Now we know their names.
The two Las Vegas teens charged with murdering former Bell, California police chief Andreas Probst in an intentional hit-and-run have been identified, after judges ruled that they will both be tried as adults.
Seventeen-year old Jesus Ayala and 16-year old Jzamir Keys will both be charged with murder for running down Probst with a stolen car as he rode his bike in Las Vegas.
The attack was part of a rampage recorded on video, possibly in response to a TikTok hit-and-run challenge, that included sideswiping a car and crashing into another bicyclist.
Ayala is accused of being the driver who killed Probst, while Keys laughingly recorded the crime on his cellphone.
They will both face charges of murder with a deadly weapon, battery and attempted murder. Ayala also faces another case in Las Vegas juvenile court, where he is also eligible to be charged as an adult.
The Los Angeles Times says Probst was forced out as police chief in 2009 by Bell city administrator Robert Rizzo, who would later be sentenced to 12 years in state prison for his involvement in a corruption scandal.
Probst’s daughter blamed the killing on “society’s decayed family values and the strong effects that social media have on our youth.”
Photo from Ekaterina Bolovtsova from Pexels.
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The Huntington Beach City Council voted unanimously to draft an ordinance tightening regulations regarding ebikes — and by extension, all bicycles — to give police more tools to crack down on dangerous riders.
Although whether they can do that without conflicting with state law, which has jurisdiction over traffic regulations, remains to be seen.
And by be seen, I mean we’ll all have to keep a close eye on it. Because whatever they draft is likely to be copied by other cities.
Meanwhile, maybe they’d be better off addressing the real problem on their streets, because the people on two wheels aren’t the ones killing people.
Intentionally or otherwise.
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The Westside Current reports the proposal to tear down the never completed Marina Freeway has quickly gained support.
The plan, which would replace the virtually useless spur with a new Marina Central Park, has received the support of the Del Rey Neighborhood Council, as well as Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who has requested a $2 million federal grant to fund a feasibility study for the project.
However, Culver City councilmembers objected to being asked to take the lead on the project, noting that it is mostly in LA’s 11th Council District.
The paper also seemed to object to the “outsized influence” of project co-sponsor Streets For All, after previously reporting on the “cycling advocacy group’s involvement with the planning and implementation of the so-called ‘road diet’ on Venice Boulevard in Mar Vista well before any of the affected neighborhoods’ councils were notified.”
In other words, they object an advocacy group being involved in…advocacy.
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Metro Bike is offering a half-priced yearly membership tomorrow.
We're celebrating Car Free Day this Friday, 9/22 with a special deal on our 365-Day Pass. Best time to become a Metro Bike Share passholder! Use code BIKECARFREE23 at check out in the app and online! pic.twitter.com/1mZqAH04Wh
— Metro Bike (@BikeMetro) September 20, 2023
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
The recent spate of horrific violence against people riding bicycles just keeps on coming. On Monday, a student at Canada’s University of Winnipeg was intentionally rammed by a road raging driver who somehow became incensed when the student gestured for another motorist to give him more room after that driver cut him off. Fortunately, he had stepped off his bike, and managed to dive away to escape injury before the truck driver rammed his bike and drove off with it still trapped underneath.
A Toronto man faces multiple charges after allegedly using his motorcycle to slam into a man riding a bicycle, in a road rage attack that began when he sped his motorcycle out of a driveway and nearly crashed into the other man.
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Local
The annual Malibu Triathlon scheduled for two weeks may have to be canceled due to an endangered fish that has taken up residence in a flooded underpass.
Culver City will host a community engagement meeting about extending the Ballona Creek Bike Path eastward on Tuesday, September 26th at the Culver City Senior Center. It’s hard to imagine how anyone could oppose the project, but someone will undoubtedly find a way.
Streetsblog explores South Pasadena’s network of quick-build Slow Streets, which will remain in place through the end of this year.
State
How to tell when the media has no idea what they’re talking about. A Fresno TV station reports on new bike lanes appearing as part of the city’s Complete Streets program — but describes a road diet as “a survey which tells us the state of our roads.” Um, no.
A hit-and-run Fresno driver left a bike rider lying in the street with major injuries yesterday. But apparently, it’s all okay because they came back later, and weren’t drunk or stoned or anything.
Longtime San Francisco investigative reporter Dan Noyes thwarted an attack by a group of teens who attempted to steal his bicycle while riding in the Presidio by threatening to put them on live TV.
