It was exactly a week ago that we reported on an Oxnard man who suffered major injuries when he was struck by a driver while riding a fixie in the city’s La Colonia neighborhood.
Even though the local paper felt the need to note that he was riding brakeless, and wasn’t wearing a helmet, even though there’s no indication either had anything to do with it.
Sadly, though, he didn’t make it.
The Ventura County Star reports that 44-year old Oxnard resident Antonio Rodriguez died today, ten days after he was struck by a 20-year old motorist.
The crash reportedly occurred round 7:55 am on Friday, December 13th, at First Street and Roosevelt Ave.
However, there’s still no word on how the crash occurred, or who may have been at fault. The driver stayed at the scene and cooperated with investigators; he hasn’t been ticketed or charged, though the crash remains under investigation.
And yes, the paper still felt the need to comment, without context, that Rodriguez didn’t have brakes or a helmet.
Whether his bike had brakes only matters if he was somehow unable to stop before riding out in front of the driver or crashing into him. And Rodriguez’ lack of a bike helmet shouldn’t make any difference unless he suffered a head injury, or his other injuries may have been survivable if he had one.
Anyone with information is urged to call Oxnard Police Officer Ivan Sanchez at 805/385-7749, or email ivan.sanchez@oxnardpd.org.
This is at least the 55th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the sixth that I’m aware of in Ventura County.
The MSM reports the lack of helmet because it absolves the driver of blame and transfers it to the victim. It doesn’t matter whether it might have saved them (extremely unlikely) the fact that they weren’t wearing one is enough to distract from the driver’s responsibilities to drive safely.