Tag Archive for Riverside County

Update: La Quinta bike rider dies after crashing into truck parked in bike lane

June 26, 2017 / / 15 comments

A bike rider has died due to an ambiguous state law.

According to The Desert Sun, a bike rider was killed in a crash with a truck parked in a La Quinta bike lane this morning.

The victim, who has not been publicly identified, was riding north in the bike lane on Avenida Bermudas around 8 am when he rear-ended the truck.

He was taken to a hospital in Indio, where he was pronounced dead.

The Desert Sun places the location as the 54-000 block of Avenida Bermudas, while other sources place it a half mile south near Calle Chillon. The latter location seems more likely, since the paper says a road diet narrowed the roadway to two lanes and a single northbound bike lane in the area of the crash last December; the northern location still shows two lanes in each direction, along with a parking lane in both directions.

According to the paper, the driver has not been ticketed or charged.

The gardening truck was parked in the bike lane, but no one was cited, according to the sheriff’s department. The crash is still under investigation.

California law states vehicles may park in a bike lane if there aren’t any “no parking” signs present and it isn’t impacting the normal movement of a bicyclist, according to the California Office of Traffic Safety.

It’s hard to argue that the truck wasn’t blocking the lane if the victim couldn’t safely get around it.

This is yet another well intentioned law that actually makes things worse for people on bicycles.

The apparent purpose behind CVC 21211(b) is to keep cities from having to choose between parking and bike lanes. Yet in effect, it confuses drivers who don’t know whether or not they can park there, since it’s hard to park any vehicle in a bike lane without blocking it.

And as this tragedy shows, the consequences can be deadly for people on bicycles.

This is the 27th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth in Riverside County.

Update: The victim has been identified as 81-year old Indio resident Larry Lee Ortner. The Riverside County News Source places the scene of the crash at the southern location, around the bend of the road above Calle Chillon. Thanks to Victor B for the heads-up.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Larry Lee Ortner and his loved ones.

 

Category: Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , ,

Update: Man killed in San Jacinto bicycling collision; no details available

June 7, 2017 / / 2 comments

A man has been killed riding his bike in San Jacinto, with few details available at this time.

According to the Press-Enterprise, the man was hit by a vehicle around 9:30 last night at the intersection of San Jacinto Avenue and Shaver Street.

He was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 2:36 this morning, according to the Riverside County Coroner’s office.

He has not yet been identified as of this writing.

No other information is available. However, it appears the driver may have remained at the scene, since a sheriff’s official reports it’s unknown if drugs or alcohol were involved.

A street view shows a T-intersection with a four lane highway on San Jacinto Avenue, with a dirt shoulder on one side and a sidewalk on the other, and a two lane street on Shaver.

It’s yet another tragic reminder to always carry ID when you ride.

This is the 25th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the third in Riverside County.

Update: The Valley News reports the victim was hit when he was traveling west across San Jacinto, and was hit by the driver of a northbound Toyota Camry, then again by the driver of a pickup as he was laying on the ground. 

The paper notes the dark roadway has been the scene of several recent major and fatal collisions. Which could make the city responsible for failing to correct the situation.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.

 

Category: Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

Update: Man dies after apparent right hook in Temecula Wednesday night

April 27, 2017 / / 4 comments

Sad news from Temecula, where a man on a bicycle died following a Wednesday night collision.

According to the Valley News, the victim was struck by a truck driver who was turning right from eastbound Temecula Parkway to Pechanga Parkway around 8:52 pm last night.

Riverside County sheriff’s deputies responding to the scene found the man, who has not been publicly identified, lying in the roadway suffering from major injuries. He was taken to a local hospital, where he died today.

There was no indication that alcohol was a factor.

Based on the limited description, it would appear the rider was the victim of a right hook. However, there’s no word on where the victim was riding at the time of the crash.

A satellite view shows a major intersection with seven through lanes and two right turn lanes on Temecula, which suggests that he may have been riding on the sidewalk and rode off into the crosswalk. However, that is just a guess at this time.

Anyone with information is urged to call Officer Carpenter at the Temecula Police Department at 951/696-3000.

