US President Barack Obama has said he is “heartbroken” after a senior White House employee was killed on a charity bike ride. Jake Brewer, 34, died while taking part in the 150-mile Ride to Conquer Cancer event on Saturday.
The senior policy advisor in the chief technology office lost control of his bike and was hit by a vehicle. Mr Obama said: “Jake devoted his life to empowering people and making government work better for them.” He said Mr Brewer had “a brilliant mind, a big heart, and an insatiable desire to give back”.
“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. “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,” Mr Obama’s statement said. “Jake was proof of that.”
White House Chief Technology Officer Megan Smith described Mr Brewer as “a driven polymath” in addition to being “extraordinarily kind”. She has written about the range of his work in a White House blog. Mr Brewer, from Alexandria, Virginia, reportedly lost control of his bike on a sharp curve in Howard County, Maryland.
