BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- Friends came together Monday night to remember a bicyclist who was hit and killed by a Bakersfield police officer Friday afternoon.

A few people who were at the scene where 51-year-old Samuel Boyd was hit are accusing the officer who hit him of intentionally telling people nearby not to perform CPR. But the bicycling community, and Boyd's girlfriend, told 23ABC it was a tragic accident and there's nothing anyone could have done for him.

Monday night they came together for a candlelight vigil in honor of Boyd, and they left a ghost bike in his memory, something the bikers say is hard to see.

"It's really hard, actually," said Jon Athen. "As a commuter on a bicycle and a driver, I mean, I see definitely both sides of it. I think it's a good chance, a good opportunity to raise awareness for both cyclists and drivers to share the road."

Friday, officer Peter Beagley, who was in plain clothes assignment and driving an unmarked police SUV, was heading north on H Street when police said Boyd, who was riding the same way, tried to cross the street, right into the path of the officer. Police said beagley tried to stop but he hit Boyd. He died later at the hospital.

"He left my house," said his girlfriend, who didn't give her name. "I was taking care of my business, and he knocked on my door. Ten more minutes and if I'd have been there, he'd still be alive. But I that's not up for me to say, that's up to Jesus Christ."

A neighbor, who didn't want to go on camera, told 23ABC she was at the scene of the crash, and said the officer told people nearby not to help Boyd. She also said another officers were yelling at him to "get up" as he laid on the ground.

But others at the vigil say they don't blame the officer.

"I'm sure the officer, as any individual, is heartbroken," said Zac Griffin. "You know, he has to live with that. So we don't think that there's any reason to look at him with any more animosity than anyone else. It was tragic all the way around."

His girlfriend, and Boyd's uncle who stopped by, said they wanted to thank the bicyclists for honoring him.

"Oh, he was beautiful, he was funny, he loved sports, he loved sports," his girlfriend said with a smile. "He was good, he was an Army vet, just a laughing person. He would do anything for you."

The Bakersfield police department's traffic division is investigating the accident, and an administrative review is also underway. Beagley has been cleared to go back to duty.