An elderly San Francisco man suffered life-threatening injuries when he was struck by a driver who failed to yield as he crossed the street in a crosswalk, next to the city’s contentious Valencia Street centerline protected bike lane.
A Larkspur city council member appears intent on killing a project to close a vital gap in Marin’s bike path network, leaving bike riders to fend for themselves along a sketchy section of roadway.
National
Maybe mountain biking is safer than we think. Bicycling reports a new study in the medical journal PLoS ONE shows a much lower risk of injuries than anticipated, suggesting that its perception as an extreme sport is exaggerated. Which kinda takes some of the fun out of it, somehow. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.
Streetsblog reports low income Americans use micromobility like they use transit services, but aren’t being subsidized the same way.
Portland has put part of a five-mile, fully funded $4.5 million greenway project on hold after local residents objected, even though construction has already started.
The Boulder, Colorado DA’s office insists the investigation into the killing of rising junior cyclist Magnus White remains a priority, despite the current lack of charges — or even a traffic ticket — against the woman behind the wheel.
Colorado’s assistant senate majority leader had to have surgery to relieve pressure on her brain, after she crashed her bike against a curb trying to avoid getting hit by the driver of a large truck as she rode her bike to the state capitol; her brain injury came despite wearing a helmet.
Colorado-based Moots’ latest hand-built carbon gravel bike is electric, even if it doesn’t look like it.
A Texas man was the victim of bike on bike violence when another man started cursing at him as he rode on a local bike trail, then threw his bicycle in front of the man’s bike and began assaulting him after he crashed to the ground, all for no apparent reason.
There’s a special place in hell for the Abilene, Texas man who stole a bicycle from an eight-year old boy as he was walking it home from school.
The Chicago Tribune highlights bike trails around the Midwest, from the site where Field of Dreams was filmed to a 50-mile Wisconsin trail modeling the solar system to scale.
Madison, Wisconsin’s edition of the World Naked Bike Ride briefly took centerstage at Wednesday’s Congressional hearing, when the local Representative asked Attorney General Merrick Garland about a claim that a ten-year old child had been allowed to participate, and why his office had not responded to a letter asking about it.
The leading bike advocacy group in Baton Rouge, Louisiana is riding off into the sunset, as they pass the torch to a new generation of advocates. Although riding off into the sunset in Baton Rouge would require a quick dunk in the Mississippi River.
International
The New York Times says cities around the world are increasingly attempting to improve safety by turning to an international pilot program called CycleRAP, a risk-assessment tool designed to identify and pinpoint high-risk locations where bicyclists and light-mobility users are more likely to crash.
The Guardian examines the state of bike theft in the UK, where most thefts aren’t violent but few get solved, while noting that the crime can leave victims financially and emotionally crushed.
A writer for Cycling Weekly disputes a recent survey that named his hometown Britain’s best place to bike.
A French company has created the first ebike that doesn’t need a battery, relying on a supercapacitor that recharges during easy stretches and as the bike brakes, which not only eliminates the the need for environmentally sensitive rare earth minerals, but also the risk of lithium-ion battery fires.
CityLab takes a look inside Norway’s “showstopping” Fyllingsdalen tunnel, calling it the world’s coolest bike tunnel.
Speaking of a special place in hell, a hot tempered Indian man faces charges for stabbing a five-year old girl to death, just because she touched his bike seat with her muddy hands.
Tragic news from Morocco, where the body of a British man bicycling around the world for charity was found in the rubble of cafe destroyed by the county’s violent earthquake; the victim’s daughter credited the owner of the hotel where he was supposed to stay for finding his body. Nearly 3,000 other people died in the quake.
Competitive Cycling
Event organizers apologized after a college student participating in Japan’s three-stage Tour de Hokkaido was killed in a head-on collision when a driver was somehow allowed onto the closed course.
San news from the world of pro cycling, as Belgium’s Nathan van Hooydonck was forced to retire from the WorldTour after having an internal defibrillator fitted because of a heart muscle anomaly; the 27-year old cyclist was injured recently when he crashed after becoming ill while driving.
Seventeen-year old Cat Ferguson inked a surprise deal with the Movistar women’s cycling team, becoming one of the youngest riders ever to compete in cycling’s highest tier.
Finally…
We may have to worry about stoned LA drivers, but at least we don’t usually have to worry about literally getting stoned. That feeling when your Today Show co-host captures your son’s first bike ride.
And mountain biking is more fun with a friend.
Feathered or otherwise.
@birkselquist My new jib bro
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin
