BikinginLA

Update: According to the Corona Police Department, the initial report was incorrect, and the victim was riding a motorcycle, not a bicycle. 

Which does not make it any less of a tragedy. 

caused by his involvement in a single-vehicle traffic collision near the intersection of Via Pacifica Avenue and Willowspring Lane. At the time of the crash, Brady was riding a red Yamaha motorcycle traveling north on Via Pacifica.

— Corona Police Dept. #CoronaPD (@CoronaPD) April 20, 2020

This returns the number of SoCal bicycling fatalities to 15, and just one in Riverside County.

……….

It doesn’t always take a car to take a life.

Sometimes a simple curb is enough.

That appears to be the case in Corona, where police report a man was killed falling off his bike Sunday evening.

According to My News LA, the victim, identified as 30-year old Corona resident Brady Alexandru, somehow struck a curb near the intersection of Via Pacifica and Willowspring Lane.

He fell off his bike, striking his head, and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Unfortunately, no explanation was given for what street Alexandru on or which direction he was riding, or why he may have hit the curb.

A street view shows a three-way intersection, with two through lanes and a bike lane in each direction on Via Pacifica, and an un-laned residential street on Willowspring, controlled with a stop sign.

There appears to be a hill on Via Pacifica, which could have contributed to the crash if Alexandru gained speed on the downhill before coming in contact with the curb. And there’s a speed bump on Willowspring that could have caused him to lose control if he was traveling in that direction.

It’s also possible that a driver may have played an unknown role in the crash, if Alexandru hit the curb after he was forced to avoid a vehicle.

Unfortunately, we will probably never know.

There’s also no word on whether he was wearing a helmet, which might have made a difference in this case.

Solo falls like this are exactly what bike helmets are designed for, though it’s possible the force of the impact could have still exceeded a bike helmet’s relatively low design limits, depending on how fast Alexandru was going.

Police haven’t ruled anything out, including the possibility that drugs or alcohol may have contributed to the crash in some way — which is a very odd thing to say in a solo crash like this, unless they have some reason to suspect it.

Anyone with information is urged to call Corona Police Department Officer Jason Gardner at 951/817-5784.

This is at least the 16th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the second that I’m aware of in Riverside County.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Brady Alexandru and all his loved ones.

Note: Because of the late-breaking story, there will be no Morning Links today; as usual, we’ll be back with anything we missed on Wednesday.