Portland Gay Rights Activist Killed in Va. Tech Campus Accident

BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Bonnie Tinker, 61, of Portland has died after a dump truck struck her bicycle on the campus of Virginia Tech University, according to a campus spokesman.

Tinker was a long-time portland activist who lobbied for gay rights. Tinker founded Portland's Love Makes A Family, an organization of families headed by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual people.

University spokesman Larry Hincker says the truck was hauling dirt to a construction site near a dining hall when it struck Tinker about 4:30 p.m. Thursday. The accident remains under investigation.

Hincker says Tinker was attending a conference on campus with the Religious Society of Friends. About 1,300 people were attending the conference.