Life is cheap in Arizona.
And justice is slow.
According to a Facebook post, Annaleah Dominguez is just now facing sentencing for the stoned-driving death of former Big Orange Cycling club member Rob Dollar outside Phoenix AZ in 2017.
Yes, it’s taken five long years for the Orange County expat to see justice. Dollar had just moved to Gilbert in the weeks prior to the crash, and was in the process of forming an Arizona chapter of the bike club.
He was riding down South Mountain south of the city on October 29th when he was run down by then-19-year old Dominguez, who was reportedly passing another rider on the uphill side as she rounded a curve, and hit Dollar head-on.
He died at the scene. He was just 36.
Police investigators found cannabis outside the car, which Dominguez and her passengers had allegedly discarded after the crash. She reportedly admitted to drinking and smoking weed prior to the Sunday morning collision.
She now faces just one year to three and a half years for negligent homicide in an apparent plea bargain, since there’s no record online of a conviction or guilty plea.
She deserves to serve the max.
Eric Arentsen
13h
ROB DOLLAR
Big Orange member, Rob Dollar, was killed almost five years ago. An impaired driver crossed a double yellow line and took Rob’s life in a head-on accident as he was riding his bike. We encourage those that knew Rob to send a note to the Probation Officer encouraging the stiffest sentence possible. The driver is facing 1 to 3 ½ years in jail for negligent homicide. We hope you will make your voices heard at the sentencing by sending a note today.
Send your email to Diane.Knuepfer@jbazmc.maricopa.gov by September 28 with your thoughts about the sentence and how Rob’s death has impacted your life. Here are some bullet points to get you thinking:
- How has Rob’s death impacted you? Please build on what Rob meant to you and the community.
- How has the crime (guilty of negligent homicide) affected your life? If you are a cyclist, have you changed where you ride or how you ride?
- What are your thoughts regarding the sentence the court should impose on the defendant?
Deadline is Sept 28.
As Jon suggests below, three and a half years doesn’t begin to address the severity of the crime, or the enormity of the loss to Dollar’s friends and family.
Even if it is all she can get in this case.
@bikinginla the wheels of jjustice turn slowly https://t.co/yK9kriPNsS and you may remember the case https://t.co/r7MVMJF9i0 – am just going to say a maximum of 3.5 years for this homicide is not nearly enough
— Jon (@joninsocal) September 6, 2022
Photo by Sora Shimazaki from Pexels.
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Aussie pro Lachlan Morton is riding the 530-mile Colorado Trail in memory of his friend, Kenyan cyclist Suleiman “Sule” Kangangi.
As you’ll recall, Kangangi was killed in a tragic fall ago during Vermont Overland gravel race just ten days ago.
Morton has already raised an additional $7,000 for Kangangi’s wife and children over the $70,000 raised by the crowdfunding campaign before he started his ride Tuesday morning.
Meanwhile, Kenyan Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed credits a conversation with Kangangi for her own keen interest in bicycling, and the country’s potential to develop into a cycling powerhouse.
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Planning efforts are still ongoing to improve safety in Griffith Park, in addition to the recent closure of Griffith Park Drive.
Join us this Thursday 9/8 @ 6:30 PM to see what's ahead in our improvements for Griffith Park! 🌟
Learn about latest work in the ongoing Griffith Park Safety & Mobility study, with presentation boards and staff Q&A.
RSVP: https://t.co/djLrqv052r pic.twitter.com/9qefKt29Ue
— Councilmember Nithya Raman (@cd4losangeles) September 6, 2022
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Not only is NBA star Kevin Love one of us, he appears to be riding the ebike/sidecar combo we mentioned yesterday, with his dog safely in the passenger seat.
Born on this day, September 7, 1988:
Kevin Love, basketball star, shown here going on an ebike ride with his dog.
Happy #BicycleBirthday, Kevin!#BOTD pic.twitter.com/NbAbanscVR— Cool Bike Art (@CoolBikeArt1) September 7, 2022
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
Virginia Beach VA is ripping out a pilot bike lane after a single year, even though it was the most popular part of the city’s popup safety project.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A Manchester, England bike rider is on trial for killing a 56-year old pedestrian, who died eight days after the rider allegedly ran a red light while wearing headphones.
