Once again, someone on a bicycle has been killed by a heartless hit-and-run driver.
This time in San Diego.
According to multiple, nearly identical stories, a 36-year old man was riding an ebike on the 6900 block of Balboa Ave, in the city’s Claremont Mesa East neighborhood, when he was struck by a driver around 1:30 am.
Police report the victim, who has not been publicly identified, was riding in the westbound bike lane when he veered left for some unknown reason and was hit by the westbound motorist, who continued without stopping.
He died shortly after being taken to a local hospital.
Video from the scene shows damaged car parts and a Lectric ped-assist bicycle lying in the center of the three through traffic lanes.
The suspect vehicle is described as light-colored 2016-2022 Mercedes Benz E-Class sedan, possibly gray, with likely front-end damage including missing grill and other front-end body parts.
It’s not clear if there was a witness to the crash, or if investigators pieced events together from evidence found following the crash.
Anyone with information is urged to call the Traffic Division of the San Diego Police Department at 858/495-7800, or Crime Stoppers at 888/580-8477.
This was at least the 11th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the third that I’m aware of in San Diego County.
This is also the fourth SoCal bike rider killed by a hit-and-run driver since the first of the year.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.
I grew up in that neighborhood, my folks still live there. The city added a green painted bike lane on Balboa where it goes over the 805, but it ends at Charger and dumps you into a sharrowed lane on a pretty high speed road designed like a freeway. So you’ve got a combination of freeway on and off-ramps and a bike lane that just disappears on you.
Condolences to the family, and shame on the city. This is one of those designs where they did the easy part okay and then when it might mean slowing down motor traffic, they just threw up their hands and said “paint some sharrows, it’ll be fine.”
Yep. That KGTV news clip starts showing part of the investigation happening right next to a sharrow. If the cyclist “veered left”, it’s because the bike lane ended and they were supposed to take the lane in the right of the three through lanes.
I get off the 805 at that exit and make the right onto Charger every time I go down to see my folks and I see that bike lane ending and suddenly just becoming sharrows and think “someone’s gonna get killed here.” Wish the San Diego transportation people thought the same way.