Somehow, we missed this one last weekend.
Friday morning, the LA County Coroner’s office released the name of a hit-and-run victim who was killed while riding a bike in Long Beach last Saturday.
Long Beach police officers discovered 24-year old San Pedro resident Cole Micek lying on the Terminal Island Freeway at Pier A Way around 3 am last Saturday.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Micek’s identification was delayed because he wasn’t carrying any ID.
According to the Long Beach police, he was struck by two drivers, both of whom fled the scene. They’re looking for white 2015-17 Toyota Camry, as well as a late-1990s Honda Accord with a dark hood and a sunroof.
Anyone with information about the crash was asked to call Long Beach Police Detective Sirilo Garcia at 562/570-7355 or Crime Stoppers at 800/222-8477.
This is the tenth bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth in Los Angeles County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Cole Micek and all his family and loved ones.
We offer up our prayers for the family and friends of Mr. Micek.
The term freeway may be a bit misleading here. In the area the distinction between roads, stroads, highways and freeways is less than clear. You may find yourself on what appeared to be a local road that suddenly turns into a freeway or you may find that all the roads that lead into the port are highway like with freeway style interchanges. I imagine that someone who works in the port would have a hard time finding a decent route to work. Ports are open 24hrs a day and this means that some people will ride bikes to or from the port at night. I imagine that this collision will be interpreted as a sign of irresponsibility on the part of the rider – what was he doing riding at that time of night etc. – and no one will consider the role that traffic engineering played in creating an environment that is inherently dangerous. I’ve ridden through this area on the way from Long Beach to Santa Monica and it is a cold, brutal hell scape.