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Local
At last, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is giving us enough notice of a planned bike and pedestrian safety operation to make a difference, with the crackdown scheduled for September 15th in West Hollywood. The usual protocol applies — ride to the letter of the law until you cross the city limit line, so you’re not the one who gets ticketed. Or just avoid WeHo altogether that day.
State
Smart Cities Dive offers more details on California’s new $1,000 tax credit for carless low income households.
Queen Maxima of the Netherlands is visiting San Francisco to put a spotlight on bicycling, among other issues; she’ll travel to Texas later in the week.
National
A writer for Adventure Journal compares ebikes to snowboards, arguing that any controversy seems to stem from a fear of change, combined with a little arrogance and jealousy.
Cycling Weekly insists ebikes are the future of transportation, despite their current status as an oddity in the land of the automobile.
Cycling News offers tips on how to increase the resale value of your bike.
A veteran bikepacker is attempting to be the first person to ride the entire 5,900-mile Eastern Divide Trail, billed as the world’s longest offroad trail. As usual, read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you.
Um, no. A Las Vegas paper bizarrely reports that “police suspect (a bike rider) was hit by a car” Tuesday morning, critically injuring the victim. Except there’s no suspicion about it. They the driver was operating the car that hit the victim — even though they fail to mention that the car even had one.
Baphomet Bicycles framebuilder Dillen Maurer lost a foot in a collision with an ATV rider while riding his bicycle near his Taos, New Mexico home over the long weekend; his left foot was somehow severed a few inches over the ankle.
A Denver columnist asks if people can live with ebikes on Colorado bike trails.
As usual, low-income neighborhoods populated by people of color get ignored by city officials, as residents of Chicago’s Far South Side complain about a lack of any bike infrastructure, let alone the protected bike lanes they want and need.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced a major expansion of the city’s bike lane network, with a goal of putting half of Boston’s population within in three-minute walk of a protected bike lane in just three years — although the initial expansion calls for just 9.4 miles of new bike lanes in the next year.
A Virginia letter writer questions the need for a local bike lane, saying he just returned from Paris where he saw hundreds of bicyclists, but very few bike lanes. Evidently, he also missed the news about the major expansion of separated bike lanes in the City of Lights, with plans to make the entire city 100% rideable.
International
A contentious London bikeway is exceeding expectations with ridership up 37% over 2019, despite the dire predictions of an anti-bike lane counselor. Meanwhile, London will make a trio of separated, pandemic popup bike lanes permanent.
A new study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine shows that regular exercise can help keep you from getting infected with Covid, and reduce the severity if you do get it. Once again, read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you.
Bicycling continues to grow more popular in Belgium’s Flanders region, though the increase in ridership is also accompanied by a jump in bicycling injuries.
A Welsh cycling club discovered the high cost of Brexit when they arrived in Spain for a 600-mile fundraising ride to battle prostate cancer, and were hit with over $8,400 in customs tariffs for their bikes.
King Oyo of Tooro is one of us. King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, the reigning Omukama of the Bantu kingdom of Tooro in Uganda, rode a section of the kingdom’s bike race with the peloton to start the competition.
A Kiwi longtail bike commuter complains about the abuse she faces from drivers on a daily basis.
Competitive Cycling
Defending Vuelta champ Primož Roglič’s bold effort to reclaim the red leader’s jersey suffered a setback when he fell hard just 300 yards from the finish, as Mads Pedersen took the win in Tuesday’s stage 16; Although Roglič somehow gained eight seconds anyway, and now trails leader Remco Evenepoel by one minute 26 seconds.
Giro winner Jai Hindley nears the end of the Vuelta in tenth place, despite never seriously contending for the red jersey.
Cycling Weekly considers five things they learned from Tuesday’s Vuelta stage, including that Roglič is down, but he may not be out. Although the first test is whether he can even make Wednesday’s start.
That feeling when Piglet, Eeyore and Pooh come out to cheer on the peloton, along with some random monkey.
🤪 @OutOfCycling #LaVuelta22 pic.twitter.com/VQiPVOGYkD
— La Vuelta (@lavuelta) September 6, 2022
Finally…
Getting down with bike disco. That feeling when your Strava data reveals the location of top secret military bases.
And when you bust out of jail, and refuse to go back unless they let you ride a bike.
https://twitter.com/MarkRid89403375/status/1566909708195303424
Thanks to Megan Lynch for the link.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin, too.
