But at least this time there wasn’t a motorist involved.
Ventura talk radio station KVTA reports a man was killed when he was run down from behind by an Amtrak train while riding on the tracks in Oxnard Tuesday morning.
According to Oxnard Police Commander Luis McArthur, the engineer of Pacific Surfliner Train 763 sounded his horn several times and tried to stop, but couldn’t bring the train to a halt in time, despite witness statements that it was traveling at just 20-30 mph before the crash.
The victim made no effort to get out of the way as he rode with a hoody pulled over his head; however, there’s no evidence that he was wearing headphones or earbuds.
Which raises the question of why he wasn’t aware of the massive train bearing down on him. Let alone what he was doing on the tracks in the first place.
This is at least the 33rd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fifth that I’m aware of in Ventura County, which exceeds the total for all of last year.
It’s also the sixth Southern California bike death that’s come to our attention in less than two weeks.
July 6, 2021 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on CicLAvia returns with 3 dates this year, a first-hand view of traffic violence, and bike rider shoots driver in self-defense
That’s followed by the traditional Heart of LA route in Downtown Los Angeles on October 10th — the same date as the first CicLAvia, also in DTLA, eleven years earlier.
And last but far from least, a long-awaited return to South Los Angeles on October 5th.
Here’s what our bike-riding friend at KCBS2/KCAL9 have to say on the subject.
Normally I’d read it, maybe mutter a quick prayer, and move on. Just another every day tragic occurrence.
Except this time, the details dovetailed with an email I received yesterday, in the form of a script, from fellow bike rider and corgi aficionado Mike Burk, who moved from SoCal to the cooler and cloudier clime a few years ago.
Fade in:
Late morning, driver’s POV.
Coming home from town this morning when we’re diverted off the highway to a side road because of a road block. At the intersection, noticed a truck towing a poorly loaded trailer carrying an old backhoe. The truck was stopped, the driver getting a ticket by a couple of sheriff’s deputies.
Finally back on the highway and two or three miles down the road. Flashing lights ahead. As we inched along I noticed a bicycle on its side and no rider around. Whatever happened is over (it had been only 90 minutes since we came that way into town).
Seeing the bike and the emergency vehicles, I got a picture.
Photo by Mike Burk
Dissolve to:
Early afternoon, POV over shoulder, sitting at computer.
Me, during a Zoom meeting with our homeowner’s association Publications Committee. Going over articles for our next month’s Kala Pointer Newsletter. One of the committee members asked, “Did you hear about Stan Cummings this morning? He was riding his bike…”
You can guess the rest. Yes, that was Stan’s bike. He was medivacced (sp) to Harborview Hospital in Seattle (40 miles… if you’re a crow). He’s in their TBI unit, not expected to recover well, if at all.
It didn’t take too long for someone following to dial 911 — and then for the sheriffs, local police, and state police to locate and stop the truck.
Stan is active in the community and on his bike. We’ll see what happens.
Fade to black.
Burk adds this final thought.
I forget that this can happen anywhere. We’re in a REALLY small town. Even after all the miles I’ve put on my bike, the thought of getting out on that highway (WA19 and WA20) up here just terrifies me. I keep to the back roads.
Sadly, that’s exactly the case.
The news stories I see come from everywhere English is spoken, and many places it’s not.
From big cities and tiny towns in every state throughout the US, as well as Canada, Mexico and Central America, the Caribbean, the UK, Europe, India, Africa, New Zealand and Australia. And virtually everywhere else, on every kind of roadway.
Yet somehow, the onus for safety inevitably rests on our narrow, unprotected shoulders, rather than the people in the big, dangerous machines who pose the danger to people on bikes, and everyone else.
It’s like living in a village where monsters roam the streets, dragging people off at random. And instead of doing something about them, we merely tell the villagers to be careful and lock their doors at night.
Like this rabidly auto-centric anti-Vision Zero diatribe, in other words.
Every line is like parody. Jim Kenzie victim blaming on @TSN_Sports@MotoringTV. Because they’re the ones to die, responsibility for pedestrian safety is on pedestrians, not the people operating 2,000 kg high-speed machines, or those who design the streets that prioritize them. pic.twitter.com/2Oh0VBB14m
Apparently, Minnesota’s annual Freedom From Pants Ride went off without a…well, you get the idea.
