That seems to be what happened in Chula Vista, as a bike rider was killed in a collision Friday afternoon.
According to the Union-Tribune and othersources, the cyclist, who was identified only as a 60-year old man, was riding south on the 800 block of Hilltop Drive, near Telegraph Canyon Road, around 3:10 pm. According to witnesses, he was on the far right edge of the road when he suddenly made a sharp left turn directly in front of a pickup traveling in the same direction.
He was declared dead at the scene, after the driver was unable to avoid hitting him. No word on why the victim may have turned without warning, or apparently looking for traffic before turning.
This is the 65th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 7th in San Diego County. It’s also the 2nd cycling death in Chula Vista this year, and the 5th since 2012.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.
As it turned out, I missed Wednesday night’s ride and vigil calling for justice for Milt Olin when complications from my diabetes once again knocked me on my ass.
Fortunately, a lot of riders didn’t.
According to Streetsblog, roughly 75 riders made the 30 mile journey from Calabasas, where Milt Olin was run down by an admittedly distracted sheriff’s deputy last December, to the District Attorney’s office in Downtown LA to demand justice for Olin after the DA refused to file charges. That number swelled to an estimated 125 as other voices joined in.
Meanwhile, you can read the full three-page letter from the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition urging the DA to reconsider the decision not to file charges.
But perhaps more than anything else, this simple tweet from the Milt Olin Foundation says it best.
Over the past seven years, Jen has overseen the growth of the coalition from a single employee — herself — to 12, as well as the birth of a lucky 13 local chapters throughout the county. And helped make the LACBC Southern California’s dominant voice for cyclists; the boom in local bike-friendliness occurred, not just on her watch, but in large part thanks to her leadership.
I am heartbroken to see her go.
In the five years I’ve been involved with the coalition, Jen has always been a vital part of it, adding her warmth, insight and humor to whatever issues confronted the organization, and leading the group through all the many ups and down. Such an important part, in fact, that I can’t imagine the LACBC without her.
And yet, she leaves it positioned for even greater growth and success in the years to come.
The coalition will undoubtedly find a new Executive Director, one with the leadership skills to build it into one of the nation’s leading bicycle advocacy organizations, as it should be for a city this size, and with a ridership as vast and varied as we enjoy.
Full disclosure: I am a board member of the LACBC; however, I have been inactive for most of this year as I’ve dealt with health issues that have kept me largely incapacitated; I hope to return to my duties on the board before Jen leaves, and help with the transition to a new director.
Bicycling shocks everyone by naming New York the nation’s Best Bike City with Chicago second; Portland is demoted to number four while my hometown clocks in at number nine.
A bigger surprise is the city found at number 28 — yes, not only did Los Angeles actually make the list, we came in just five notches below Long Beach and five above Thousand Oaks. Surprisingly, bike friendly Santa Monica didn’t make the cut.
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Phillip Young, President of the San Diego Wheelmen, sends a reminder that cyclist Juan Carlos Viñolo and his family needs our help.
Viñolo suffered a severe spinal cord injury when he was hit, along with several other riders, by a drunken wrong way driver on San Diego’s Fiesta Island. In an act of bravery, he pushed another rider aside and took the full impact of the collision himself, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down.
The Juan Carlos Fund has raised over $172,000 for medical expenses and to support his family, but much more is needed. Your generosity could make all the difference.
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Lots of events and opportunities to learn how to ride, or ride better, coming up.
Join CicLAvia for an afternoon of open houses and events exploring the newly pedestrian friendly Broadway in DTLA this Saturday, followed by a screening of Mulholland Drive at the spectacular Million Dollar Theater.
Bike riders are invited to attend a party celebrating the launch of Eddi, a new mobile marketplace app that promises to change the way we buy and sell things. The free event takes place in Pasadena this Saturday, from 7 to 10 pm.
Seven suspects have now been arrested in a string of assaults on Santa Clarita bike paths; two have already been sent to juvenile camps.
State
CABO confusingly clarifies their opposition to AB 1193, the badly needed new law approving protected bike lanes currently awaiting Governor Brown’s signature.
The Orange County Register says this is the best time of the year. I couldn’t agree more; now that the tourists are gone, we can have the often overcrowded beachfront bike paths to ourselves.
It’s all the way down in the last sentence. But the Denver Broncos will be hosting a 500-space bike valet at their games this year.
Bike friendly Colorado continues to be the thinnest state in the Union; bike unfriendly West Virginia and Mississippi, not so much. Not surprisingly, people are healthier where more walk or bike to work.
In a truly heartbreaking story, a cyclist is fatally stabbed by a homeless man in Florida as he neared the finish of a cross-country ride to propose to his girlfriend.
And no bikes involved, fortunately, as a driver is arrested for a Santa Ana hit-and-run — by the same cop as he was for another hit-and-run at the same intersection 19 years earlier.
When a prosecutor really wants to file charges in a traffic case, they’ll tear the vehicle code apart until they find something that sticks.
