It’s happened again.
A 90-something driver was involved in a mass casualty crash, this time right here in Los Angeles. And in a Trader Joe’s parking lot, no less.
The 91-year old driver reportedly drove into a group of pedestrians at a high rate of speed, killing one person and injuring four others.
The crash occurred in the parking lot of the Trader Joe’s on Fairfax and Third, directly across from The Original Farmer’s Market and The Grove.
Witnesses said that for some reason, the driver lost control as she was entering the parking lot, sped up, slammed into a parked car, then veered into a group of people near a parking attendant stand before her car crashed into the (parking attendant) stand.
It’s unknown at this point exactly what caused the elderly driver to crash. Investigators at this time do not believe this was an intentional act of violence, but rather a horrible accident.
A “horrible accident.” You know, just another “oopsie.”
KABC-7 reports the crash occurred about 1:30 pm Thursday.
One victim, described only as a woman in her 30s, was pronounced dead at the scene, while four others were taken to a hospital, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Those injured included a 19-year-old man who suffered serious injuries and two women ages 30 and 57 with minor injuries, according to the fire department.
The driver, a 91-year-old woman, was also hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, the LAFD said. No arrest was announced.
Then there was this, also from KABC.
“[The driver] was pretty shell shocked, and she got out she didn’t realize what was happening. She said she tried to stop the Tesla, it was accelerating and she couldn’t stop it,” said Drake Piscione.
“She said her foot was on the brake, but it kept going. She got out and couldn’t believe what happened and didn’t realize she had killed someone”.
Yes, it’s possible that the Tesla malfunctioned, particularly if it was in a self-driving or assisted driving mode. But it’s far more likely that she was stomping on the accelerator, thinking she was hitting the brake, as has happened in countless crashes across the country involving elderly drivers.
You only have to think back to the 99 Ranch Market crash on Westwood Blvd this past February, when a 92-year old driver hit a bicyclist, then continued down the sidewalk on the wrong side of the street for a full block before she crashed through the side of the market, killing three people.
Because this, or some other similar incident, was the entirely predictable outcome of allowing someone that age to keep her license and continue driving.
It’s not being ageist to recognize that mental and physical abilities decline with advanced age. It is easier for someone that age to lose control of a vehicle, and become confused about how to respond afterwards.
There are rare exceptions, as there are with any other generalities. But most people reach a point where they simply should not be allowed to keep driving.
There was a huge outcry from older drivers when the California DMV reinstated a requirement for drivers over 70 to pass a written test, as well as an eye exam. The requirement had been suspended during the Covid pandemic, and the state was simply going back to the policy that had been in place since the ’70s.
Needless to say, the requirement was suspended. You don’t fuck with the Geritol generation.
I say this as someone who will be 70 later this month, and gave up driving several years ago, in part due to medications I was, and am, taking that inhibited my ability to drive safely.
And just like the vast majority of elderly drivers, I also don’t see as well as I did even five years ago.
We’ve got to find a way to weed out people who can no longer drive safely as they age. Because not everyone will willingly give up their keys.
And things like this will continue to happen until we do.
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No surprise here, either.
We said yesterday it wasn’t surprising that the family of fallen bicyclist Blake Ackerman would file a lawsuit against the hit-and-run driver who killed him, as well as West Hollywood for maintaining a roadway known to be dangerous.
It’s also not surprising that WeHo denies any liability.
The City of West Hollywood is pushing back against a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by the mother of a 27-year-old cyclist who was killed in a hit-and-run crash on Fountain Avenue, denying allegations that the city’s roadway design contributed to his death.
Court documents reveal the city’s answer filed March 23 in Los Angeles County Superior Court, where the city denied “generally and specifically each and every allegation” in the complaint brought by Robin L. Ackerman, the mother of Blake Adam Ackerman and successor-in-interest to his estate. The city also denied that Ackerman was damaged as alleged or “at all.”
The city also blames the victim, alleging that Ackerman was “careless, reckless and negligent” and that his conduct somehow contributed to any injuries or damages.
You know, like death.
From what I’ve heard, however, Ackerman was doing everything right when the driver slammed into him from behind, then kept going without stopping. The only mistake anyone has charged him with was simply riding on Fountain to begin with.
It goes on, of course. The city’s attorneys throw everything they can at the wall, hoping that something sticks.
