BikinginLA

Case closed.

Over the weekend, I received this email from a source in Orange County.

At 9:30am on Saturday, December 27th, 2014, William Joseph Klein was driving under the influence of prescription drugs when he killed Vinh Tran.

Friday morning, he pleaded guilty to one count of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. He was sentenced to a year in jail and 3 years of formal probation. His driver’s license was suspended for three years. He must pay a whopping $390.00 in fines, plus unspecified restitution. Despite long-term abuse of drugs, he is required to attend a First Offender Alcohol Program. He is also required to “donate” an amount to the county’s Victim Witness Emergency Fund.

His victim remains dead.

Incidentally, Klein also pleaded guilty to a second set of charges against him, resulting from a drunken bar fight last summer. For disturbing the peace and resisting arrest, he was sentenced to 72 days in jail.

He is currently in custody.

………

Talk about late breaking — and inaccurate — news.

Sheriff’s investigators just now got around to releasing news that a Huntington Park cyclist was injured in a hit-and-run in Cudahy on September 20th. However, the report on KTLA-5 says the 20th was a Wednesday, even though it was Sunday.

So that date may or may not be accurate.

It also gives the time of the collision as about 9:02, but fails to indicate if it was AM or PM.

The victim was riding east on Ardine Street when he was struck by an SUV traveling north on Salt Lake Avenue. The driver reportedly stopped after traveling a half block north of the impact site, then drove away without calling 911 or attempting to help the victim.

He remained hospitalized as of this past Thursday, though his condition was unknown.

Deputies are looking for middle-aged Asian woman with wavy black hair, average height and weight. The vehicle was described as a newer white or light-colored SUV with a tinted rear window and possible damage to the front grille and right quarter-panel.

Anyone with information is urged to call the East L.A. Traffic Investigation Unit at 323/981-5020.

………

The first black African to wear the polka dot jersey in the Tour de France predicts a black African will win the tour in 5 to 10 years; impressively, he didn’t start riding until he was 14, after being orphaned at 10.

The new head of USA cycling vows to keep fighting doping, even though he says it will always be with us; he compares the effort to an alcoholic’s struggle to stay sober.

………

Local

A bike rider in his 70s was critically injured when he fell off his bike in Pacific Palisades.

It’s not the bike lanes we were promised, but LA’s 6th street will soon see traffic calming measures at Irving Blvd. Although in this case, it really does appear to be the least they can do; thanks to Richard Risemberg for the heads-up.

Burbank rejects a plan requiring two new bridges to build a new bike path, despite the opposition of local homeowners to the alternate route that would run near their homes.

A Pasadena resident calls for a driver’s bill of rights to take back the streets and keep traffic moving faster. Note to the clueless: The only way to make traffic move faster is to have less of it.

A 17-year old Long Beach boy was shot while riding his bike Saturday night; he was taken to a hospital in critical condition.

The free Santa Monica Bike Expo returns to the pier this weekend.

 

State

A teenage bike rider was killed, and his companion grazed in a Santa Ana gang shooting.

A San Diego cyclist is in critical condition after being hit by a car in the city’s Pacific Beach neighborhood; he reportedly was crossing illegally near a freeway off ramp. Note to San Diego police and media: even if the victim had been wearing a helmet, it would not have prevented his broken back and arm.

A San Diego TV station gets it, saying cars take up a lot of space and creating alternatives can free up public space for the public.

An OpEd by a member of the Palm Desert city council says cities in the Coachella Valley should drop their opposition to the planned 50-mile CV link bikeway for the health of its residents.

A Palo Alto duathlon champ makes a comeback to the world championships at age 54, after surviving a near fatal collision with a pickup while riding his bike.

It’s been a rough weekend for cyclists in Northern California.

• A rider participating in the Levi’s GranFondo was killed when he lost control on a steep descent and went off the road at 35 mph; the victim was a Fresno artist and art curator.
• A Fresno cyclist was killed in an head-on collision on a dark stretch of road.
• A bike rider was killed in a Rio Linda hit-and-run while riding in a bike lane.

 

National

Bike lawyer Bob Mionske says lights are required after dark and in other low light situations. And they’re insurance against getting screwed — my words, not his — by insurance companies.

A Portland cyclist gets his bike back nine months after it was stolen, in part by registering it with the free BikeIndex stolen bike listings.

Seattle plans to take over and expand the city’s less-than-successful bikeshare system, while adding e-bikes to address the many hills in the area. Although if they really want it to succeed, they should consider repealing the city’s mandatory helmet law.

A South Dakota county commissioner is in a panic over bike lanes cropping up on the streets of Sioux Falls, and blames a small cabal of officials that he says are making the streets more dangerous by painting stripes on them. Sounds like he has relatives in Catalina. And maybe he should read this piece from the author of Bike Battles: A History of Sharing the American Road, who says bike lanes don’t encroach on space reserved for cars, but return our roads to shared spaces.

A Wisconsin rider completes a 180 day, 11,750 mile journey to watch a baseball game in each of the major league stadiums.

A New York father whose three-year old daughter was killed while walking hand-in-hand with her grandmother — with the right-of-way, no less — says stop calling her death a car accident. And explains the meaning behind the #CrashNotAccident campaign.

NPR looks at DC’s second grade bike education classes.

More on the battle over a nearly 10-year old bike lane in Baton Rouge LA, which boils down to a fight over parking, as usual. Then again, many people who insist on the right to park for free on the street have garages too full of other crap to pull a car into.

A proposed 76-mile bike path through the Everglades draws a wide range of opponents. None of whom seem to object to the highway it would run next to, though.

 

International

Canadian adventure Ben Shillington plans to ride a fat tire Salsa bike 60 miles to the South Pole, before leading 30 riders through the Antarctic tundra next year.

A British cyclist explains why he kept going on a round-the-world ride, despite the death of his wife in a Bolivian collision; he’s traveled 27,050 miles, with 12,000 to go to get to Alaska.

The UK’s new bike-riding but fashion challenged Labour Party leader goes for a spin with his wife.

Britain’s cycling minister — yes, they have one — explains why he doesn’t wear a helmet while riding in London.

London cyclists win a fight with Ronald McDonald, after the company wanted drive-through access across one of the city’s vaunted cycling superhighways.

An outer London borough plans to install protected bike lanes and dramatically reduce private car access in an attempt to revitalize the town center.

A pair of Welsh cyclists jump into a canal to help save the life of a 65-year old man who’d fallen in with his mobility scooter.

A Scottish advocacy group says insurance companies are anti-cyclist. Actually, insurance companies are anti-settlement, regardless of mode of travel; they make their money by denying claims and settling for as little as possible.

The recent car-free day in Paris proved so successful in cutting noise and pollution that the mayor may recommend doing it every month.

A 17-year old Indian girl shares her passion for bicycling by collecting new and repaired bikes to give to underprivileged children. Meanwhile, an Indian cyclist inspired a bicycle club whose 40 members ride daily in search of a warm cup of tea.

London’s Independent rides with the Iraqi women’s cycling team just 25 miles from ISIS territory, on some of the world’s most dangerous roads. And despite the country’s conservative society.

New Zealand riders join other international cycling teams in condemning the BMX track for the Rio Olympics, saying it’s too dangerous.

Australia’s New South Wales state is considering requiring licenses and insurance to ride a bike. Bicycling is already depressed Down Under due to the country’s mandatory helmet law, so they might as well do what they can to kill it entirely, right?

 

Finally…

A UK paper bizarrely says a man attacked two boys who laughed at him when he fell off his bike — but then describes him getting off his bike to attack the kids after accusing them of lying, instead. It looks like pedestrians are starting to fight back, as a New York man shoots a driver who came too close while making a U-turn.

And apparently, if you ride with your dog on your bike, you’re a bad, bad person.