This is why you always secure loose items on your bike.
According to the Ventura County Star, 53-year old Oxnard resident Maria Dupre was riding her bike on the 800 block of North Ventura Road in Port Hueneme around 6 pm Sunday, when something she was carrying on her bicycle became lodged in her front wheel. She lost control and fell from her bike.
She was taken to the Ventura County Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.
The paper notes Dupre was not wearing a helmet; in this case, it might have made a difference, assuming she suffered a head injury. Solo falls like this are exactly what bike helmets are designed to protect against.
This is the 51st bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the second in Ventura County; the first occurred just eight days earlier in Moorpark.
My deepest prayers and sympathy for Maria Dupre and all her loved ones.
Our prayers go up for the family and friends of Ms. Dupre.