MINNEAPOLIS: A 911 caller reports "500 bicyclists" wearing underwear and bathing suits, biking east from the intersection of Hennepin Ave. & Washington Ave. N.
— MN CRIME | Police/Fire/EMS (@MN_CRIME) July 5, 2021
Thanks to Tim Rutt for the heads-up.
………
Megan Lynch forwards this piece about a man seven years into a diagnosis of dementia, yet still riding his bike across Nova Scotia to fight the disease.
WATCH: Dr. John Archibald’s father was diagnosed with dementia in 2014. There’s no cure but Archibald has decided bike across Nova Scotia to raise awareness and funds for dementia research and support. Alicia Draus talks with him about his ride which started on July 1. pic.twitter.com/eePQrf5h9r
British bike scribe and historian Carlton Reid explores England’s old Great North Road from London to Newcastle, traveling in style in a classic Morgan sports car, accompanied by a Brompton foldie in the passenger seat.
………
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
In a truly bizarre case, a man on a bike shot a road raging Houston driver in self-defense when the male driver told a bike-riding couple they couldn’t ride in that neighborhood, then deliberately knocked the woman off her bike; her pistol-packing partner was let go, while the driver was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon.
Seriously? There’s not a pit in hell deep enough for a 23-year old English man who was caught masturbating on his bicycle, riding one-handed as he pursued women and young girls. Yet the bike-riding perv somehow avoided jail despite doing it not once, not twice or even thrice, but four times, apparently because the judge thought he’s a “promising student.”
A Singapore bicyclist was criticized for leaving a painted bike lane to draft behind a trio of dump trucks. Although that would be perfectly legal in the US, though not necessarily smart, where most, if not all, states allow bike riders to take the lane if they’re riding the speed of traffic.
Boulder CO police say there’s a nationwide bike shortage, so use a damn U-lock, already. Although they may not have said it quite that way.
More proof that collisions with pedestrians are just as dangerous for the person on the bike, as a 28-year old New York woman was left clinging to life after she crashed into a pedestrian walking in a Prospect Park crosswalk while she was riding in the bike lane. Seriously, ride carefully around pedestrians, who are just as unpredictable as people on bikes. And in cars.
Mashable offers tips on what to think about before entering the ebike world. But they get the first tip wrong, suggesting that ebiking is just a seasonal thing for everyone but the most extreme bicyclists.
A Singapore bike rider unfairly gets the blame for riding in the traffic lane when a driver slams into him from behind, throwing him onto the windshield before landing in the roadway; the victim sat up following the crash, so hopefully he’s okay. Warning: The dashcam video of the crash is absolutely horrifying, so be sure you really want to see it before you click on it.
The victim, who still hasn’t been publicly identified nearly two weeks later, was taken to a local hospital, where he died sometime later.
As usual, there’s no word on why the public wasn’t informed until My News LA broke the story on Sunday.
Police are looking for the driver of a white two-door 2019-21 Camaro with a black convertible top, likely with noticeable front-end damage.
Anyone with information is urged to call LAPD West Traffic Division detectives at 213/473-0236, or call Crime Stoppers at 800/222-8477. As always, there is a standing $50,000 reward for any fatal hit-and-run in Los Angeles.
This is at least the 32nd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the tenth that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County; it’s also at least the fifth in the City of LA.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.
Get out on your bike and enjoy the summer weather with the three-day Independence Day holiday coming up this weekend.
But remember drivers are likely to be distracted, and possibly under the influence after outdoor barbecues and picnics.
So have fun. But remember to ride safely and defensively.
I expect to see you back here safe and sound on Tuesday.
………
Once again, we have a credible report of a fatal bicycling collision, but still have to wait for confirmation.
KNX 1070 helicopter pilot Scott Burt tweeted that traffic had been halted on a dangerous stretch of Sunset Blvd between the 405 Freeway and Veteran Ave in West Los Angeles, due to what he termed a deadly vehicle versus bicycle incident.
The photo appears to line up with the intersection of Sunset and North Lenroy Ave. Although it’s hard to tell just what we’re looking at in the photo, beyond the officers and patrol cars securing the scene and investigating the crash.
Never mind that people of color don’t experience the same level of safety on our streets as white riders.
Or rather, the lack of it.
