That driver fled the scene, leaving Ruiz lying in the roadway where he was struck by a white minivan and possibly one other vehicle; KNBC-4 reports the minivan collided with another vehicle that was stopping at the scene. The driver of the minivan then fled, as well.
Ruiz was pronounced dead at the scene.
A satellite view shows an extended, high-speed offramp leading from the freeway; if he was trying to ride south across that, he would have been a sitting duck as motorists sped onto Rosemead.
No word on whether he was using lights at that hour; however, police are usually quick to report if a victim didn’t have lights or reflectors on his bike.
This is the 24th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 10th in Los Angeles County. That compares with 44 and 17, respectively, this time last year.
Update: KNBC-4 reports Ruiz may have been riding home from visiting a friend when he was hit.
A visitor to the scene found a broken Cateye taillight, suggesting that his bike should have been visible from behind.
Anyone with information is urged to call CHP’s East LA office at 323/980-4600.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Heriberto Ruiz and all his friends and family.
While the rest of the media ignores the city’s Mobility Plan — let alone Councilmember Paul Koretz’ attempt to wrest Westwood Blvd from it — UCLA’s student newspaper reports on Koretz’ unceasing efforts to remove bike lanes, if not bikes, from the boulevard.
After singlehandedly killing planned bike lanes on Santa Monica Blvd — along with the study that insiders say would have shown no additional risk or traffic delays — Koretz has now confirmed to the Daily Bruin that he wants to remove plans for a protected bike lane between the UCLA campus and Wellworth Ave, one block below Wilshire.
To justify his efforts, he sites fears that bike lanes in this area would remove parking spaces and turn lanes. Even thoughcurrent plans don’t call for removing a single lane or traffic spot.
Is that smoke rising from his Dockers?
He also expresses fear that emergency response times could be delayed by the imaginary removal of those parking spots and turn lanes. But without a single traffic study or input from the fire or police departments to support it.
Or anyone else other than the wealthy Westwood homeowners and struggling business owners who seem determined to keep bikes from besmirching the city-owned street they seem to claim ownership to.
Never mind that people on bikes will continue to ride the boulevard in ever increasing numbers as long as it remains the only direct route between the Westwood offices, the UCLA campus and the coming Westwood Expo Line State.
“For the sake of the quality of life of that part of Westwood Village, and the safety of those who travel to and through it, that section should be removed from the plan,” Koretz said in the statement.
Koretz concludes that he continues to work for “safer and less disruptive” routes for the over 3,000 people who bike to campus everyday.
Just like OJ continues to search for the real killer.
And with the same results.
……..
Newly elected City Councilmember David Ryu comes out strongly in favor of a walkable and bikeable Glendale-Hyperion Bridge in a letter to the Public Works Committee.
Of course, the question is whether his opinion will matter in the apparent effort to rush a flawed designed through the council before he can take office.
The matter is scheduled to go before the full council at 10 am Tuesday, before Ryu takes office at the end of the month.
They caused a brief Twitter flap by reporting LADOT Executive Officer Bruce Gillman’s comment that Vision Zero is “not a citywide initiative.” Which left many to wonder, myself included, just what level of death was acceptable in which neighborhoods.
At least one LA visionary isn’t very visionary when it comes to bike lanes.
The founder of Zócalo Public Square says building a bike lane to the farmers’ market won’t build a great city, preferring a focus on ports and jobs. Never mind that many low-income workers rely on bikes to get to those jobs.
And evidently, the mayor’s Great Streets program is a secret plot to forever ruin the City of Angels by installing bike lanes.
Amazing how the neighborhoods north and west of traditionally bike-unfriendly USC have a 20% bike mode share. Imagine how high that could go around bike-friendly UCLA if a certain councilmember who claims to support bicycling actually did.
Concerns are rising that the bike share program in Santa Monica — and Long Beach — will be incompatible with Metro’s planned program projected to eventually spread countywide. That can has been kicked down the road since discussion of the SaMo and Long Beach plans first began.
