Photo of the collision scene courtesy of Chris Willig
I’m just getting word of a fatal bicycling collision just outside of Agoura Hills last night.
Details are still sparse, however, a bike rider identified only as Pete was struck and killed at the intersection of Kanan Road and Triunfo Canyon Road in unincorparated LA County sometime yesterday evening.
The victim was well known and liked in the area; local residents report he was often seen riding his bike through the canyons, though usually without lights.
Sadly, he leaves behind a wife and two teenage daughters. He reportedly didn’t have insurance; a fund will be set up to help pay funeral expenses.
Hopefully, we’ll get more information soon.
This is the 71st bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 27th in Los Angeles County.
Update: Chris Willig reports the victim’s full name is Pete Young. He was struck by a Prius headed south on Kanan around 7:16 pm, at which time it would have been full darkness, and was tended to by a doctor who lives in the area before EMTs arrived.
Willig also forwards a video — which I’m not posting due to the graphic nature of the collision scene — which shows a debris field strewn roughly 30 to 40 feet from the intersection to the right shoulder.
It would appear Young was riding just to the right of the through lane as it crossed the intersection, and that the driver would have to have drifted out of the traffic lane to hit him, and continued towards the right shoulder after the collision.
As always, the question is why.
Update 2: Evidently, pictures can be deceiving. According to a spokesperson for the CHP, Young was traveling west on Triunfo when he allegedly rode through a stop sign and was struck by a Kia — not a Prius — driven by a 19-year old driver. The driver, who was reportedly an emotional mess following the incident, stayed at the scene and attempted to help Young.
Meanwhile, a fund has been established to help defray funeral expenses for Young’s family; as of 2:30 pm today, it has already raised $1000 of the $7500 goal.
Update 3: Area resident Chris Willig offers more insights into the collision.
The CHP spokesperson is mistaken about the travel direction, Young was eastbound on Triunfo (where it doglegs to the south) preparing to make a left turn onto northbound Kanan (it is a skewed “T” intersection with Kanan headed briefly to the southeast). Young’s family lived on the south of Kanan off Mulholland, he worked on the north side and frequently made this trip. The attached aerial is top north (and unfortunately doesn’t show the recent restriping).
The impact point is to the right of the regular travel lane by several feet and would have be a “T”-bone type of hit. Since the travel lane is one lane width in front (to the southwest) of the stop limit line, it is plausible he stopped and then moved forward. The vehicle seems to have been to the right of the travel lane. This could have been the principal cause of the collision, catching Young off guard in what he might have thought was a “safe” zone.
Kanan transitions from one-lane in each direction to 2 south-bound and and one north bound lane. The right lane at the intersection are meant for turns only, but frequently through traffic violates this. We recently got the county to modify the intersection striping to make this more clear. Despite the new paint, drivers are still intent on the relatively long steep grade in front of them, lunging for more speed and the wider road ahead.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Pete Young and and all his family.
Thanks to Chris Willig and Leland Tang for their help with this story.
Props for all your strong work on this site. Although I’m relatively new to your site, I’m not new to cycling (I moved here from the northeast US 25+ years ago so that I could pedal year-round).
My heart and thoughts go out to the family and survivors of yet another cycling vs motorist fatality. Seventy-one fatalities in southern California this calendar year is far, far too many.
Unfortunately, the regional culture and mentality is heavily automobile-centric, so I don’t anticipate changes necessary to improve cyclist safety will occur soon enough. In the past few months since I first subscribed to receive updates from your site, I’ve moved from ignorant enthusiast to informed spectator, and am now motivated to participate in whatever advocacy activities I can. You’ve got my email, so please contact me.
And if you’ve already addressed this directly in other discussions, please point me in the proper direction so that I can participate instead of simply standing on the sidelines. Thanks again for all your efforts.
While all help is best not taken affront to in anyway and it is not necessary to bike yourself to advocate nor is it best to assist in direct only ways as in spending time with prior intent and full expectation of when and where.
Being informed prepares one to act when in the right time and space- not of ones choosing. During Thanksgiving dinner you can object to some kid having all other elder’s contributing to there planetary delinquency by actually enabling driving for them- literally putting the evil wheel in there hands.
Millennial’s have reduced there offending so far only marginally and that is because the rest of us resist it. The naked bike ride enjoyed a very brief heyday. It seems in fact that when it was born the strategy was nearly entirely disabled if not only within a few years of it not virallising but morphing into body acceptance and gleeful party instead of outrage following traditional mourning practices where speech is more visceral like Apes and unlike the rest of us.
It means not donating to your school if it takes money from the local car dealer- or attending it’s sporting events etc. We must shun all who toy with the means of our destruction in gloating if by implication only that there nefarious activities in selling, designing, fixing etc. cars is presently legal.
It is not like there are too many people doing the same for the better alternatives. To deny the war is to side in it. The difference between what is done and what is best for us is the extent of our failing democracy. At the very least we can say no to new driver’s! We do not encourage corn to tobacco plantation conversion and should not welcome our children to kill each other and us as we do.
I understand that you might want to assemble with happy like minded people instead. Perhaps in doing so you will not be too much a part of the problem. But if you want to actually head on be the solution then this is in fact an answer. Stop offending. At least do no evil yourself- like acting like the stream of car commercials on broadcast TV should not be intervened upon at least on Saturday mornings by our FCC. Unlike guns that kill almost nobody compared to cars our constitution does not protect motor cities guards- rather it protects us or can from there terrorism forever being taken for granted even by the likes of you.
Our prayers go up for the family and friends of Mr. Young.
Prayers and condolences to his family and friends.
This is so sad. I know that intersection well and the driver should not have been in the spot where she hit Pete, or unable to stop well ahead unless she was speeding. Major liability here. I sure hope his family goes to court, this is a senseless tragedy.
I was driving up Kanan and came across this accident no more than 10 minutes after it happened. I could see Mr. Young laying in the street and the Sherriff standing 15 feet from him, it was clear to me that he didn’t survive. It was very disturbing and his image has been with me since the accident.
At the time it was nearly dark and after reading this blog I’m very surprised he didn’t have a light or other beacon on his bike. As a 17 year local resident I could easily see a car without their lights on being hit in that intersection at that time of evening.
My heart aches for Mr. Young’s family as well as the young driver that hit him.