BOLO for Mission Hills hit-and-run driver who seriously injured bike rider

This morning we linked to a brief item about a bike rider who was seriously injured in a Mission Hills hit-and-run on Sunday.

Now more details have been added to the story.

According to the Daily News, the victim, identified only as a 53-year old North Hollywood resident, was riding west on Devonshire around 9:44 am when he attempted to cross Sepulveda Blvd on the green light. A white car headed north on Sepulveda stopped briefly at the red light before accelerating and crashing into the rider directly in front of him.

The paper reports he rolled onto the hood, smashing into the windshield, before being thrown to the ground when the driver braked before fleeing the scene. He was taken to a nearby hospital with broken bones, but no life threatening injuries.

The story also notes that the victim wasn’t wearing a helmet.

Since he does not appear to have suffered a head injury, the Daily News is apparently under the impression that a bike helmet somehow would have prevented the collision or made a rider impervious to any injury, including broken bones in other parts of the body.

An alert from the LAPD’s Valley Traffic Division describes the vehicle as a white four-door Jaguar, no model given, with black rims. The driver is described as Hispanic male with dark hair, around 30–40 years old.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Valley Traffic Division Detectives at 818/644-8020; anonymous tips can be called into Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800/222-8477).

Keep your eyes open for a white Jag with front-end damage, especially if you ride in the North San Fernando Valley. Let’s help the LAPD bring this heartless SOB to justice.

Thanks to Richard Risemberg for the heads-up.

And best wishes to the victim for fast and full recovery.

6 comments

  1. It seems to me that if the driver was stopped at the red light and then gunned it to hit the cyclist this should be an attempted murder or assault with a deadly at the very least, not a mere hit-and-run.

    • bikinginla says:

      My best guess is that the driver was attempting to make a right turn on the red, and didn’t bother to look up before stepping on the gas. But you may be right.

      • PatrickGSR94 says:

        If the cyclist was heading west and the driver north and turning right (east) then the two would have had no interaction with one another.

  2. […] A CA cyclist gets hurt by a careless driver. Cyclist seriously injured by hit-and-run driver in Mission Hills If this narrative is accurate the driver deliberately rammed the cyclist crossing with the light by running a red light. Seriously there’s no way for any human cyclist to avoid something like this, and as the driver ignored a traffic control by jumping the red light the only infrastructure that would prevent a similar wreck would have to be grade-separated. More BOLO for Mission Hills hit-and-run driver who seriously injured bike rider […]

  3. James says:

    Notice how Sepulveda has an absurdly wide median with landscaping apparently for the benefit of passing cars, over-sized outside lanes and no bike lanes. Is the golfcourse like landscaping in the median supposed to help you relax while driving?

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