62-year old William Camp killed riding his bike in Palm Springs big rig collision

Even with far fewer drivers out there, Southern California streets are still dangerous.

Tragically, that point was driven home once again in Palm Springs yesterday.

According to the Desert Sun, 62-year old Palm Springs resident William Camp was riding his bike on Gene Autry Trail near Via Escuela, when he was struck by the driver of a big rig truck at 4:05 pm.

Camp reportedly died at the scene, within minutes of the crash.

The driver stayed after the wreck and cooperated with the police, who say he did not appear to be under the influence.

Unfortunately, there’s no word on how the crash happened.

Photos from the scene show large screens blocking the view behind the stopped truck, just feet from the intersection with Via Escuela.

That could suggest Camp was the victim of a right hook, but there are several other possible alternatives.

This is at least the 15th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the first that I’m aware of in Riverside County.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for William Camp and all his loved ones.

2 comments

  1. JJD says:

    We offer up our prayers for the family and friends of Mr. William Camp.

  2. This is very sad indeed, condolences to his loved ones. I wish there was more info. Via Escuela is the main E-W North Palm Springs bike route with speed bumps, “3 feet away” signs, sharrows, low speed limit and consequently fairly low vehicle traffic. It ends in the east at a traffic signal at Gene Autry, which is a horrible road to ride on with multiple lanes of speeding cars and trucks, I’m not even sure if there’s a bike lane. However there are ample sidewalk bike routes alongside of it. So we don’t know if Mr. Camp was just riding along Gene Autry, if he was crossing at the light to get to or from the sidewalk paths, waiting to turn left from Gene Autry onto Via Escuela, or if the truck ran a red light. This is the connecting route to the first completed section of the regional CV Link bike trail, and part of my favorite, and I think relatively safe, bike loop around Palm Springs.

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