More bad news on what should have been a weekend of celebration after a last minute reprieve for the Marathon Crash Ride.
KNBC-4 is reporting that a Glendale man in his late 20s was killed after riding his bike through a red light in Glendale this morning.
According to the station, the victim, who has not been publicly identified, was riding at the intersection of Glendale and California Avenues at 7:10 am when he allegedly rode through the light at a fast pace, and was hit by a car. He was taken to USC Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
The driver, identified only as a woman in her 40s, remained at the scene and was not arrested.
No other details are available at this time.
As always, the question is whether there were any independent witnesses, other than the driver, who saw him run the red light. It’s too easy to blame the victim when it’s impossible for him to give his side of the story.
This is the 24rd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 11th in Los Angeles County.
My sincere prayers and sympathy for the victim and his loved ones.
Update: Evidently, there was another witness. According to the Glendale News Press,
(Sgt. Tom) Lorenz said a witness at the nearby Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf saw the cyclist, headed south on Glendale Avenue, run a red light before being struck by a car headed east. “He didn’t even slow down,” he said, adding the driver of the car, a woman in her 40s, has been cleared of any fault.
Thanks to Rogelio Yanez for the link.
Update 2: the Glendale News-Press has identified the victim as 25-year old Melik Khanamiryan, presumably of Glendale. Thanks to Danny Gamboa for the link.
More info
http://www.glendalenewspress.com/news/tn-gnp-cyclist-dies-after-being-hit-by-car-20140309,0,7290520.story
I commute via bike to work in Glendale, this hits close to home. My condolences to his family.
Our prayers go up for the family and friends of the victim.
We all pray for the family of this young man. We all knew and loved him like a brother. I have only been fortunate to know this young man for a short time and his loss is a loss to this world. My condolences to his family. This young man will be missed.
[…] kind of massive brain fade that made them disregard it. Cyclist Killed After Running Red Light and Update: Red-light running cyclist killed in Glendale collision Sunday morning All I can say about this one is to have that first cup of coffee before you leave the house, and […]
There was more than one witness. Read the news articles. Cyclists run through stop signs and lights all the time. Sick of it!!! Obey the rules and stop blaming drivers.
Did anyone here blame the driver? The story clearly says there was more than one witness, and the cyclist ran the stop sign.
However, it’s a common problem that in a collision without witnesses, the driver is able to give his side of the story while the cyclist is often incapacitated or dead, and therefore unable to present the other side. As a result, riders can be blamed for things they didn’t; it’s happened to me.
As for obeying the rules, maybe you’re one of the few motorists who never speeds or fails to signal, always observes right of way and makes safe lane changes, and never drives drunk, distracted or aggressively.
We live in a society where the overwhelming majority of road users fail to obey the law. Yet somehow, you only point the finger at bike riders, despite the inherent danger posed by unsafe operation of motor vehicles.
Careless or otherwise unsafe motorists kill over 30,000 people in the US every year, while the number of people killed by bikes can be counted on one hand.
If you feel the need to be sick of something, be sick of that. And remember it the next time you get behind the wheel.
Sure there are plenty of unsafe careless automobile drivers. But the numbers of “entitled” people on bicycles is growing every year. From your weekend fitness clubs riding in hordes and completely disregarding stop signs, to your mentally retarded “hipsters” on their fixie bikes putting themselves and others in danger.
I ride a bike for fun and recreation, but I do so fully aware that I don’t exist in the same space as a car, and so for that reason I rack mount my bike and drive to places with dedicated bike paths where I don’t have to be with cars. As a working tax payer, I believe the roads are for CARS and the sidewalks are for PEOPLE. Bicycles should always get a much lower priority. The day people on bikes start paying taxes for roads; are required to register bikes and be licensed— would be the day they get more consideration. If they don’t like it, they can walk.
So, by the same logic, you would also license and register pedestrians, right?
As for paying taxes, I don’t know any bike riders who don’t. The obvious flaw in your logic — if it can be called that — is that almost all local street construction and maintenance is paid out of general taxes. Which means that bike riders pay just as much for them as motorists, while causing virtually no wear and tear.
And despite your wrong-headed instance that bikes should always get a lower priority, state law disagrees, giving bike riders the same rights and responsibilities as motorists.
Whether or not you believe bicyclists should get consideration is irrelevant. You are legally required to give bike riders safe space on the roads and observe their legal right-of-way, just as you would any other vehicle on the road.
Pedestrians do not need to be licensed, and pedestrians are not a potential hazard to anyone while walking on a sidewalk (runners may be sometimes be an exception to that). Bikes on sidewalks don’t mix with pedestrians well, not anymore than cars and bikes mix on most roads in the county. You fail to appreciate that in every instance, PEDESTRIANS HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY. Newton’s law and logic is why this is.
I AM a bicycle rider; I AM a motorist, and I AM a pedestrian. However I am not entitled enough to assume that just because I ride a bike that I am not potentially at a risk from cars— or a risk to pedestrians.