Santa Monica’s Cynergy Cycles is hosting a series of bike skills workshops every Thursday and Saturday through August 1st. And they want your feedback on how they can be more involved in the cycling community. Be sure to tell ‘em you found the survey on BikinginLA.
State
More on the Ventura County Grand Jury saying more needs to be done to improve bike safety, while pointing the finger at drivers who don’t understand bike laws.
Now you can get a heads-up display on your sunglasses telling you when and how much to eat. Because apparently, we’ve been doing it all wrong for the last 100 or so years.
A writer for Vice offers advice on how to be a cyclist without being a dick. Although it usually seems to take one to write about how to not be one.
A conservative Canadian cyclist says Wisconsin’s governor isn’t waging war on bicyclists, and we should all just ride on the damn sidewalk like he does.
Life is cheap in Texas, as a teenage driver gets deferred adjudication for killing a cyclist after allegedly blowing through a stop light at twice the speed limit; if he completes probation, he won’t even have a conviction on his record. His victim, on the other hand, will still be dead.
Nice story from Illinois, as a cop raises $1,700 through a crowdfunding site to buy a cyclist a new bike after his was destroyed in the collision that nearly took the rider’s life. Meanwhile, a New York rider gets a used bike from a Daily News reader after hers was stolen.
A Michigan judge makes the punishment fit the crime, banning a woman from owning or using a cell phone for two years for killing a bike-riding mother of two while driving distracted; however, she only gets 90 days in jail. Something tells me the cell phone ban will be the tougher punishment.
New protected bike lanes in Pittsburgh recorded over 24,000 trips in May. Just imagine how many trips a safe route through Westwood could record.
A bike-riding Miami boy was collateral damage when three gunmen fired on a crowded basket ball court. The 10-year old victim was shot in the leg; fortunately, no one else was hurt.
In a story that is equal parts heartbreaking and inspiring, an 80-year old Montreal man will ride the same route he walked as a child looking for his parents after surviving Auschwitz.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Michael Bay are teaming up to make a movie about the Rwandan national bike team founded by Jock Boyer, the first American to ride in the Tour de France.
Finally…
Wait, you mean bike riders aren’t the only ones who blow through red lights? Now cars aren’t the only ones with air bags. It can only be a matter of time before newspapers report on bike riders who failed to don an inflatable vest.
And an Olympic track cyclist manages to make toast with just the power of his legs. If he can make bacon and coffee to go with it, we’ll be on to something.
The city council Public Work’s committee votes to send the one-sided sidewalk plan for the Glendale-Hyperion bridge to the full city council without a recommendation, as committee members complain about the rush to approve the plan before outgoing councilmember Tom LaBonge leaves office at the end of the month.
As Streetsblog’s Joe Linton notes in the article above, the council’s history of deferring to councilmembers’ whims preferences for items in their district means we’ll probably see yet another unanimous vote of the council in favor of the auto-centric design, while members pay lip service to the need to protect and serve the non-driving public.
If the council leadership has any real integrity, it will move to delay a vote until David Ryu, the new 4th District representative, takes office.
Ryu is on record as preferring a road diet on the bridge, with bike lanes and sidewalks on both sides, rather then the unsafe design currently being rushed through.
………
The Ventura County Grand Jury looked into bike safety, and concluded what we already know — most bike fatalities are the result of driver errors, and that the public needs to be educated on bike law.
Oh, and helmets.
Speaking of which, Bell has introduced the first sub-$100 helmet designed to protect against rotational injuries.
Pro cyclist Roman Kreuziger denies the doping charges that could lead to a four year ban if he loses his appeal. And Brit cycling champ Nicole Cooke says there’s a moral vacuum in sports administration, as Lance and the current FIFA scandal shows, but women’s bike racing doesn’t have to follow suit.
The new semi-green bike lanes on Westwood Blvd on the UCLA campus have plenty of markings, but don’t go very far. Councilmember Paul Koretz is bravely leading the fight to keep those bike lanes from besmirching any pavement off campus.