It may be enough. But chances are, the city will end up settling for something in the low seven figures to keep from having the case go in front of a jury, where the damages could be a lot steeper.
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Streets For All is urging you to tell Governor Newsom to veto the Forest Lawn loophole.
TELL GOVERNOR NEWSOM:
VETO THE FOREST LAWN LOOPHOLEThe legislature and cemetery lobbyists inserted language at the 11th hour into the California state budget to make it harder for LA to implement the Forest Lawn Safety and Mobility Project. This is a dangerous precedent that, if allowed to become law, would entice any wealthy Californian to create their own law.
We need Governor Gavin Newsom to veto SB 194.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Email to request a VETO from Gavin Newsom
EMAIL GAVIN NEWSOM TO STOP THIS BILL
ICYMI – Context on What Happened:
The cemetery has enough customers.
Just 16 days ago, another horrific crash killed someone on Forest Lawn Drive.
This is a road where 95 crashes occurred between 2013 and 2023, three people were severely injured or killed, and nearly 3 in 4 drivers drive at a deadly speed in the event of a crash.
After years of work, LA finally has a plan to make Forest Lawn Drive safer. Mayor Bass paused it in May.
Now Sacramento is threatening it.
SEC. 2. Section 1811 is added to the Streets and Highways Code, to read: 1811. (a) A city with a population of 2,000,000 or more shall not reduce the number of vehicle travel lanes on a street that provides the only access to two or more adjacent cemeteries without prior approval of the governing body and the concurrence of the mayor of the city. (b) Prior to approval of a reduction in the number of vehicle travel lanes pursuant to subdivision (a), the governing body of the city shall do both of the following: (1) Conduct a duly noticed public hearing regarding the proposed vehicle travel lane reduction. (2) Consider and make written findings regarding all of the following: (A) Whether there are alternatives that would allow for proposed street modification without a vehicle travel lane reduction. (B) The impact of the vehicle travel lane reduction on emergency access to the cemeteries and the surrounding community. (C) The impact of the vehicle travel lane reduction on emergency response to very high and high fire hazard severity zones Text from SB 194 that threatens the Forest Lawn Safety project, ok’d by Assemblymember Zbur and Senator Durazo
Friday night, two hours before the deadline to amend bills, lawmakers introduced SB 194—language threatening the long-planned safety project after opposition from cemeteries along the route.
Yes, they’re really trying to put this into state law. And they could send it to the Governor by Monday.
This is what it looks like when politics and powerful interests are put ahead of human lives.
We have 48 hours to kill this disastrous precedent and misguided, last minute back room deal. Read our full statement here.
Forest Lawn Drive should be a road that passes a cemetery—not one that sends people to it.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Email to request a VETO from Gavin Newsom
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On a related subject, Streets Are for Everyone sent out this notice yesterday.
This Saturday, we’re asking you to stand with us on Forest Lawn Drive.
On August 13, 2026, a single-vehicle crash on Forest Lawn Drive ended with a vehicle engulfed in flames, killing one person. Details about the crash are unknown, but we know this is not the first deadly crash on Forest Lawn Drive, and without meaningful safety improvements, it won’t be the last.
SAFE recently released a report detailing the urgent need for these safety improvements, after documenting that more than half of drivers regularly exceed the speed limit. The report highlights how a fully funded safety project designed to reduce known dangers on the 1.1-mile road was indefinitely paused by Mayor Karen Bass after nearby cemeteries successfully lobbied to stop the safety improvements.
Streets Are For Everyone, People’s Vision Zero, and Streets For All will be hosting a Ghost Tire Memorial on September 5th, 2026, at 10:00 AM to honor 70-year-old Bijan Yousefian, a victim of traffic violence who died in a fiery crash on Forest Lawn Drive.
Please join us this Saturday at 10:00 a.m. as we remember a life lost and demand that our local leaders stop killing road safety improvements at Forest Lawn Dr and across Los Angeles.
Event Details:
Date:
September 5th, 2026
Time:
10:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Location:
Forest Lawn Drive (across the street from Malinow and Silverman Mortuary) click here for the exact meeting location and see image below:
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Evidently, the bike leg of a triathlon is your only chance to beat a hungry, hungry hippo.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
No bias here. A Berkeley neighborhood group is suing to prevent the city from installing protected bike lanes on Hopkins Street, accusing it of violating the city’s bike plan. Which is kind of funny, considering Los Angeles has done nothing but violate its bike plan.
