She died at the scene. No identification has been released at this time.
The driver remained at the scene following the crash, and reportedly cooperated with investigators. However, no information was given about the driver, and there’s no word on how the crash occurred at this time.
Unfortunately, that’s all we know right now.
Anyone with any information is urged to call Officer Villalobos of the Colton Police Department at 909/370-5000.
This is at least the 70th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the tenth that I’m aware of in San Bernardino County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and her loved ones.
December 18, 2023 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on 26 to life for Riverside vehicular killer, SaMo bike network cuts crashes by 52%, and Ghost Tire placed for 15-year old boy
Thirty-three-year old Sergio Reynaldo Gutierrez was driving his pickup when he saw 46-year old Benedicto Solanga walking his bike with a friend on the other side of the road, and flipped the men off.
Then he made a U-turn, came back and intentionally drove into Solanga, running him down from behind.
Riverside police arrested Gutierrez three weeks later, after he had run a red light to shake witnesses who attempted to follow him after the crash.
He was convicted in September of first-degree murder with a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony.
No motive was ever given for the attack.
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Bike riders in Santa Monica were ruled at fault in 26 of the city’s 72 crashes resulting in death or serious injury since 2010, while drivers were at fault in 31; the remaining 15 investigators were unable to assess blame.
And let’s not forget that blame is usually assigned by cops suffering from a windshield bias and a lack of training in bike law and investigating bicycle crashes.
However, the good news is that crashes involving bike riders has dropped by more than half — 52% — since the city began building a safe bike network over a decade ago.
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Streets Are For Everyone, aka SAFE, placed another ghost tire memorial yesterday, this time for a 15-year old boy killed by a driver while walking home from school in October.
This is from the press release for the event, which arrived too late for advance notice.
On 27 October 2023, 15-year-old Felipe Manuel Infante-Avalos (affectionately known as Pipé) was crossing the road at 110th and Main St in the crosswalk, on his way home from school, when he was hit by 34-year-old Arturo Mercado Garcia. Pipé was hospitalized and died from his injuries on 8 November 2023. Arturo, who fled from the scene of the collision, was later caught and arrested and is awaiting trial. Per the judge for the case, evidence was found that Arturo was watching TikTok videos while driving.
Pipé, who was autistic, was sweet and gentle and his family loved him dearly. He loved school and was part of the ROTC. He loved playing with his siblings and going on their many family outings.
Pipé’s death is part of a worsening public health crisis on the roads of Los Angeles that has been skyrocketing since 2020. Per LAPD reports (as of 9 December 2023) the total number of traffic fatalities is higher than this time last year by 7% at 307 lives lost. Keeping in mind that the 312 fatalities in 2022 were the highest in well over 20 years. What’s worse is the number of pedestrian fatalities is up by 11% (162 lives lost) compared to this time last year, the number of hit-and-run fatalities is up by 26%, and the number of DUI-related fatalities is up by 32%.
A Ghost Tire Memorial will be placed to remember Pipé by the non-profit Streets Are For Everyone. Pipé’s parents, friends, and family along with other community members affected by traffic violence will be present.
Over 30 family members and friends, many of whom have flown in from out of town, are expected to attend. Adriana, Pipe’s mother, will be demanding that Arturo Mercado Garcia be given the maximum penalties allowable by law for killing her son. She’ll also be calling for the Mayor of Los Angeles to do more to protect the lives of our communities.
The Ghost Tire Memorial was inspired by the Ghost Bike: a bicycle roadside memorial placed where a cyclist has been killed or severely injured by the driver of a motor vehicle. Ghost Tires are tires painted white and placed on the side of a road with the name and date of the person killed. Ghost Tires were created by the road safety advocacy organization Streets Are For Everyone, sometimes called by its acronym, SAFE.
You can do your part by signing the petition to demand a public forum with the mayor to hear our complaints about the dangers Pipé and the rest of us face just walking and biking in Los Angeles.
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Unbelievable.
Life is cheap in Hilo, Hawaii, where a 70-year old man faces a maximum of a 15 years behind bars for negligent homicide and hit-and-run — even though prosecutors say he intentionally killed a woman riding a recumbent bike because she was “going too slow all the time.”
The judge ordered him to undergo a mental health exam, which is probably a good idea under the circumstances.
They should also give one to the prosecutors who undercharged what should have been a murder case.
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Fallen standup comic Kenny DeForest continued to make an impact after his death riding an ebike near Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, donating seven of his organs to five people, to give them a second chance at life.
