For the third time this year, someone has been killed riding a bicycle in Long Beach.
According to a press release from the Long Beach Police Department, a man riding a bicycle was struck by a driver on Cowles Street near Santa Fe Ave around 2:38 Monday morning.
Police investigators concluded the victim, who has not been identified, was riding west on Cowles Street when he was apparently hit head-on by a driver turning east on Cowles from southbound Sante Fe.
He died at the scene, despite the effort of paramedics.
The driver fled in an unknown direction. There’s no description of the driver or the suspect vehicle at this time.
It’s not clear from the description whether the victim was riding on the wrong side of the roadway, or if the driver turned onto the wrong side. West Cowles is a relatively narrow, two lane street, so either one is possible.
Anyone with information is urged to call the Collision Investigation Detail of the Long Beach Police Department at 562/570-7355. Anonymous tips can be submitted through “LA Crime Stoppers” by calling 1-800/222-TIPS (8477), or visiting the LA Crime Stoppers Website.
This is the 36th bicycling fatality that I’m aware of in Southern California this year, and the 11th we know about in Los Angeles County.
Which means that drivers have fled the scene in just under one third of those SoCal bicycling deaths, and just under a third have been in LA County.
And about three too many have been in Long Beach.
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