In memoriam 2011; part 2

7/2/11 A 68-year old cyclist who was not publicly identified died after being rear-end by a driver on PCH in Long Beach; the driver was questioned and released.

7/4/11 32-year old George Loudon was run down from behind by a hit-and-run driver while riding his bike home from work at 2:30 am near Dockweiler Beach.

7/4/11 39-year old musician Stephen Pyle was critically injured when he was struck by a car after riding into the street from between two parked cars in San Pedro; he was removed from life support and died the next day.

7/6/11 67-year old Louis Gabor suffered critical injuries when he was hit by a pickup that may have run a red light in Long Beach; he died of his injuries on 7/19/11. No word on whether the driver was ever charged.

7/14/11 4-year old Sabastian Parada was hit by a car while crossing the street near his home in Desert Hot Springs; he was taken off life support two days later.

7/16/2011 17-year old Jesus Lopez was shot multiple times as he tried to flee from suspected gang members in Montecito Heights.

7/18/11 23-year old Christopher Sop was found dead on the side of the road in unincorporated Big Bear following an apparent solo riding accident; officers concluded that lost control of his bike and hit his head on a rock.

7/19/11 63-year old Victor Rodriguez was collateral damage as two drivers apparently competed for lane space in Downtown L.A. in what was initially described as a road rage incident; Philip Goldburn Williams faces a charge of misdemeanor vehicular homicide without gross negligence.

7/22/11 Jose Garcia-Espinoza was killed in Moreno Valley when a 64-year old driver may have suffered a seizure before losing control of his motor home, fatally striking the rider before hitting a utility pole.

7/23/11 An unidentified Hispanic cyclist was hit head-on after riding against traffic on a busy highway; local reports blamed the victim for riding after dark and not wearing a helmet, as well.

7/27/11 64-year old Arthur John Jacobs was killed in a hit-and-run while riding in North San Diego County. After a brief search, Julianne Elyse Thompson was found hiding under some nearby bushes; she was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter, felony hit-and-run and drunk driving.

7/29/11 16-year old Bernard Cota suffered severe brain injuries when he was hit by a car while while riding to see a friend in Rancho Cucamonga; his organs where donated after being taken off life support six days later.

8/3/11 51-year old Michael Biel died when he was hit by an oncoming truck in Jurupa Valley; no word on whether he was riding on the wrong side or if the truck had strayed into his lane.

8/5/11 19-year old Cody Wessel was killed in Lake Elsinore after riding his BMX bike in front of an oncoming van after leaving work.

8/5/11 7-year old Jeremy Perez was riding to visit his mother at her new job at a Redondo Beach Albertsons when he rode behind a truck backing into the store’s loading dock.

8/10/11 42-year old Riverside Sheriff’s Detective Duane Parkinson was riding off-duty in Irvine when he was hit from behind by a Mercedes Benz SUV; Parkinson left behind a wife and three children.

8/13/11 12-year old Zachariah Houck was hit and killed In Hesperia after reportedly riding through a stop sign into the path of a Lincoln Navigator; the driver reportedly was unable to avoid Houck.

8/23/11 50-year old Enrique Lemus Bautista was killed in on Avalon Blvd in South Los Angeles; the suspect vehicle may have been a black BMW.

8/27/11 Nathan “Bud” Tippee and his wife were participating in a Saturday morning group ride when two cars collided in a Lancaster intersection and spun out of control, injuring them both; Nathan died of his injuries several days later.

9/18/11 24-year old Oregon resident Jocelyn Young fell off her bike in Pasadena and was run over by a passing car, which fled the scene; a witness followed Nicholas Avila to his home, where he was arrested on suspicion of felony drunk driving.

9/22/11 61-year old Alan Deane was riding on a Pasadena sidewalk when he rode out into the crosswalk and was hit and killed by a left turning car; the collision was ruled an accident by the coroner. Deane was a musician who had performed with the Captain & Tennille, The Grass Roots and Johnny Rivers, among others.

9/27/11 79-year old Jerzy Nowak was found dead on the side of the road in Escondido; there was no evidence of any other vehicle involved.

9/28/11 30-year old Justin Newman suffered a massive head injury after being doored in San Diego and died two days later; no word on whether the driver was charged.

10/1/11 29-year old Reynard Lionell Fulton was shot and killed while riding his bike in Long Beach.

10/2/11 74-year old Vernon Slade was killed when he was hit by a Dodge Ram truck in Moreno Valley at 3:27 am.

10/8/11 27-year old Omar Gomez was hit from behind in Chino Hills just days after Governor Brown vetoed the states proposed three foot passing law; the driver reportedly looked away from the road just moments before striking Gomez.

10/13/11 21-year old Disneyland employee Margaret Conway, known as Maggie May to her friends, was killed when she was struck from behind by a Ford SUV as she crossed an Anaheim overpass on her way home from work; no word on why the driver didn’t see her on the well-lit bridge.

10/16/11 28-year old Mark Leones was leading a group of riders on a steep, high-speed descent when his wheel caught a groove by the gutter and he lost control; he suffered multiple head injuries after striking a concrete embankment and died at a hospital soon after.