DeForest died a week after he reportedly rode his ebike into a parked car, suffering serious head injuries.
That could have happened for a number of reasons, from distraction to excess speed resulting from the ebike, or being crowded out by a driver’s too-close pass.
A Maui bicycling group teamed with a “grassroots movement dedicated to bringing joy to children and families impacted by the Maui wildfires” to bring holiday gifts and entertainment to local families, and distribute 80 bicycles to kids who had requested one.
Someone has been deliberately sabotaging a London bike lane for over a year, repeatedly spreading drawing pins in an apparent attempt to puncture riders’ tires. While it may sound like a harmless prank, a sudden flat could lead to serious injury, as well as needless expense and inconvenience.
Police in Golden, Colorado are looking for two people who ran away from their abandoned car after running down three people riding bicycles, and injuring two of the victims — one seriously. No word on whether the crash may have been intentional.
A Florida man shot a neighbor in the leg with a shotgun after the victim strayed onto his property looking for his stolen bicycle; the man said he shot him because he tried to break into his RV — even though police found the shotgun shell 150 yards away.
Interesting idea. Singapore hopes to promote bicycling by creating a “bike village” under a viaduct next to a transit station, in an area already popular with bicyclists, where they can shop for bicycle gear, grab a bite or meetup for rides.
December 15, 2023 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on WeHo votes on Vision Zero Monday, not guilty plea in Magnus White death, and popular comic dies in solo ebike crash
We’re running neck-and-neck with last year’s record-breaking total — which means we could easily set a new record for the ninth time in a row. Or fail for the first time ever.
Which way it goes is entirely up to you.
Thanks to Nina N for her generous donation to support SoCal’s best source for bike news and advocacy, and keep it coming your way every day.
As we’ve learned the hard way — hello, Los Angeles — a Vision Zero plan is only as good as the political will of city leaders to fund and implement it.
But so far, West Hollywood’s leadership seems committed to carrying out their decisions — including the recent decision to only build protected bike lanes.
The 23-year old driver appeared in court Wednesday, and entered a plea of not guilty to a charge of vehicular homicide, a class 4 felony with a maximum of 6 years in prison, along with a potential fine ranging anywhere from two thousand to half a million dollars.
Yeva Smiliansk described herself as a Ukrainian refugee, with no criminal history there or here in the US.
According to Smiliansk, she ran down White as he rode on the side of the roadway because her steering failed, while prosecutors allege she chose to drive while sleep deprived, and fell asleep at the wheel.
White was training for the junior mountain bike world championships in Scotland, where he was scheduled to compete just weeks later.
However, police were not called to the scene, and there’s no word on what may have caused the crash.
The 37-year old comedian appeared on MTV Decoded, The Late Late Show with James Corden, Late Night With Seth Meyers, the Just For Laughs TV series Straight Up, Stand Up, HBO’s Crashing, and Comedy Central’s Tales From The Trip.
I’m told that DeForest’s death hit close to home for LA writers, who got to know him during the recent writer’s strike, when he participated in several of the Bike the Strike rides.
Thanks to Mike Burk and Nina Moskol for the tip.
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‘Tis the season.
First responders in California’s Alameda County answered a little girl’s letter to Santa, giving her the bicycle she asked for, along with some milk for her baby brother.
Santa Monica cops will conduct another bike and pedestrian safety operation today, ticketing anyone who commits a violation that could endanger someone walking or riding a bike. So ride to the letter of the law until you cross the city limits, so you’re not the one who gets ticketed.
December 14, 2023 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Sleeping driver charged in death of 17-year old Team USA cyclist, and proportion of bike traffic deaths rising worldwide
Thanks to Kiersten S, Phaedrus L, Rob K, Ian D and James B for their generous donations to keep all the best bike news coming your way every day. And help keep the corgi in kibble.
If you haven’t already, take just a moment to sign the petion demanding a public forum with LA Mayor Karen Bass to listen to the dangers we face just walking or riding a bike in the City of Angels.
Then spread it to everyone you know, and ask them to sign, too. Because it’s long past time to take traffic violence seriously, and stop the needless carnage on our streets.
And if you’re one of the 139 people who’ve already signed it, thank you!
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Maybe Magnus White will see justice, after all.
The 23-year old driver who killed 17-year old US National Team cyclist Magnus White has been charged with vehicular homicide, six months after the Boulder, Colorado crash.
White was on a training ride, just weeks before he was scheduled to compete in the junior mountain bike worlds in Scotland, when Yeva Smilianska allegedly fell asleep before slamming her car into his bike.