This is the 15th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the second in Riverside County.

Update: The victim has been identified as 56-year old John Napolitano.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for John Napolitano and his loved ones.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities, Update / Tags: , , , ,

Murrieta mountain biker killed in trail riding fall last Saturday

April 18, 2017 / / One comment

The Murrieta Patch is reporting that a mountain biker has died after losing control of his bike on a local trail.

Sixty-five-year old Murrieta resident Dennis Fabozzi was reportedly trailing a group of riders around 1 pm Saturday on a dirt trail near Tenaja Road and Via Volcano, when he fell and struck his head on a rock, resulting in a serious neck injury.

Witnesses performed CPR until paramedics arrived; however, he died at the scene without regaining consciousness.

The story notes that he was wearing a helmet. Unfortunately, that would have done nothing to protect his neck from blunt force trauma.

This is the 13th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the first in Riverside County.

My deepest prayers and sympathy for Dennis Fabozzi and all his loved ones.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , ,

62-year old bike rider killed in early morning Perris hit-and-run

October 24, 2016 / / 7 comments

Yet another bike rider has been murdered by a careless and cowardly driver.

The Riverside Press-Enterprise is reporting that 62-year old Steven Marsh was killed by a hit-and-run driver at Navajo Road and Highway 74 in Perris at 3:30 Monday morning.

According to the paper, Marsh attempting to make a left turn from Navajo onto Highway 74 when a westbound car went through the red light and struck his bicycle; he died at the scene.

The driver sped off without stopping. The suspect vehicle is described only as a dark sedan with possible front-end damage to passenger side and windshield.

Navajo Road ends at Highway 74 with a double left turn lane controlled by a red light, while Highway 74 has two lanes in each direction with a painted center divider. The road has a 45 mph speed limit, but its straight-open design could encourage higher speeds, especially at that hour.

This is the 64th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the tenth in Riverside County; that compares with ten in the county for all of last year. Marsh is also the fifth bike rider to be killed in Perris in just the last three years.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Steven Marsh and all his loved ones. 

Category: Bicycle Safety, Hit-and-Run, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , ,

Palm Springs bicyclist killed in collision with semi truck

October 1, 2016 / / 3 comments

Another Riverside County bike rider has been killed, the third in the past month.

The Palm Springs Desert Sun reports a 49-year old man was struck by a big rig truck at 4:48 am yesterday on East Ramon Road west of Paseo Dorotea.

He was pronounced dead at the scene four minutes later.

The Riverside County Coroner’s office identifies him as Eddie Galindo of Palm Springs, while placing the site of the collision as approximately 208 feet west of Paseo Dorotea.

It’s unclear just how the collision may have occurred.

The Desert Sun reports that police concluded Galindo was riding north when he was struck by the eastbound truck. However, a satellite view shows a six lane divided highway with no obvious crossing points west of Paseo Dorotea.

Meanwhile, KESQ-2/3 says he was riding east on Ramon, which would suggest he was rear-ended by the driver of the truck.

It’s possible he may have been attempting to cross the eastbound lanes to make a left turn, which is the only explanation that would appear to fit both descriptions.

Police don’t believe drugs or alcohol were involved. And no word on whether the victim had lights and reflectors in the early morning darkness.

Galindo’s death follows the hit-and-run death of Forrest Holmes in Jurupa Valley, and that of a Hemet man who has still not been publicly identified, both earlier last month.

This is the 60th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the ninth in Riverside County. That compares with 56 in SoCal this time last year, and five in the county.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Eddie Galindo and all his loved ones.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

Lightless bike rider killed in pre-dawn Hemet crash

September 7, 2016 / / One comment

Yet another bike rider has been killed in what has been a bad week for SoCal cyclists.

According to the Riverside Press-Enterprise, the 34-year old Hemet resident, who hasn’t been publicly identified, was struck by a Jeep Cherokee near the intersection of Florida Ave and Western Ave in Hemet around 6 am today.

The Riverside County News Source places the time at 6:02 am, while suggesting that the victim may have been when he was hit by the westbound SUV as he was crossing Florida.

