A rare three-week stretch without a SoCal cycling fatality was broken last night, when a Laguna Hills cyclist was killed while riding in Garden Grove.
According to the Orange County Register, 47-year old Brian Winfrey was riding on the right shoulder of Euclid Road near Wakefield Ave around 7 pm Monday when he was rear-ended by a white Honda CRV traveling south on Euclid. Winfrey was transported to UCI Medical Center in Orange, where he was pronounced dead about an hour later.
The paper reports that the 48-year old driver, who has not been publicly identified, remained at the scene. No arrest was made, and no citations have been issued; drug or alcohol use is not suspected.
Which raises the question of why the driver would not have seen and reacted to an adult cyclist wearing a bright yellow reflective vest, who should have been clearly visible and out of the way of traffic.
Hopefully, authorities will check her phone records to ensure she wasn’t driving distracted at the time of the collision.
Anyone with information is urged to call Garden Grove traffic Jason Perkins at 714/741-5823.
This is the 68th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 13th in Orange County; in addition, six other riders have been fatality shot this year, two in OC.
Remarkably, it’s just the second SoCal cycling fatality this month, and the first since 20-year old Jeremy Kidder was killed in Buena Park on November 5th.
I wouldn’t ride on Euclid, especially at night. He could have been visible and still got clipped.
I see according to Google Maps that it’s at the north end of Garden Grove. I live further south, but Euclid is still a pretty dangerous street to ride on, so I take parallel streets when I can (like taking Ward and cutting through Mile Square Park) when riding south.
I sure wouldn’t want to DRIVE on Euclid at night (more than I have to), nevermind riding there.
Cyclists should be able to safely ride any street. However, there are almost always alternative routes like you describe that allow riders to bypass high speed, heavily trafficked streets. It’s worth looking at a map or asking other riders to find a route that avoids the more dangerous sections.
Damn, and there was a real streak going.
Six riders have been fatally shot?? From people shooting at them from passing cars? You have probably written about this before, but I’ve missed it.
Not all have been shot from cars, some have been shot by people on foot or unknown assailants. So far, most if not all appear to be gang related.
I have written about each, but haven’t included them in the bicycling fatalities based on feedback from readers.
Even a chartruse reflective vest inefective. Wonder if bicycle lights and helmet were used. Tragic start to the Holiday Season. Our prayers are going up for the family and friends of the victim.
All the bright clothing, reflectors and lights in the world can’t stop a two ton missle whose operator is looking at the electronic device in their lap rather than out the front windshield.
True enough! Even Caltrans workers are occasionally killed and they have all sorts of high viz equipment and even barriers. Some drivers are just downright hazardous.
Yes he had a light on and a helmet he had taken the bus from Laguna hills to help and elderly man in garden grove with his computer issues got off the bus 2 blocks from the house when he was hit by a women who probably was texting he grew up there and knows the streets I am Brian’s aunt. He did everything right has been riding for years. She wasn’t paying attention.