The 57-year old grandfather riding cross-country to honor his wife, who suffers from pancreatic cancer, and raise funds for cancer research rolls into Santa Monica.
A letter to the SGV Tribune shows there’s always some indignorant grouch who just doesn’t get CicLAvia, no matter how popular it is with the people who actually get off their ass and go.
The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition’s Tamika Butler writes about the 545-mile journey that lead her to become the Executive Director of SoCal’s leading bike advocacy group. Meanwhile, the LACBC offers more information on those free bike safety classes being offered around the county this summer. Did I mention the classes are free?
A Santa Ana city councilperson helps lead the push for active transportation improvements in Orange County; she says she won’t ride on the streets after being hit by cars twice.
San Diego cyclists are urged to speak up on Friday to preserve plans for protected bike lanes on the city’s most dangerous corridor.
Ralph Durham forwards word that Sunnyvale has released a draft feasibility study for the proposed Four City Steven’s Creek Trail; comments are due by the 10th. And let’s all wish Ralph auf wiedersehen for his move to Munich next month.
A Bay Area lawyer says bike riders who hit pedestrians could be covered for liability by their homeowners (or renters) insurance.
A Truckee driver was cited for injuring a bike rider in a left cross. As he should be, for a change.
National
A website lists seven high-tech inventions for modern cyclists. Including the Camelback Podium Ice water bottle, which I can personally vouch for; just add a little ice and it keeps water cold for hours on hot summer day.
An Oregon cop responding to an emergency call hit a bike rider, who was not seriously injured; the officer admitted going through a red light, but somehow couldn’t avoid hitting a cyclist despite going just five mph. Really?
A salmon cyclist gets the death penalty in Phoenix, as the arrest of a wrong way bike rider on outstanding warrants starts a chain of events that leads to his death behind bars.
Life is cheap in Michigan, as a 23-year old driver plead no contest to a misdemeanor charge for killing a cyclist while driving distracted. So what the hell does it take to make it a felony?
The New Orleans edition of the World Naked Bike Ride rolls through Bourbon Street next weekend. The only place where a line of naked bike riders isn’t likely to seem odd.
A Louisiana man is in critical condition after falling off his bike while riding next to train tracks; he was unable to completely roll off the tracks before a train came.
International
A UK town builds a new cycle path to improve safety; a local official riding it immediately falls into a ditch.
A Scottish woman is convicted of killing an experienced cyclist while driving distracted; she deleted the record of her cell phone call in an attempt to hide the evidence. Meanwhile, fellow countrywoman Town Mouse writes about how good it feels to be back on her own bike after a visit to the States.
A drunk father of six is killed when he mistakenly rode his bike onto a busy Irish freeway; a sign warning cyclists not to enter may have been removed for construction work.
A South African court rules a electric company is liable for the injuries suffered by a cyclist who rode into a low-hanging power line. Warning, the description of his fellow riders trying to save him from electrocution is simply horrifying.
This is the sort of crap bike riders have to deal with far too often.
After an 81-year old bike rider was killed in San Bernardino recently, police investigators determined that the victim was at fault.
Even though he had legally taken the lane, which was too narrow to share because of drifted sand, and was riding abreast, which is not not forbidden under California law.
And even though his bike was well lighted, and should have been clearly visible to the driver who hit him from behind, and who could have easily changed lanes to avoid him.
So evidently, it’s legal to kill bike riders in the Inland Empire, even when they’re riding within their rights.
The victim’s family asked the Executive Director of the Inland Empire Biking Alliance to talk to the detective in charge of the case.
What follows is a recount of the conversation from their Facebook page, reprinted with permission, which reads more like an Abbot and Costello routine.
Note: The name of the detective has been withheld to spare him well-deserved embarrassment.