As to your comment that I do not give consideration to people on bikes— not true, I did not say that. I give consideration to human beings because I don’t want to injure them or worse– and I don’t want to be sued and lose everything I have. But my point was and remains: that if you ride a bike where there are cars you take the risk of not going home at the end of your day because one “accident” (and sometime things are just that)– sometimes happen. But all these new city laws “protecting people on bikes” is doing is in many instances is leading people on bikes to feel entitled because “the new laws are on their side”. Well, a law isn’t going to help you after you get run over by a truck. And furthermore any enforcement of auto vs. bicyclist laws should not be more than bicyclist vs pedestrian. If a car doesn’t give 3 feet to a person on a bike on a road and deserves a ticket, then the same ticket should go to anyone on a bike traveling at any speed over 3 miles per hour passing a pedestrain on a sidewalk or a crosswalk. If cars are not permitted to go through a crosswalk with a pedestrian, neither should a bike. A bike going 15 miles per hour hitting a small child or an elder person can cause DEATH.
Ride your bikes on bike paths and stop acting like you own the world.
(Last paragraph removed by editor)
I have only two rules governing comments on here. First is to show respect and courtesy to other commenters; second is to show respect for the dead. Which is why I am deleting your last paragraph.
Remember, relatives and friends of fallen cyclists often visit this site. How would you like reading what you just about your own loved one?
Common sense — and LA law, which allows bicycling on sidewalks — dictates that bike riders must show respect and consideration for others when using sidewalks, which should be as seldom as possible.
However, by your logic, cyclists don’t belong on the sidewalk or in the roadway, and must be used only for recreation on off-road bike paths.
Sorry, but bicycling is a valid and legal form or recreation. If you choose to only ride your bike for recreation, that is your choice. But you have no right to force that choice on anyone else.
As for safety, you are far more likely to die behind the wheel of your car than on a bicycle. For that matter, you are more likely to die sitting on your couch than riding a bike.
Yes, bad things can happen on bicycles. But contrary to your fears, riding a bike is actually one of the safest forms of transportation. In fact, your risk of death on any given ride is over 6.3 million to one.
If you choose not to ride on the street, that is your right. But don’t expect anyone else to follow your lead.
As for those entitled bike riders who act like they own the world, I’ve never met one in over 30 years of bicycling. But I have encountered a lot of motorists who seem to feel that way.
Are you really going to say that in 30 years you “never met an entitled bike rider”? Never a person on a ‘fixie’ bombing down a sidewalk with pedestrians? Never seen a person on a bicycle ride through a stop sign? Neve seen a person on a bike grabbing hold of a car for a tow?
If you aren’t going to be honest then you are not part of the solution, just part of the problem.
Actually , I said I’ve never met an entitled bike rider. I have never, ever in my entire life had a conversation with another bicyclist who displayed anything like that attitude. The overwhelming majority just want to be able to ride their bikes and get home in one piece.
Of course I’ve seen careless and aggressive bike riders, just as I’ve seen careless and aggressive drivers and careless and aggressive pedestrians. It’s just human nature.
Trying to paint all, most or even many bike riders as “entitled” merely displays your own anti-bike bas, which comes through your comments loud and clear.
If that makes me part of the problem in your eyes, I’ll wear that badge with honor.
I never said I was anti-bike, you are jumping to that conclusion. I see many more people in cars doing stupid things everyday than on bikes. But what I also see in very comparative percentages is people being stupid on bikes.
FWIW, my decision to not ride my bike on city streets is not because I am afraid of other bikes, it’s because of cars. But like I said, whether or not the motorist is being negligent or not doesn’t matter if I get hit by a car. In my opinion, this new ‘3 foot law’ will not go well for people on bikes. When a person on a bike assumes that a law or ordinance is going to make them safer, they are under false allusions. For one, many drivers are texting on a phone. Until that changes, I don’t even get out of my car parked by a curb with cars coming up behind me; I’ve seen so many parked cars sideswiped by other cars.
So with that being said, I understand why someone on a bike feels a need to ride on sidewalks sometimes. But when they do that THEY MUST follow the laws and give extra regard to pedestrians above all. If you don’t see bike riders doing that, then you are not on the same L.A. streets I am on.
If people want to ride bikes where there are cars they do it at their own risk/peril in my opinion. If the rider thinks the 3 feet rule is a k-rail, they will find out the hard way that it isn’t.
You don’t have to say you’re anti-bike. It comes through loud and clear in every comment you make.
As I noted before, I see people break the law and act in a dangerous manner every day. When I walk, which I do more than ride or drive, I have to deal with the sort of bike riders you complain about, just like anyone else. But I also have to deal with careless and/or aggressive pedestrians, and drivers who fail to observe traffic signals and yield for people on foot.
And you are reading far more into the new three-foot law than is actually there. No one — especially not an experienced bicyclist — would perceive it as an invisible K-rail, as you suggest. We are all painfully aware that our safety on the streets depends on others obeying the law and driving safely. Even a bike lane is little protection if drivers choose to ignore it.
California law has always required drivers to pass bike riders at a safe distance, but never defined what a safe distance is. Which meant some motorists would give five feet, while other would only give a few inches.
All the new law does is specify that three feet is the minimum safe distance for passing a cyclist, giving drivers a standard they can now follow.