Investigators came to this conclusion after interviewing Smilianska and people she knew, and by reviewing cell phone data, according to the affidavit. They also interviewed several people who had witnessed the crash or the aftermath, including another bicyclist who was riding behind White. That bicyclist also talked to the suspect on the scene, the affidavit says.
Police found a text Smilianska sent about 20 minutes before the crash. It read, “I’m falling asleep. So I’m going home.”
There was no indication that Smilianska was intoxicated, according to the affidavit.
Smilianska reportedly told investigators her steering malfunctioned, but admitted she hadn’t seen White, or another cyclist riding with him, prior to the crash.
And yes, you are legally required to be awake and alert when you operate a motor vehicle. Not to mention actually pay attention to others on the road with you.
According to the WHO, despite a 16% decline in overall traffic fatalities per 1,000 people over the last decade, the proportion of bike riders among road deaths worldwide rose slightly, from 5% to 6%.
That could allow the agent to claim immunity, arguing that he was performing his duties as an agent at the time of the crash.
The case was revived in August, after the Salem, Oregon paper accused the local police of a coverup in the case, apparently failing to conduct an investigation of the crash as a professional courtesy to the agent.
No bias here. A New Zealand website says bike riders are causing problems on a new $17 million shared coastal pathway — then cites a pedestrian who says she was almost struck by someone on a bicycle, who she didn’t see riding towards her. So she wasn’t paying attention, yet it’s somehow the bike rider’s fault. Got it.
Palo Alto wants to preserve parking and traffic lanes on University Ave, while adding bike lanes and wider sidewalks, and transforming the thoroughfare to make it more vibrant. They also want to preserve the cake they just ate.
Tragic news from Brooklyn, where stand-up comedian Kenny DeForest died Wednesday, five days after he was struck by a driver while riding his bicycle; the Missouri native has appeared on Comedy Central, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and The Late Late Show with James Corden, as well as HBO’s “Crashing,” and released his second comedy special in August.
New York unveiled a new 10-foot wide protected bike lane on 10th Ave, which a deputy mayor said would make life easier for people on bicycle, especially delivery workers. The city also announced plans for an 11-foot wide bike lane on 11th Ave, and 12-foot wide one on 12th Ave. And just wait until they get to 104th Street.
An 80-year old former Florida councilmember got a lousy traffic ticket for killing a woman riding a bicycle, after claiming he somehow couldn’t see the woman riding across the street directly in front of him. And once again raising the question of how old is too old to drive.
December 13, 2023 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Elderly Oxnard man dies, weeks after he’s struck riding his bicycle
An elderly Oxnard man has died, over a month after he was left-crossed by a driver while riding his bicycle.
According to the Ventura County Star, 84-year old Oxnard resident Joseph Smart was riding east on West Fifth Street in Oxnard around 6:15 pm on Sunday, November 5th, when he was struck by a westbound driver turning left onto South K Street.
Oxnard police were told Tuesday about Smart’s death.
There’s no word on any tickets or charges; police don’t believe the driver was speeding or under the influence.
Evidently, killing someone through simple carelessness isn’t illegal anymore. However, the investigation is reportedly ongoing, so maybe there’s hope.
Anyone with information is urged to call Traffic Investigator Alexis Arellano at 805/200-5668, or email alexis.arellano@oxnardpd.org.
But one thing is certain. Anyone who is still riding a bicycle at that age deserved better.
This is at least the 69th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the third that I’m aware of in Ventura County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Joseph Smart and his loved ones.
December 13, 2023 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on New petition demands public traffic safety meeting with LA Mayor Bass, and new Calbike ED takes Caltrans to task
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Like you, I’m fed up with the traffic violence on our streets, and mad as hell about how little is being done to to improve safety for those of us who aren’t safely ensconced behind a couple tons of glass and steel.
Let alone building a climate-friendly transportation system that’s not firmly routed in the last century.
So I created a petition demanding a public audience with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, similar to the bike summit held by former Mayor Villaraigosa over a dozen years ago.
Thirteen years ago, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa held a public forum to listen to complaints from bike riders and pedestrians about the dangers we face on city streets. He heard us, and took action.
But since then, we’ve been ignored. Mayor Eric Garcetti introduced a number of traffic safety initiatives, but failed to follow through on any of them, and failed to listen to us or meet with us a single time. Now new Mayor Karen Bass has continued to ignore the dangers on our streets.
We’ve given her a full year to focus on homelessness, and housing unhoused Angelenos. Now it’s time to walk and chew gum at the same time, and refocus at least some of her attention on the ongoing carnage on our streets, as bike and pedestrian deaths climb to near record levels.
