According to reports from the CHP, a cyclist has died in Baldwin Park after an apparent solo fall.
Reading between the lines in the rather cryptic dispatch feed, a 45 to 50-year old Hispanic man fell and hit his head on sidewalk at 14049 Don Julian Road, apparently suffering a fatal head injury.
Why he fell off his bike is unknown.
While the dispatch feed suggests he may have hit the curb, it simply mean that he landed on the sidewalk. It’s entirely possible that he fell on his own, or was forced into the curb by a passing car; there’s simply not enough information to make an informed guess.
It also doesn’t say whether he was wearing a helmet. However, a relatively slow speed fall like this appears to have been exactly the sort of impact bike helmets were design to protect against.
This is the 19th cyclist killed in Southern California this year, and the fifth in Los Angeles County; this is also the third fatality this year resulting from an apparent solo fall.
My prayers to the victim and his loved ones.
Update: The San Gabriel Valley Tribune reports that the victim has been identified as 47-year old Louis H. Esparza of La Puente, and identifies the location as unincorporated Bassett in L.A. County. According to the paper, he was riding east on the sidewalk when he somehow hit a raised metal mailbox and fell into the street, sliding forward and striking his head on the curb.
And no, he wasn’t wearing a helmet. In this case, it may have cost Esparza his life.
Indeed, a fall below 20 km/h, preferably to the top of the head, is about the only sort of impact bike helmets will protect against.