Once again, someone has been killed riding an ebike.
And once again, we have to take the police at their word that the victim was on an actual electric bicycle, rather than the e-motos and hacked bikes that too often pass for ebikes.
According to multiple reports based on a Facebook post from the Huntington Beach Police Department, a woman died after striking a curb with her bicycle in the city.
The victim, identified only as a 62-year old Westminster resident, was riding east in the bike lane on Warner Ave around 4:30 pm Saturday when she somehow struck a raised curb east of Brightwater Drive.
She was found lying unconscious in the roadway, but died after being taken to a local hospital.
The post says it’s unknown if she was impaired.
It’s also apparently unknown what kind of ebike she was riding, whether she was alone or with others, how fast she may have been going, if she struck the curb as a result of carelessness or because of some sort of obstruction or uneven pavement, or even if she was wearing a helmet. Which may matter, for a change, because she died as the result of a fall, although we don’t know if she suffered a head injury.
Anyone with information is urged to call Traffic Investigator Vishal Rattanchandani of the Huntington Beach Police Department’s Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team at 714/536-5231.
It’s not clear if the police or the medical examiner’s office will release more information, or if this is all we will ever learn about this crash.
This is at least the 58th bicycling fatality that I’m aware of in Southern California this year, and the eighth we know about in Orange County. It’s also at least the second this year in Huntington Beach, which was recently named the state’s most dangerous city for bicyclists.
And once again the author of this article being dramatic. There is a difference between dying and being killed. This woman “died” from a solo bike accident, she didn’t kill herself. And the Law Firm’s study you cite claiming H.B. as the most dangerous city for cyclists calls the cyclists “victims” as if they bear no responsibility whatsoever for the accident they were involved in. The law firms study also states the number of “victims” represents any sort of injury, not just fatalities, so they could be listed as a “victim” even if their only injury was a skinned knee. Try reporting without all the unnecessary exaggeration and drama, you’ll have more credibility.
Gary you
Must be new to the game!
The author is asking valid unanswered questions, this incident could of been caused by MANY FACTORS, for instance a vehicle forcing the Cyclist into the curb, or not properly maintained highways, the cyclist not wearing a helmet, speed of the Cyclist, was the cyclist riding the wrong, weather conditions, oil slick or debris on the roadway way that caused the cyclist to swerve – All valid questions.
“BikingInLA” has covered hundreds if not thousands of Cycling related incidents over the past 15-20 years and has been an asset to the cycling community and advocating for safe riding, safe streets and helping keep people accountable.
Thanks for that, Carlos. I lost count years ago, but after 17 years of writing about every bicycling death in Southern California, a conservative estimate would be somewhere north of 1,000.
Gary, as for the difference between dying and being killed, my dad died of heart disease on the operating table. My mother died of pancreatic cancer. My father-in-law died of a massive aneurysm as I gave him CPR. My cousin was killed when her dad drove drunk, and made a sudden swerve that threw her out of the car, and he ran over her. One of my best friends growing up was killed by a drunk who jumped the 30-foot median on I-25, and hit his car head-on. I had friends from high school from who were killed in Vietnam, and a friend who died of a heart attack in Kuwait after being deployed to Desert Storm.
I think I know the difference.
If you prefer the term “died” to “killed” in a situation like this, feel free to use it. You are correct that she died in the hospital from her injuries, I am correct that she was killed as the result of a solo collision, since her death would not have occurred without that violent incident. Don’t argue semantics with an English major.
I am also not the one who ranked Huntington Beach as the most dangerous city in the state for bicyclists. I just reported — and commented — on it. If you have a problem with their definitions, take it up with the law firm that compiled the results. All I know is that I’ve had to write about far too many people who have been killed or injured riding a bike in HB. I’d far prefer to write about bicyclists rescuing puppies, but that’s not what seems to make the news.
As for being dramatic, I prefer satire. But it doesn’t really lend itself to a tragedy like this.
HB Police FaceBook post has drawn out comments from family and friends – her name appears to be Sandra Pimentel.
The press never follows up after a random crash report.
Thanks, Bill. And you’re right, that’s one of my big complaints with the media.