So when the DA’s office examines a case and concludes there’s nothing there, it’s more often an indication that they don’t want to prosecute, for whatever reason.
Like when it’s a cop who ran down a cyclist, for instance.
When the LA County DA’s office announced last week they weren’t filing charges against the sheriff’s deputy who killed Milt Olin, they concluded (pdf) that he had not violated the state prohibition against texting while driving because police officers in the course of their duty are exempted from the law. Never mind that he’d also been texting — illegally — with his wife as recently as one minute prior to the wreck.
And yet, I’ve repeatedly been told by officers from a number of different police agencies that it’s not just the act of texting behind the wheel that’s against the law, but simply being distracted while driving. For whatever reason.
From putting on makeup or eating, to simply changing the stations on the radio. And yes, some people still listen to the radio when they drive.
Anything that takes the driver’s attention away from the road is distracted driving. Or as cited by the LA Times, “wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property.”
By that standard, Deputy Wood was clearly distracted when he ran down Olin’s bike from behind.
In fact, by his own admission, he never even saw Olin or knew he was driving in the bike lane when he hit him at somewhere around 48 mph, which was his last recorded speed prior to the impact.
He could just as well have been charged with making an illegal lane change. Or driving in a bike lane.
Or even the catch-all violation when police can’t come up with anything else to charge a driver — or too often, a bike rider — with, violating CVC 22350, the state’s basic speed law.
After all, no speed is safe when you have no idea where you’re driving or what’s in the road directly in front of you.
And any or all of which could be used to support the sheriff’s investigator’s recommended charge of vehicular manslaughter.
So the question becomes one of why they’re not willing to file charges. Any charges.
It could, as many have speculated, be a case of looking out for their own; the District Attorney relies on police officers to build their cases, and may be reluctant to prosecute an officer as a result.
Or it could simply be that the death of a cyclist — even one as prominent as entertainment lawyer and former Napster executive Milt Olin — just isn’t worth their time.
Or it could be a cover-up.
By prosecuting Wood, the deputy could be forced to testify in his defense that, even though using the onboard computer while driving is officially against sheriff’s department policy, the unofficial policy encourages officers to do just the opposite.
Which would make higher-ups in the department complicit in Olin’s death. And could have led them to pressure the DA not to file.
Maybe there’s a more innocent explanation for the failure to charge the driver with something.
Anything.
But the official explanation doesn’t hold water.
And the fact that they’ve left themselves open to this kind of speculation shows just how wrong that decision was.
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If this case pisses you off as much as it does me, you’ll have your chance to demand justice for Milt Olin, and all of us, tonight.
The LACBC, Yield to Life and Ghost Bikes LA are hosting a ride and vigil for Milt Olin to call on the DA to revisit the case and press charges.
This is an all-hands-on-deck demand for justice.
If there’s any way you can be there for all or part of it, you owe it to yourself to attend. Because the more people who participate, and the more varied the riders who attend, the better our message will penetrate the insulated offices of the District Attorney.
I’m going to do my best to attend the vigil, at least. If you don’t see me there, it means my health has knocked me on my ass once again.
4:00 p.m. Meet at crash site (around 22532 Mulholland Hwy, Calabasas, CA 91302)
4:15 p.m. Moment of silence
4:30 p.m. Start ride
6:30 p.m. Leave from the L.A. Zoo parking lot (5333 Zoo Dr, Griffith Park, CA 90027). Other riders can meet up here.
7:30-8:00 p.m. Arrive at District Attorney’s office (210 W Temple Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012)
8:00 p.m. Candlelight vigil
The public is invited to join us at the beginning, ride with us, join us for the vigil, or meet us at any point along the way (exact route to be determined).
The route follows major streets through the San Fernando Valley and Griffith Park to Downtown Los Angeles. Riders will be expected to stay alert and follow all traffic laws. The ride is scheduled to arrive in Downtown just after sunset, therefore lights are required by law.
The route is 30 miles. Riders should come prepared with water and snacks to stay fueled.
Shorter options:
Start at the L.A. Zoo parking lot (5333 Zoo Dr, Griffith Park, CA 90027) for an approximately 10-mile ride into Downtown. Please arrive no later than 6:15 and be ready to ride by 6:30 p.m.
Start in Calabasas, ride 17 miles to the Universal City Red Line station (located at Lankershim Blvd and Campo de Cahuenga), and take the Red Line to Civic Center, where the D.A.’s office is located (210 W Temple Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012). Riders who lag behind the main group will be asked to take this option.
Join us for the vigil. People are welcome to skip the ride and meet us at the D.A.’s office. The ride is expected to arrive between 7:30 and 8:00 p.m.
Meet us along the way. We will do our best to live-tweet our location with the hashtag #rideformilt. Follow us @lacbc.
Getting to the ride:
The start is on a suburban section of Mulholland Highway with little to no on-street parking (approximate address: 22532 Mulholland Hwy, Calabasas, CA 91302). We recommend taking the Metro Orange Line or Orange Line Bike Path to De Soto or Canoga and riding from there. Free park-and-rides are available along the Orange Line.