We ride bikes, we get how dangerous this can be. Yet, white advocates didn’t realize that the color of someone’s skin meant that they were more likely not to be seen by a driver while at the very same time exponentially more visible to police. For bicycle advocates of color, especially Black advocates, the goal was never to make streets safe-er. Instead, we are fighting for the same baseline level of safety that white cyclists enjoy.
We worry about being doored or hit by a careless and distracted driver just like all cyclists. But we also carry the burden of knowing that our risks are amplified because we can’t ride around with the protection of whiteness. We too want the experience of riding our bikes without worrying whether people think they look too expensive for us to own, or living in a neighborhood that isn’t deemed too poor or too Black to deserve infrastructure.
Seriously, read it.
And yes, you can read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you, apparently forgetting their commitment to widely share stories about racial equity.
The exact amount will vary by city — it’s just $175 a month for workers in Nashville. However, it’s unclear if it just applies to the company’s five regional centers, or if the benefit will be available to workers at Amazon’s distribution centers and warehouses, as well local delivery drivers.
Now we just need to convince other employees that it’s in their benefit to pay workers not to drive instead of paying for employee parking.
………
A London bike rider was lucky to walk away from a head-on crash, as a driver suddenly swerved onto the wrong side of the street before continuing on to crash into a pole on the sidewalk.
PeopleForBikes wants you to Ride For Freedom this month, offering patches to riders who complete 7, 14 or 21 rides of at least for miles before the end of the month.
Portuguese bike riders are planning a 30-minute sit in and vigil to call attention to too many people being killed and injured while riding their bikes, in the wake of a bike-riding expectant mother who was killed by a driver.
Dave Nicolai was injured in a fall when his bike slid out from under him in a pool a standing water, algae and debris caused by a defective irrigation system and a clogged storm drain.
Nicolai was represented by Oceanside lawyer Richard Duquette, a longtime friend of this site, along with co-counsels Daniel Petrov and Michael Norton.
The abandoned 710 Extension project could provide the backbone for a much-needed north-south bikeway between Los Angeles and Alhambra.
An SGV resident and transportation engineer who commutes by bike to MPK recently shared with us this very cool concept to improve bike/ped access through #Alhambra and #LA via part of the 710 stub. Check it out here: https://t.co/dEIFFaZCMN#Sustainable710@StreetsblogLA @lacbc
Hats off to 45-year old Shawn Cheshire, who’s riding the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail across the US in an effort to become the first blind woman to ride across the United States, guided by another rider on a separate bike.
Then there’s adventure athlete Brendan Walsh, who has raised over $2,300 for the Alzheimer’s Association by climbing the highest summit in all six New England states, then riding his bicycle in-between to get from site one to another, in just four days, 15 hours, 34 minutes — beating his goal by more than 30 hours.
An 82-year old Scottish woman got off with a slap on the wrist for running down a bike rider in a roundabout, merely losing her license for breaking the victim’s leg. Which she probably should have lost years earlier.
On the False Creek sea wall: Technically, they’re in the bike lane. But, to their credit, they’re trying to walk single file. pic.twitter.com/JcFSdTDkcg
The driver continued east on Jefferson without stopping, which suggests he or she was likely traveling in the same direction as Dimeglio prior to the crash.
Police are looking for a dark-colored SUV, most likely with heavy damage.
There was no explanation given for why the LAPD waited almost three weeks to ask for the public’s help in finding the driver, or even release word that someone had been killed on city streets.
It also makes you wonder if there are more bicycling deaths they haven’t bothered to tell us about.
Anyone with information is urged to contact LAPD South Traffic Division Detective Daniel Ramirez or Officer Andrew Guzman at 323/421-2500.
As always, there is a standing $50,000 reward for any fatal hit-and-run in the City of Los Angeles.
This is at least the 31st bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the ninth that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County; it’s also at least the fourth in the City of LA.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Leo Dimeglio and all his loved ones.
Thanks to Jeff Vaughn for the heads-up.
STD Detectives seeking help from our community on a hit and run that occurred on Jefferson Blvd @ approximately 11:41 hours. If anyone can provide additional information please contact South Traffic Detectives. 323-421-2500. pic.twitter.com/1OqFgwCQTh
— LAPD South Traffic (@LAPDSouthTraff) June 29, 2021
June 30, 2021 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Justice grinds slowly in SoCal bike cases, reward in previously unknown hit-and-run, and DUI driver injures man on bike path
It’s been awhile since we’ve heard from our anonymous legal correspondent.