We demand another public forum with the mayor in attendance, to listen to our complaints about the dangers on our streets, and the urgent need to re-imagine how we all get around in Los Angeles.
Kendra Ramsey, the new Executive Director of the California Bicycle Coalition calls on Caltrans to change its ways, because California will never be the climate leader it professes to be until the state stops building freeways.
And yes, that includes highway widening and building new interchanges, too.
Caltrans should be inducing demand for active transportation by building protected bikeways with protected intersections that connect to robust local and regional networks of safe bike routes. It should be adding bus-only lanes and bus boarding islands, widening sidewalks, and improving conditions for people who walk or take transit…
It’s a quick and easy read.
And more than worth the click to read the whole thing.
Novel AI tools developed by a Zurich firm are helping to develop safer bike helmets and better shoe soles by bypassing “the time-consuming and intuition-based design process of metamaterials.” Let’s just hope they work better than most AI chatbots.
The former head of the Movistar cycling team explains why he gave Colombian pro Nairo Quintana a second chance, saying pro cycling wasn’t fair in banning him for testing positive for the narcotic painkiller Tramadol, which won’t be banned until next year.
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Yesterday we shared a photo depicting the aftermath of a Friday bike crash in Marina del Rey, which I later learned was taken by Ian Dutton.
Then last night I came across a story from an Australian news site reporting that a beloved college teacher had been killed riding along an unidentified California beach.
And later still, I saw a comment from Libby Starling, who identified herself as the victim’s sister-in-law, reporting that the victim in the Marina crash, Manhattan Beach resident Leland Dutcher, didn’t make it.
Somehow, posting that photo makes it feel personal to me, perhaps because I inherited my dad’s extra empathy gene.
I keep telling myself that it’s not about me.
What I do is about serving the victims of these crashes, and their families, and the greater bicycling community.
But it hurts, damn it.
It hurts.
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We’ve linked to a number of stories about the bikelash in Cambridge, Massachusetts recently, where some drivers are up in arms over the profusion of new bike lanes on city streets.
But according to Velo, a new report from city officials shows the city’s first-in-the-nation mandate to building protected bike lanes has been an overwhelming success.
According to the report, since the policy was implemented four years ago,
80 percent more protected bike lanes from cars than in 2004.
9 percent of Cambridge residents bike to work, and 37 percent of residents walk or bike.
25 percent of people visiting the business district arrive by bicycle.
34 percent more people commute by bike since 2019, while 15 percent more people commute via sidewalks since 2019.
The number of children on bikes, in trailers, or cargo bikes has increased by 3.5 times.
Up to 80 percent fewer cyclists ride on sidewalks, resulting in fewer accidents between pedestrians and cyclists.
Bike lanes in the area have cut accidents between bikes and cars by 50 percent since 2012.
The proportion of crashes that did not result in injury is three times lower now than it was from 2004 to 2012. Incapacitating injuries are down by 84 percent in the same time frame.
All of which sounds like a pretty convincing argument to keep building them there.
Because while the state is great at setting Complete Streets and climate change policies, it continues to waste billions on traffic and emission inducing highway projects.
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LA in a Minute examines why white plastic bollards are popping up all over Los Angeles.
All over Los Angeles pylons/bollards are popping up in streets, changing lanes, blocking certain directions and slowing down traffic.
So what is the purpose – why is the City doing this?!?
Born on this day, December 12: Frank Sinatra, singer and actor (1915-1998), riding during the making of Come Blow Your Horn (1963). Happy #bicyclebirthday, Frank!#BOTDpic.twitter.com/llnxXroj5d
Megan Lynch forwards video of George Clooney and Jimmie Kimmel discussing what kids wanted from a bike back in the day.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
No bias here. Bay Area bike advocates were justifiably up in arms over a story from the San Francisco Standard we linked to yesterday, which trotted out the usual bike-hating bile, including “People hate bike lanes, at least in part, because people hate cyclists. And in fairness, many cyclists give non-cyclists more than a few things to hate.” Because we all know all drivers operate their vehicles perfectly, and never, ever do anything that would give bike riders or pedestrians something to hate.
New York’s bike-hating, rightwing councilwoman demonstrates how to say you have no idea what you’re talking about without saying you have no idea what you’re talking about, while somehow assuming we’re all a group of millionaire cultists.
The hobby of a group of millionaires on their way to a $50k/year elementary school in Manhattan is not a viable transportation plan for the rest of the city.