Time to bring your blood to a boil. Our ED was asked by the family of William Easley (killed when hit from behind in SB) to represent their grievance with the police report putting William at fault. The traffic commission determined that the primary cause of the collision was Easley’s violation of CVC 21202. They contest that because he was riding two abreast, that is why he was hit.
Here is the abbreviated exchange between Mark and SBPD.
Mark: It is not illegal to ride two abreast and I have a letter from CalTrans stating such.
SBPD: It is not stated to be legal either
Mark: But it’s a substandard lane due to the sand (see picture below) and riding two wide allows for the rider to control the lane which is his right to do so
SBPD: Doesn’t matter. If he had been riding in front or behind other rider he would not have been hit
Mark: What if it were a car that been hit behind?
SBPD: He is not a car and must adhere to bike laws.
Mark: He’s still a vehicle and has a right to the lane. Why couldn’t the driver have simply change lane?
SBPD: He didn’t see him.
Mark: Why didn’t he see him? Didn’t the cyclist meet and exceed the required lighting for a bike?
SBPD: I don’t know and yes he had lights that were visible
Mark: So he didn’t even know if it was a car because he “didn’t see it”? But the fact that he was NOT paying attention is in your opinion NOT the primary cause?
SBPD: Correct
Mark: So where in the law is it ok to not see things while driving?
SBPD: It happens that’s why it’s an accident.
Mark: So your telling me that if a cyclist is not to the right as far as practicable, it is ok to hit and kill them as long as you say I didn’t see them?
SBPD: If Easley had not been riding 2 wide he would not be at fault.
Mark: I don’t care just about the fault. What scares me is you are setting a precedent that it’s ok to run over bikes and peds from behind if they are just a few feet out of what YOU DETERMINE as practicable.
Mark: What about CVC 21750 the 3′ Law? This is a clear violation of it.
SBPD: True but it’s not the primary cause therefore not applicable.
Mark: Then why aren’t we allowed the lane, since we are acting as a vehicle?
SBPD: Because your not. You have bike laws.
Mark: But we are also required and have the same rights as a car.
SBPD: You can’t have it both ways. You can’t pick and choose which laws you wish to follow. Either your under bike laws or motor vehicle laws.
AT THIS POINT MY MIND IS BLOWN
Mourners gather at the scene of the fatal collision; note how the sand reduced the ridable portion of the roadway.
HE stopped the meeting after this exchange:
Mark: How far in the lane was Easley?
SBPD: 7.5′
Mark: Wait a second. How wide is the lane?
SBPD: 20′ (actually 19′)
Mark: That gives a lot of room
SBPD: How wide is a Honda?
Mark: 6′ at best. He still has 12′ to clear him.
SBPD: I’m not going to go back and forth all day with this. We determined the primary cause
We all know the flawed logic in all this and we could hash this for hours with arguments. There was back and forth with CVC and hypotheticals earlier, that got nowhere.
I cannot express the level of frustration here. The shear power of this decision to undermine our right to the road and the danger it poses to all vulnerable users as now we are “just an accident” if you didn’t see us.
The family asked us to offer a rebuttal to the final police report, which I agreed to do. After that, it’s up to the family to decide whether they wish to pursue suing the insurance company. In a weird turn, the unlicensed driver was driving a car with insurance on it from his wife.
All of which raises the question of how can we ever be save of the roads if the police don’t understand the laws regulating bicycling.
And refuse to enforce them even if they do.
……..
Local
A magazine editor attempts an apparently death-defying commute from the Valley to UCLA over the Sepulveda Pass. Without the aid of spandex.
More bike lanes at Cal Poly Pomona may come down to the same old argument over removing parking. Never mind that improving bike access and safety could reduce the need for it.
BikeSGV will offer free bike safety classes in El Monte the next four Saturdays; click the link for classes in other cities around the county in coming weeks, as well.
A North Dakota driver faces a negligent homicide charge for killing a bike-riding triathlete last August while he was taking selfies as he drove; he deleted the photos in an attempt to hide the evidence.