10/17/11 19-year old Genaro Ramirez was shot from a passing car and killed while riding in Downey at 3 am.

10/18/11 Juan Z. Gutierrez was shot and killed while riding his bike in Pico Rivera at 1:25 am, less than 24 hours and 10 miles from where Ramirez died.

10/26/11 44-year old Francisco Donato was fatally injured in Chino when 18-year old Gerardo Mendez attempted to pass another vehicle by driving his massive Yukon SUV through the bike lane Donato was riding in. Donato died two days later; no word on charges against the driver.

11/3/11 Sherri Norton was riding in Santiago Canyon when she reportedly made a 90 degree turn to her left to go back to meet her riding partner, and was struck by a car travelling at 50 mph. She died two days later, and many riders question whether the collision actually occurred the way it was described in the press.

11/5/11 51-year old Robert (Roberto) Hyndman died when he lost control of his bike while riding with his brother on a steep decent on Los Flores Canyon during the Rapha Gentlmen’s Ride.

11/12/11 35-year old Romeo Jimenez-Zavaleta was right-hooked by an Orange County OCTA bus while riding in a Laguna Hills crosswalk; a reader reports that weather conditions may have been a factor.

11/24/11 6-year old Anthony Martinez was killed while riding his bike in Oxnard on Thanksgiving Day when he was hit by a neighbor’s truck after being forced to ride around a commercial truck that was blocking the sidewalk.

12/3/11 65-year old Hollywood writer/producer Carol Schreder was riding on Mulholland Highway in the Malibu Hills when she was struck by a van pulling a trailer, which reportedly jackknifed when forced to stop suddenly; however, several people reported the vehicle was speeding and driving recklessly just moments before the fatal collision.

12/3/11 An unidentified 57-year old man was hit and killed by a passing freight train as he rode slowly across the tracks.

12/13/11 47-year old Randy Isaacs was killed in a Lake Forest hit-and-run while riding in the crosswalk; he was riding on the sidewalk for the few blocks to his home after kissing his children, who were staying at his parent house, good night.

12/28/11 44-year old Gabriel Perez was dragged half-a-block to his death in a Pomona hit-and-run when he was hit by an SUV while riding across an intersection; Chino resident Rodger Allen Karcher was arrested on a charge of hit-and-run causing death after turning himself in the next day.

12/29/11 14-year old Albert Nguyen was killed in a right hook as he rode off the sidewalk into the path of a turning car; he died in the hospital on New Years Day.

Finally, a CHP report indicated that another cyclist was killed in East Los Angeles on 6/20/11; however, I have been unable to confirm the fatality or get any details.

It is also important to note that these are only the fatalities that I am aware of, whether they were reported in the press or sent to me directly. It is entirely possible — in fact, likely — that other deaths occurred last year which I am unaware of; as a case in point, I only learned about the death of 4-year old Sabastian Parada today while researching another fatality.

Click here for Part 1.

My sympathy and prayers to all the victims and their loved ones.

10 comments

  1. TQ says:

    On January 14th, 2011, 13-year-old Kayel Smith was killed when he veered into traffic on Riverside Drive in Lake Elsinore.

    On February 16th, 2011, a 50-year-old transient was struck and killed by a vehicle as he was either riding his lightless bike, or walking it, across a dark section of Brookhurst Street in Fountain Valley.

    On June 25th, 2011, an unidentified cyclist was killed as he ran a stop sign at Birch and Cubbon in Santa Ana.

    One report is no less numbing to read than an entire, overwhelming list.

    One unnecessary death is too many.

  2. Dennis Alters, MD says:

    Thank you for your kindness.

  3. DJwheels says:

    Wow. It’s worse than I thought.

  4. John L. says:

    Thank you for remembering.

  5. Opus the Poet says:

    The only difference between this blog post and one of my posts is this was a whole year confined to one small geographical area, over 2 days. Mine is 6 days a weeks over the entire world (that’s covered by Anglophone media). You have my condolences.

  6. Kim says:

    I wish more people would see this. They need to see that these are REAL people, not just some random “cyclist” they might’ve heard about on some random news blurb or even a Tweet. It’s sad that so many lives were lost but it’s a beautiful thing you’ve done with this memorial. Thank you.

  7. […] comment from TQ lead to the discovery of three more cycling deaths that I was previously unaware of, which have […]

  8. las artes says:

    Teresa Pimentel, 72, was killed in a Los Angeles car accident , which officials report, involved a hit-and-run driver. According to an article in the Los Angeles Daily News, the fatal pedestrian accident occurred in the 11700 block of Foothill Boulevard in Lakeview Terrace, the night of December 12, 2011. Los Angeles police say Pimentel was crossing the street when a vehicle hit her. The motorist did not stop at the scene of the crash and kept driving. Pimentel was transported to a local hospital where she died the following morning. Anyone with information about this hit-and-run car accident is asked to contact LAPD’s Valley Traffic Division at 818-644-8115.

  9. Albert Nguen's Friend says:

    Rest in peace to the ones that have lost their lives including my dear friend Albert nguyen.
    Everyone misses you so much albert ♥ We miss you and rest in peace.

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