No bias here. A pro-driving group is accusing the Bristol, England city council of “ignoring road safety” with its so-called “cycling propaganda” — for the crime of showing someone riding a bicycle without a helmet.
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Local
Um, okay. A writer for The Argonaut calls ebikes a menace on the Marvin Braude Bike Trail, complaining about “30–60-year olds clocking more than 25 mph without head gear on the narrow path;” however, he’s no fan of pedestrians, either, griping about “clueless and inconsiderate pedestrians” annoying bicyclists by walking on the bike path instead of the walkway. No offense, but he comes off like an old man yelling for kids to get off his lawn.
Streetsblog reports sections of the popular San Gabriel and Rio Hondo river path will be closed for several years starting October 1st, as the Army Corps of Engineers begins a “high urgency” $735 million project to repair the Whittier Narrows Dam.
State
Encinitas is urging Governor Gavin Newsom to veto a budget measure that will keep them from ripping out a new protected bike lane on Santa Fe Drive.
Axios San Diego suggests beating the heat with a bike ride on the Solana Beach Rail Trail, a fully protected bike path located between Highway 101 and the Coaster train tracks. Although this weekend, wind and rain from a rare Pacific coast hurricane could be more of a problem.
The carnage continues in Northern California, as a man in San Jose was killed by the driver of a dump truck while riding an ebike in the bike lane. And yes, what’s left of the bike looks like an actual ped-assist ebike.
The NorCal news gets worse, after a Sacramento woman was killed by a hit-and-run driver as she tried to her bicycle on the side of the road.
National
Cycling Electric says that studies from around the world prove that ebikes are not cheating, and the workout they provide is similar to the effects of a regular bike.
A Seattle podcaster says bicycles are medical devices, after he took up bicycling to treat his type 2 diabetes and get in shape, losing 30 pounds, and improving his health and wellbeing. On the other hand, bicycling and a healthy diet hid the most of the effects of my type 2 diabetes, causing me to go undiagnosed for more than 20 years, and doing major damage to my health.
Kentucky’s governor announced plans for a new pedestrian and bicycling bridge to provide better access to a Civil War battlefield.
This is the cost of traffic violence. An MIT professor described as “an expert in ancient metallurgy” died two weeks after he was was struck by a driver while riding his bicycle.
Atlanta is rolling out another round of the city’s ebike rebate program, with $1 million in funding to offer rebates up to $1,600. Which compares favorably to LA’s zero dollars in funding, with rebates up to not a damn thing.
International
Road.cc offer bicycling hacks to provide cheap alternatives to expensive products to keep you riding this winter.
The Times of London dropped their paywall to say that gravel biking will be the next great MAMIL-ian obsession. And here I thought it was pickleball. Although the cheapest of the three gravel bikes they recommend retails for the equivalent of $13,500, which makes pickleball look a lot better.
An English hotel manager raised the equivalent of over $5,400 for a Welsh children’s hospice with a 180-mile ride between all nine of the company’s hotels in England and Wales, completing the ride in under 12 hours.
That suddenly shuttered bike shop in the UK is promising that everyone who left a bike to be repaired will get it back, even as someone reported the shop for stealing his bike — but if you put down a deposit on a new bicycle, you’re screwed.
Tragic news from Australia, where a second person has died following last week’s mass casualty crash in Canberra, Australia, when a 40-year old woman plowed into a group of bicyclists; a 39-year old man died in the hospital this week, after a 32-year old woman died at the scene.
Competitive Cycling
Cal State Dominguez Hills has founded what officials there say is the only varsity collegiate cycling team in California, one of just 20 other varsity collegiate cycling teams in the US; so far, it seems to have just one member, student-cyclist Alejandro Che.
Enric Mas strengthened his hold on the Vuelta’s red leader’s jersey, gaining nearly 30 seconds on second-place Primož Roglič.
The BBC is covering everything but the actual Tour of Britain, showing far more interest in flower-covered bikes and Spitfire flybys.
A writer for PeopleForBikes says that when the Philadelphia Cycling Classic returned to the city for the first time in ten years, it found a new cycling team and bike club from his own neighborhood.
Finally…
Your next cargo bike could have just a basket upfront, and no battery anywhere. Riding a bicycle to map the city’s crappy sidewalks.
And more proof that trees are out to get us.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin.
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