A lawsuit says a Chicago area cop ran down a bike rider with his patrol car, Tased him, then shot him in the foot — all in a case of mistaken identity. To make matters worse, the rider is still sitting in a jail cell facing a battery charge resulting from the altercation two years later.
In a failure of the medical system, a 16-year old bike rider died two weeks after he was treated and released by the hospital following a rear-end collision.
All bike thieves suck. But it takes a real jerk to steal a customized bike from a Winnipeg man who had his leg amputated.
Ontario cyclists now face fines up to $500 for riding without a light; the good news is, drivers now have to give bike riders a one meter — 3.3 feet — passing distance, and face a $1,000 fine for dooring.
That road raging UK driver who threatened to break a bike rider’s neck and eat him for breakfast just happens to own a chain of upscale coffee shops that offer cycling workshops. But no need to boycott because he says he’s very sorry. No, really.
But in a major WTF moment, they interviewed outgoing Councilmember Tom LaBonge, discussing his support for bicycling, while acknowledging in passing that some bike advocates would disagree with that assessment.
Or how about, virtually all bike advocates would disagree.
While LaBonge has been a supporter of recreational riding, including completion of the LA River path, he seems unable to comprehend that some people have an actual need to get from here to there on the streets of LA, on two wheels and in one piece.
Like Paul Koretz and Gil Cedillo before him, LaBonge has personally halted plans for vital bikeways contained in the 2010 bike plan that was unanimously approved by the city council.
Which means he was for it before he was against it.
But LaBonge agreed with at least one neighborhood group that bikes belong on nearby Vineland instead, a quieter street that parallels Lankershim. Although the real issue isn’t giving cyclists a more serene street to ride, but rather, preserving traffic lanes and street parking along the dangerous boulevard.
Never mind bike riders need to go to the same places drivers do, and that shunting them aside merely forces them to ride further and bypass places where they might otherwise do business.
Local residents objected, not to plans for a bike boulevard, but the idea of traffic lights at Highland and Rossmore that would allow riders to cross the busy streets safely, fearing that drivers would use the quiet side street to bypass busier streets on either side.
Instead of explaining that the planned traffic lights would be a demand lights that would only work if someone pushed a button on the side of the road, or that traffic diverters would keep motorists from driving more than a few blocks on 4th — or any of the other options that would have improved safety and livability for everyone along the corridor — LaBonge simply killed the whole thing.
And before the less auto-centric David Ryu can replace him.
That’s not to say LaBonge isn’t a likable person, or that he’s not the closest thing to a cheerleader the City of Angels has had in years. In fact, he’d be the perfect choice to replace the late Johnny Grant as the honorary mayor of Hollywood.
But he’s been a mediocre and unpopular councilmember at best, which is one of the primary reasons his protégé Carolyn Ramsay lost to Ryu in the recent council race to replace him.
And he has been the enemy of anyone forced to ride the unwelcoming streets in his district. Something KPCC should have considered before allowing LaBonge to celebrate himself on the air.
Let’s hope Ryu will revive some of those projects LaBonge sent to an early death.
And that KPCC will do something like this again. But talk to a few more real bike advocates first.
……..
Pasadena police estimate attendance at Sunday’s CicLAvia at just 40,000, which would make it the lowest attended of any CicLAvia.
However, as Henry Fung points out, that’s most likely an estimate of the crowd at any given time, rather than the attendance for the full day, as people came and went throughout the day. The actual attendance was probably two or three times that.
The question is what effect his injury will have on current international negotiations, including efforts to rein in Iran’s nuclear program.
On the other hand, who goes out for a bike ride with a motorcade, including physician, in tow?
Thanks to George Wolfberg for the second link.
……..
Bike Radar tries out that Hövding inflatable bike non-helmet, which surprisingly enough, seems to actually work.
Although if you watch carefully, the side of her head impacts the mattress before the helmet moves around to protect it. Which could result in serious injury if you don’t happen to fall on bedding.
