Maybe it’s time to ask what the hell is going on in the Coachella Valley.
Because for the second time in less than two weeks, a Coachella Valley bike rider has been killed in a collision, this time in Rancho Mirage.
According to the Desert Sun, the victim was riding east across busy Bob Hope Drive in the crosswalk on Casino, in front of the Agua Caliente Casino, round 1:30 pm Friday when he was struck by the driver of a car headed north on Bob Hope.
The man, identified only as an elderly man or senior citizen, died after being taken to a local hospital.
There’s no word on who had the green light, or why the driver apparently didn’t notice an older man on a bicycle in the crosswalk directly in front of him.
The driver stayed at the scene and cooperated with police, and did not appear to be under the influence.
This comes less than two weeks after a Canadian man was fatally injured in a collision just eleven miles away in Indian Wells — at least the fourth bike rider killed in the Coachella Valley in the last year, according to the Desert Sun.
Which would make this man the fifth bicyclist to die in the valley, where surface streets are too often designed like freeways, encouraging drivers to exceed the already too high speed limits.
And what little bicycling infrastructure there is does far too little to keep riders safe.
Anyone with any information is urged to call the Riverside County Sheriff’s department at 760/836-1600.
This is at least the 18th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the third I’m aware of in Riverside County.
Update: The victim has been identified as 77-year old Palm Springs resident Jack Peterson.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.
We offer up our prayers for the family and friends of the victim.
Lot’s of seniors in the desert on all kinds of meds and slowed reaction time, poorer vision, big boat cars plus a large community of people living on the edge just scraping by. I have ridden out there a lot, but there are some roads that are just plain dangerous due to no shoulder of lane for bikes, speed of traffic, poor road surface and other debris, attitude of the population base that cyclist don’t belong on the road.
Here in Austin, Tx, we are having a Memorial Ride for 28 year old Jessica Saathoff on Wed. Apr 10th at 7pm. She was killed by a motorist on Thursday March 28, 2019 while traveling by bicycle on E. Martin Luther King Blvd near the University of Texas. I don’t know the details of the crash.
I’m so sorry to read about this senseless tragedy. My thoughts and prayers are with the victim’s loved ones