However, the Press-Enterprise reports that investigators have not determined which direction the victim was traveling.

Police investigators say the victim was wearing dark clothes with no lights or reflectors on his bike when he allegedly moved in front of the SUV, nearly half an hour before sunrise.

He was pronounced dead at the scene, despite the efforts of paramedics.

Photos on the RCNS site show a badly mangled mountain bike lying in the center of the roadway. The driver, who remained at the scene, did not appear to have been speeding or under the influence, according to police.

A street view shows a wide four lane street with center turn lane on Florida, with a narrow residential street on Western, connecting at an intersection controlled with a two-way stop sign.

Several people called 911 to report the crash. Anyone with information is urged to contact Hemet Police officials at 951/765-2400.

This is the 58th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the eighth in Riverside County. It’s also the fourth SoCal bicycling death in the last seven days; at least three other riders have been seriously injured in that time.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.

 

Category: Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , ,

Update: 22-year old Jurupa Valley bike rider killed in early morning hit-and-run

September 6, 2016 / / One comment

A Riverside County became the latest bicyclist to be murdered by a hit-and-run driver, in what is becoming an epidemic in Southern California.

According to the Press-Enterprise, 22-year old Jurupa Valley resident Forrest Holmes was killed in a collision at the intersection of Limonite Ave and Lucretia Ave in Jurupa Valley around 2 am today.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

No information is available on how the wreck occurred, and there’s no description of the driver or the suspect vehicle.

A street view shows a wide, four lane roadway on Limonite, with a an un-striped residential street on Lucretia; they meet at a T-intersection controlled by a traffic light. None of which means anything without knowing what happened.

This is 57th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the seventh in Riverside County.

It’s also the third fatal hit-and-run involving a SoCal bike rider in the past week, and the fifth in just the last five weeks.

Update: KABC-7 reports Holmes was an aspiring minister, and had gotten up early to minister to day laborers at a local Home Depot. 

The station places the site of the collision on Limonite, less than a half mile west of Lucretia, rather than at the intersection itself. After he was struck from behind, other drivers comforted him as he lay dying after the driver fled the scene. 

A gofundme page has been established to help pay for his funeral expenses; as of this time, it has raised a little over $1,100 of the $5,000 goal. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Forrest Holmes and his family and friends.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities, Morning Links, Update / Tags: , , , ,

48-year old man dies following Aug. 23rd Palm Spring collision

September 1, 2016 / / One comment

News just broke today that a man died last week following a Palm Springs collision.

According to the Desert Sun, 48-year old Cathedral City resident Arthur Abilene was hit by a pickup at 12 am on Wednesday, August 23rd.

He was reportedly riding against traffic in the southbound lane of Crossley Road when he entered the intersection at Ramon Road against the red light, and was struck by the eastbound truck.

He was taken to Desert Regional Medical Center, where he passed away at 11:15 Friday night.

The driver remained at the scene and cooperated with police, and is not suspected of being under the influence; investigators say he was traveling around the 40 mph speed limit.

This tragedy highlights the dangers of riding against traffic, as drivers don’t anticipate riders coming from the wrong direction, and have less time to stop to avoid a collision.

Abilene’s death comes just three months after Clay Charles Triolo was killed by a hit-and-run driver just yards away on Ramon Road.

This is the 54th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the sixth in Riverside County. That compares with 47 deaths in SoCal this time last year, and four in Riverside County.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Arthur Abilene and his loved ones. 

Category: Bicycle Safety, Car vs Bike / Tags: , , ,

Weekend Links: Reward for killer hit-and-run Riverside County driver, and CicLAvia returns to Wilshire this Sunday

August 13, 2016 / / 2 comments

The family of fallen cyclist Duane Darling calls on the public’s help in tracking down the hit-and-run driver who left him to die on the side of a Riverside County road.

Investigators are looking for a Ford F-150 pickup with damage to the passenger-side headlight. Anyone with information is urged to call the CHP at 951/637-8000; there’s a $1,000 reward in the case.

