she shared with us,” he said.

Stearns Buttrick said Andrews’ true legacy was her tutoring. “She touched the lives of so many children because she was a tutor and believed in people and believed in kids and believed in helping them achieve what she knew they could achieve.”

Fein said when he adopted his son, Pete, from Russia at 3-years-old he had numerous learning disabilities. It was Andrews who tutored him, while her husband, Frank, showed him love and compassion. He said Andrews saved his son’s life.  

“We spent hours talking about how to raise kids, to teach kids with learning disabilities and to live a productive and meaningful life,” Fein said.

Anne Taintor, a friend, said she would see Andrews biking around and recently ran into her at the salon. All she could talk about was her grandchild.. 

“She was a wonderful wonderful person. It’s sad when something like this happens to anybody, but especially somebody like her,” Taintor said.

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