BikinginLA

Word is just coming in from multiple sources that a bike rider was killed in El Cajon, northeast of San Diego.

The victim, who has not been publicly identified, was hit by a car at the intersection of Compton Street and Madison Ave around 4 pm today; the man died at the scene.

A street view shows what looks like a relatively quiet, residential intersection.

No other information is available at this time.

This is the 42nd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the ninth in San Diego County. It’s also the second fatality in the county in the last two days.

Update: According to San Diego’s Fox-5, the victim may have come off the sidewalk in front of a distracted driver, with one error compounded by another.  Given the limited information, there’s no way to know if the driver could have stopped in time if he or she had actually been paying attention to the road instead of a cell phone.

The story also stresses that the victim wasn’t wearing a helmet. However, there’s no indication that he suffered a head injury, or that the collision would have been survivable with one; a lot depends on the speed of the car at the time of the collision.

Update 2: The Union-Tribune confirms that the victim, a 50-year old man, had been riding on the sidewalk and swerved out into the street, where he was hit by the car. He suffered major head injuries, which could make the lack of a helmet relevant. However, the story makes no mention of texting or driving distracted.

Update 3: The victim has been identified as 53-year old Jack Vandereb; no city of residence was given.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.