Check out the Facebook event and feel free to post feeder rides there.
Getting from the ride:
The best option is always riding (with lights!) or taking transit.
If you parked at a Metro Orange Line park-and-ride, take the Red Line from Civic Center to North Hollywood. Then either transfer to the Orange Line (limit 3 bikes per bus) or ride along the Orange Line Bike Path to your car.
Questions? Post them in the Facebook event or call the office at 213-629-2142 and we’ll do our best to respond before the ride.
An interesting question came up on Monday, when someone asked me who to contact if a pothole on a city street damages a rim on your bike, or worse.
Fortunately, KNBC-4 answered that question earlier this year, if from an auto-centric perspective. And yes, it’s the same process if you were injured, as well.
Office of the City Clerk 200 North Spring St. Room 395, City Hall Los Angeles, CA 90012
The office will accept originals only. Don’t try to fax it or mail in a copy.
You can also deliver it in person to that same address anytime between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The phone number is 213-978-1133.
Be sure to document the damage to your bike, along with any resulting injuries, as well as possible. That means photos and receipts for repair work, parts and/or medical care, or at the very least, a signed estimate for the cost of repair if you can’t afford to have it done.
As the story implies, it can be a long and complicated process, and one that can often end in a rejection of your claim.
But by going through the process and documenting your claim, you at least set the stage for filing a case in small claims court if it’s denied.
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Sad news, as a La Habra cyclist is in a medically induced coma after suffering a major head injury when he somehow crashed into a street sign while riding on the sidewalk.
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Nice to see new bike racks in front of my favorite Mexican restaurant; evidently, they recognize bikes are good for business.
The Daily Breeze offers a detailed look at the state’s new three-foot passing law, even if they can’t quite manage to get all the facts straight. It was one governor who vetoed the law twice, not the other way around. And while the first version of the law would have allowed drivers to cross the center line to pass a cyclist, no version of the law ever required them to do so.
A memorial was held for Chula Vista randonneur Matthew O’Neill, who was killed while riding in Santa Maria by a son of former Lt. Governor Abel Maldonado.
A truck driver gets eight-and-a-half years for killing two cyclists who had just begun a cross-country tour of the UK when he fell asleep at the wheel. In the US, that would probably be written off as an “oops.” Thanks to Jim Pettipher for the heads-up.
A drunken Indian constable steals a police car and crashes into a bicyclist, pedestrian and an auto-rickshaw before he’s arrested. A reminder not to text and drive, as a Colorado motorist slams into a guard rail, which penetrates the car’s headlight and impales her butt cheek before jamming into the back seat.
And no, you can’t inject yourself with noble gasses any more. Although in my experience, ignoble gas emissions are more of a problem for most cyclists.
Bicyclists can encounter drunk drivers any day of the year. But the risk rises exponentially on holiday weekends — and seems to be even worse in beach communities.
That’s appears to have been the case in Huntington Beach Monday evening, as yet another bike rider lost his life at the hands of a suspected drunk driver.
The driver, a resident of Huntington Beach, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of DUI.
KNBC-4 reports that the victim was a father from Huntington Beach, while the driver was behind the wheel of a Mercedes. According to the station, several witnesses rushed to aid the victim following the collision, including medical professionals and a lifeguard.
The station offers a single photo from the scene, showing a crumpled bicycle in the middle of the street, while a satellite view shows a six lane roadway with a bike lane on either side.
Meanwhile, someone who came upon the scene shortly after the collision reports seeing two bikes at the scene, apparently recumbents. A white Mercedes was stopped in the left turn lane, while one bike — apparently the one photographed by KNBC — was in the center of the three lanes, and the other was in the bike lane.
That suggests there may have been more that one rider involved, either in the collision or riding with the victim.
This is the 64th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 13th in Orange County; that compares to 12 for all of last year in the county. And it’s the 4th bicycling death in Huntington Beach this year alone, and the 9th since 2011.
Update: I’m told the driver was cited for DUI and released on his own recognizance overnight.
Update 2: According to the Register, the victim has been identified as 55-year old Michael Bastien of Huntington Beach. The paper reports he was riding a motorized bicycle, and places the location as just below Kona Dr.
For some reason, though, the police arrested the 51-year old driver, who they have not identified, on a single misdemeanor DUI count, rather than what would appear to be a more appropriate felony. The difference between misdemeanor and felony DUI is that the driver’s drunken state resulted in the injury or death of another person.
That would suggest that the police may be blaming the victim for causing the collision, despite the driver’s apparent drunken state.
Never mind that the paper says police located the driver nearby, suggesting he did not remain at the scene and failed to stop and offer assistance, as required by law.
And yet, he was only arrested on a single misdemeanor DUI charge.
However, police are still investigating, and anyone with information is urged to call Investigators Tai Huynh at 714-536-5670 or Robert Barr at 714-536-5666.
Let’s hope any witnesses will come forward. Because this one is starting to stink already.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Michael Bastien and his family.