She’s back today with a long list of cases that are slowly working their way through the court system.
Along with a few killer drivers scheduled to get out from behind bars too damn soon.
………
Mariah Kandise Banks, charged in the hit-and-run death of Frederick “Woon” Frazier, has yet another prelim reset date coming up on July 13th. This case is just so long and drawn out, and meanwhile, Banks continues to drive and has not ceased her harassment of Woon’s family, in violation of Judge Hobbs’ repeated reminders,
On April 10th, I attended a group march from Woon’s mama’s house to the site of his slaughter, where a new ghost bike was installed. It is really horrible to have to see his mama right there at the scene where a stranger held her son as he died.
In speaking to our group, she told us all she was thankful that so many people showed up and are still fighting to make things safer.
The DA’s office has not been very communicative. I feel that the DA’s office is in violation Marsy’s Law. My understanding is that the clerk has even outright hung up on Miz Beverly. I spoke with Edin (Chief Lunes) at the event, and suggested that perhaps a calm, independent liaison would be helpful in exchanging information. Naturally he volunteered. I spoke to Miz Beverly about this and I think it is a relief to her that she doesn’t have to pick up that phone herself to harangue the prosecutor, who’s really dropping the ball.
Scuzzy Andrea Dorothy Chan Reyes, who told the mechanics who cleaned the blood off her dented car that she’d hit a dog, and subsequently fled to another continent, is eligible for parole in October. Yes, October 2021.
(Chan Reyes was sentenced to seven years just three months ago for the 2017 hit-and-run death of Agustin Rodriguez, after dragging Rodriguez the length of two football fields under her car as she sped away — then fleeing to Hong Kong and Australia in an ultimately vain attempt to avoid prosecution. Evidently, seven years doesn’t last as long as it used to.)
Stephen Taylor Scarpa, who left Costa Mesa Fire Captain Mike Kreza’s three little girls fatherless, is still set for a jury trial in August. Scarpa is charged with murder for allegedly driving while stoned when he killed Kreza as the popular firefighter was training for a triathlon while riding in Mission Viejo.
A commenter on your blog said that the crosswalk on the south side of that intersection had been removed, but I remember being surprised that one wasn’t intstalled after the new development went in, given the great increase in pedestrian activity it’s brought to that location.
_____
Ronald Earl Kenebrew, Jr., who was already locked up awaiting a court date on charges of robbery & indecent exposure, was arraigned yesterday on charges of murder, carjacking, and hit & run in the death of Branden Finley as he rode to the Ride For Black Lives in Downtown Los Angeles last year. The court website hasn’t been updated, so I dunno the outcome of his hearing.
LA Superior Court opens back up this week, and I’ll be there to do some digging into a backlog of cases.
_____
School teacher Molly Jane Hoene had a preliminary hearing scheduled for June 21st, and no further hearings scheduled as yet, but her bail still stands, so I don’t think the charges were dropped. Hoene was arrested for the 2019 hit-and-run death of a homeless bike rider in Silver Lake that was caught on security cam.
On a separate not, last month, on Friday, May 14th, I was waiting for the bus at Fig & Pico about 11am, and a ride rolled by… and rolled and rolled and rolled… I thought the river of bikes was never going to end. I honestly started wondering whether they had just looped a few blocks and were going around in a circle. A young man yelled an invitation, so I jumped in and followed a guy riding backwards for at least a half mile. To this day I still don’t know what this ride was!!!!! All ages. Guys, gals. Fixie trash. Insta-girls. Geezers on trikes. BMX kids. Dogs in backpacks, dogs in baskets. Spandex, cargo shorts, hot pants, and a skirt or two… everybody and all their neighbors. Just an amazing encounter. Los Angeles, 2021. Wow.
Unfortunately, this is the first we’ve heard of the fatal crash. It shouldn’t take nearly three weeks for the police to inform the public that an innocent person has been killed. Let alone ask for our help in apprehending a heartless, cowardly, killer driver.
I’ll have a more detailed story later today.
………
Once again, a driver has gotten onto a supposedly carfree bike trail — this time with tragic results.
For the first time since the 1980s, Los Angeles doesn’t has the worst traffic in the US. The Los Angeles/Long Beach/Anaheim region was number two last year, behind the New York-Newark area. Which, oddly, is exactly what it feels like to ride a bike here.