The Los Angeles Bicycle Advisory Committee meets tonight at the Hollywood Neighborhood City Hall, 6501 Fountain Ave; you can find tonight’s agenda here. The BAC is the only official voice in the city government for bike riders, even if most LA cyclists don’t even know it exists. Correction: earlier I misidentified the location of the meeting; the address above is the correct location.
Architect Michael Maltzan’s squiggle is turning into a new 6th Street Viaduct, complete with circular bike ramps to lift riders up to the crossing while providing views of LA.
David Beckham teaches his three-year old daughter how to ride a bike. And without training wheels, no less.
State
Orange County rescue teams had a busy day on Sunday, as they came to the aid of three mountain bike riders injured in separate incidents.
A 68-year old Los Angeles woman suffered a serious head injury when she was hit by a cyclist while crossing a street in Del Mar. Let’s hope she makes a full and fast recovery. And always give pedestrians the right-of-way; they’re the only ones on the street more vulnerable than we are.
An Oceanside road diet and roundabout designed to improve safety for drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians has received a third engineering design award. Awards are nice, but the real test is whether it reduces conflicts and collisions.
Competitive mountain biking is spreading throughout California high schools; the Union-Tribune offers a nice look at a budding team from an Escondido high school.
Goldenvoice, the company behind the Coachella music festival, has offered to pay the maintenance costs for the Coachella Valley’s planned 50-mile bike and pedestrian path.
San Luis Obispo police bust a bike burglar in a stolen van after a brief chase; inside they found six high-end bicycles valued at over $40,000 stolen in a break-in at a local bike shop.
San Francisco officials hope to get a change in state law to allow speed cameras to automatically ticket speeding drivers. LA should get behind the bill, as well; we’ll never meet Vision Zero goals if LA drivers continue to be allowed, if not expected, to speed with impunity.
Yes, it’s upsetting to get into an argument after crashing into jaywalking pedestrian. But don’t pull out a knife and stab the other man multiple times; a Seattle man faces assault charges for doing exactly that.
Wyoming police are on the lookout for a suspected hit-and-run driver who injured a bike rider, but that doesn’t stop him from venting on Facebook. Seriously, anything you say on social media can and will be used against you in a court of law.
Houston cyclists were involved in at least 950 vehicle collisions in a 12-month period since the city approved a three-foot passing law; at least 213 of those were hit-and-run. Clearly, hit-and-run is not just an LA problem.
A Minnesota driver warns about the dangers of distracted driving, after serving a whole six months for the death of a bike riding mother pulling her two daughters in a bicycle trailer; he’ll serve another three months in each of the next two years.
This is why so-called pranks aren’t funny. A 72-year old Ohio bicyclist was blinded in one eye when he was shot with a paintball gun by a passenger in a passing car; a 20-year old man faces a felony assault charge in the case. This is also one more example why you should always wear eye protection when you ride.
In a bizarre twist of fate, a North Carolina cyclist considers giving up bicycling after he’s the victim of a hit-and-run, five years to the day after he was severely injured in another hit-and-run while riding.
International
Sad news from up north, as an impaired British Columbia driver plowed into a group of three cyclists, killing two, as well as a passenger in his own vehicle.
Vancouver’s move to better bike infrastructure has resulted in a doubling in ridership since 2008.
An Edmonton man gets his knickers in a twist after he’s denied entry to a bike co-op on a women and transgender night.
Prepare to get pissed off. An Ottawa judge rules a driver not guilty of hit-and-run because he was… wait for it… too drunk to know he’d hit a bike rider. He also got off on a separate drunk driving charge because police allegedly violated his rights when he was arrested.
An Aussie woman writes about what it’s like to live with a cyclist and worry about her partner’s safe return. Which is why my wife doesn’t want to know what happens on my rides anymore.
When a Toronto man left his $2,500 Dutch cargo bike at the airport, a maintenance crew tossed it in the trash; fortunately, a worker rescued it and returned it to its owner. Does a wrist-held smartwatch come under the ban for using hand-held devices while driving?