………

Just in time for Sunday’s CicLAvia, the Militant Angeleno offers his guide to the iconic, if truncated, route, which has been shortened due to construction on the Purple Line subway.

However, he fails to include the locations of any of the other 55 Pokestops along the route.

CicLAvia offers a list of feeder rides to the event. Given the heat forecast for the weekend, my feeder ride may be the Red Line.

………

More kindhearted cops.

Over a dozen Virginia police officers pitch in to buy a new bike for an autistic boy after his was stolen off his porch.

And a pair of Kentucky cops buy a new bike for a seven-year old girl after hers was stolen; the girl touchingly said the officers healed her heart.

………

Evidently, it takes one to know one. Lance Armstrong makes a cryptic, one-word doping accusation when Fabian Cancellara won gold in the Rio time trial.

Bradley Wiggins becomes the UK’s most decorated Olympian after winning gold in the men’s team pursuit.

The Guardian looks at the impact not making their nation’s Olympic teams has on women cyclists, and what comes next for them.

………

Local

Damien Newton talks with Bike SGV’s Wes Reutimann.

Membership in the new WeHo Pedal bikeshare costs just $69 for the first year.

 

State

A two week ride to put an end to human trafficking will end in Newport Beach on September 25th.

The co-founder and CEO of the Lyft car-sharing service once biked 350 miles from LA to Mono Lake, and helped raised funds for a campus bike line as a student at UC Santa Barbara.

The Department of DIY strikes in San Francisco, as a group called the San Francisco Transformation Agency is taking bike safety into their own orange cone-bearing hands.

Thirty bicyclists riding across the US with the Bike & Build program stopped in Stockton to work on a home.

 

National

A Colorado woman wants a new mayor who won’t pander to bike riders by allowing them to rudely ride in the middle of the traffic lane, while a bike-riding Colorado lawyer offers advice on how to deal with police and angry drivers. Such as the letter writer, probably.

A new Nebraska law gives bike riders the same crosswalk right-of-way enjoyed by pedestrians, as well as repealing the outdated mandatory side path rule.

Evidently, cycling is an obscure sport, at least as far as a Boston writer is concerned as he ranks the greatest sports movies. American Flyers over Breaking Away? Seriously?

A writer for the Boston Globe calls for cycle tracks in the city.

DC is installing pocket lanes to help bike riders navigate through intersections to avoid right hooks.

Tragic story from South Carolina, as a 77-year old bike rider died after riding into a ravine; he left a voice mail for his wife saying he’d crashed into a creek bed and needed help, and hung his shirt on a tree branch to signal rescuers, but wasn’t found until it was too late.

A Louisiana cyclist made it about a mile onto the 26-mile Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, which prohibits bicyclists. I threatened to try riding it myself more than once when I live down there, since it would cut the ride to New Orleans down to a few scenic hours.

The Florida cop who accidently shot and killed a 77-year old woman left his previous job after siccing his police dog on a bike rider.

Florida cyclists wisely object to plans to place buffered bike lanes on a six lane divided highway with a 55 mph speed limit.

 

International

Bike Radar asks if you’re a cycling snob.

An off-duty British cop goes beyond the call of duty by stopping a thief and recovering the bike he stole, then using his own car to track down the vacationing Dutch couple it belonged to.

After a Brit bike rider was knocked cold by a hit-and-run driver, paramedics leave him on the side of the road, despite a neck injury and a broken shoulder, telling him to find his own way home.

A BBC TV reporter discusses his long road to recovery after a near-fatal bicycling collision; when he woke from a two-week coma, he thought he was an American race car driver in 1952.

Spend your next bike vacation pedaling through the real Palestine from Tel Aviv through Jericho and Bethlehem to Jerusalem.

 

Finally…

If you can’t fix it with duct tape, it ain’t broken. If you miss not being on your bike, doesn’t that mean you wish you weren’t on it?

And you’ll need to ride a bike for 50 minutes to work off the calories from the new frozen deep-fried Twinkies.

Which seems like as good an excuse as any.

 

Category: Hit-and-Run, Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , ,
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