Streetsblog offers an update on key issues that passed out of the Senate Transportation Committee yesterday, including a bill allowing bike riders to treat stop signs as yields, a bill legalizing jaywalking, and a third allowing cameras on buses to capture bus lane violations. So we can have cameras on buses, but no speed cams in school zones. Got it.
Okay, so they weren’t on a bicycle. It’s still worth mentioning two Indian men sharing a motorcycle who escaped a charging leopard by feeding him cake. Although something tells me the big cat will be waiting to blow to the candles when they come back.
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, 75-year old San Diego resident Allen Hunter was the victim of a hit-and-run last Tuesday — one week ago today.
He was riding on the South Coast Highway 101 near Lomas Santa Fe Drive around 10:35 am on June 22nd when he was run down from behind by vehicle allegedly driven by 21-year-old Lucas Beau Morgans of Solana Beach.
Hunter was taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital in nearby La Jolla, where he died of multiple blunt force trauma around 6:30 that evening.
Morgans was arrested later the same day, about six miles from the crash scene, on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter, felony hit and run resulting in death or injury and felony DUI causing great bodily injury.
He was released after posting bail, and isn’t due back in court until October.
This is at least the 30th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the ninth that I’m aware of in San Diego County already this year.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Allen Hunter and all his loved ones.
Every donation is being matched dollar for dollar this week, so that $7,000 really represents $14,000 to help keep bike riders safe on a dangerous corridor that’s way down on the city’s priority list.
Even Las Cruces, New Mexico has installed popup bike lanes in an effort to get people safely outside while they study how to improve bike and pedestrian safety throughout the city. Unlike a certain megalopolis to the west, with roughly 40 times the population.
An Evansville, Indiana community college partnered with a local school district to give away 280 bicycles, along with locks and helmets; the annual program has given away over 3,500 bikes over the last 15 years.
However, advocates are split on the benefits of installing a protected bike lane on the busy roadway, with some fearing it could do more harm than good on the steep downhill grade.
It’s been too long since I’ve ridden that area to recall specific details of the roadway. However, in many cases, it’s safer to have a separated lane with a wide buffer to give riders room to maneuver if need be, rather than trapping riders in a protected bike lane.
Which is exactly the opposite of what’s called for on the uphill side, or virtually any other situation.
It also doesn’t help that bicyclists haven’t even been consulted about planned improvements to the street.
(La Jolla Traffic & Transportation Board) Chairman Dave Abrams asked (bicyclist Kurt) Hoffman and others to confer with a La Jolla Community Planning Association subcommittee, which LJCPA President Diane Kane said was looking into pedestrian and car access in and out of The Village, including via Torrey Pines Road.
On June 24, Kane told the La Jolla Light that the subcommittee, called the Village Visioning Committee, has “been working diligently on streetscapes in The Village and on entrances into La Jolla,” such as Pearl and Nautilus streets.
She said she hasn’t seen anything yet for Torrey Pines Road. “So far, bicyclists haven’t been part of the committee’s conversation on traffic calming and streetscape enhancements but will be welcome once the initial concepts are melded into a coherent whole,” Kane said.
Unfortunately, that’s how planning too often works.
Coming up later this hour… we tried to speak to GOP House members about their bogus January 6th conspiracy theories. Congressman Mo Brooks would not comment and rode off on his bicycle… pic.twitter.com/LMSedEhUDi
Apparently, in Hamilton, Ontario, you’re supposed to wait patiently at a stop sign until drivers in each direction wave you through the intersection.
Which will never, ever happen in real life.
And never wear headphones on a bike, even though you can usually still hear traffic noise, unless you’ve got the volume cranked up to ridiculous levels.
Unlike, say, drivers in their hermetically sealed vehicles, with the sound up so high they can’t even hear a fire truck bearing down on them.
A Florida man has just 1,500 miles to go on an 11,500-mile ride crisscrossing the US to raise funds to fight cancer; he’s raised nearly $93,000 of his $100,000 goal for cancer nonprofit Chemo Noir.
The husband of a bike-riding Florida woman who was run down by a hit-and-run driver is worried that the 89-year old woman is still driving while out on bail, even though she somehow couldn’t see two adult people on bicycles directly in front of her. Or cared enough to stick around after getting out of her car to look at the crumpled riders she’d nearly killed. Yet another example of authorities not taking the keys from an elderly driver until it’s too late.