That they want you to somehow believe otherwise shows how radically out of touch the bike cultists are.
But sometimes it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Bakersfield police arrested 12 people riding bicycles, 11 of them juveniles, for an undisclosed incident that happened at the city’s Valley Plaza Mall; a police sergeant said the group, which was organized through social media, was “causing road hazards, and not following the rules of the road.” Except that sounds more like a traffic violation, rather than a crime subject to arrest. And full disclosure, I used to write advertising for that mall.
A bike-riding Massachusetts man faces an animal cruelty charge for allegedly beating a dog and knocking its 69-year old owner to the ground, after using his bike to separate his two dogs from the victim’s dog when they got into a fight. Using his bike to separate them was smart; beating the other dog afterwards, not so much. Or forgivable.
San Diego adopted a new Complete Streets policy aimed at making local streets safer and more equitable. But as we’ve seen in Los Angeles, a policy without an enforcement mechanism can be pretty useless.
Great idea. The Iowa Bicycle Coalition is visiting nearly 100 bike shops across the state to kick off their “support your local bike shop week.”Because if we don’t support them, they may not be there when you need them.
A British motorcyclist got three and a half years behind bars for crashing into a bike-riding woman while riding stoned, without a license or insurance, and with fake plates on his motorcycle; the victim ended up having her leg amputated.
Fox News continues its war on trans cyclists, quoting commentator Riley Gaines condemning a third place finisher as a “traitor to women” after she came to the defense of the trans women who finished ahead of her.
Yesterday, I posted a photo by Ian Dutton depicting the aftermath of a bicycling collision in Marina del Rey on Friday, (although I somehow mistakenly called it Santa Monica).
I added that I hoped the victim was okay, and linked to a TikTok video from the scene, in which the person who posted it prayed the victim would survive.
Sadly, our prayers weren’t answered.
In a comment to that post, Libby Starling, who identified herself as the victim’s sister-in-law, revealed that he didn’t make it.
The cyclist in the photo from Friday’s crash in Marina del Rey was my brother-in-law, Leland Dutcher, from Manhattan Beach. As you might anticipate from the damage to the windshield, he did not survive the impact. As you add him to your list of bicycle fatalities in Southern California, know that the world lost a great soul with his death.
Right now, there’s no word on what time of day it happened, or why.
All we know from the photo — which I am not reposting here, since his loved ones are likely to see this — is that Dutcher’s white ebike came to rest in the right lane of what appears to be eastbound Admiralty Way, several yards in front of a stopped car with a smashed windshield, while firefighters tended to Dutcher in the middle of the roadway.
Hopefully, we’ll learn more soon.
This is at least the 68th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 33rd that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.
And as Starling notes, we’ve lost a great soul, which is a tragedy for us all.
And escalated because of the replica handgun he carried to protect himself on the streets.
What ensued resulted in a street being blocked off, multiple San Francisco police units arriving — his attorney estimated nearly 80 officers– the appearance of two military-grade armored vehicles, and Corvera being shot at approximately 15 times from four different officers, including one shot that nearly missed his head, his attorney said.
Corvera was never charged with being in possession of a stolen bike.
Instead, he was charged with resisting arrest, brandishing a replica firearm and interfering with the lawful performance of a police officer. His trial began in early November, but ended in a hung jury, leading the public defender’s office to argue — not for the first time — that Corvera should never have been approached in the first place.
The public defender’s office has filed the case under California’s Racial Justice Act, which “allows defendants to raise issues of bias in their cases based on race, ethnicity or national origin.”
San Francisco should probably just back up the Brinks truck in this case.
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That didn’t last.
My wife and I drove by the site where 46-year old Aaron Cobb was killed riding his bike on Santa Monica Blvd at the 405 Freeway yesterday, just two weeks this ghost bike was installed in his honor.
Photo by Danny Gamboa
Except it doesn’t look like that any more.
All that’s left now is a sad, lonely frame chained to the fence, after someone stripped all the parts off it.
Seriously, it takes a major schmuck to fuck with a ghost bike.
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Streetsblog’s Joe Linton forwarded this photo by Ian Dutton, after someone riding an ebike was hospitalized after what looks like a pretty serious crash in Marina Del Rey on Friday.
Let’s hope the victim is okay, because that smashed windshield doesn’t look good.
One hundred children got new bicycles in a Bronx bike giveaway, as the chief development officer for a New York advocacy group notes that bikes have real staying power, unlike other gifts kids play with for awhile, then forget.
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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 Cambridge, Massachusetts group calls themselves Cambridge Streets For All, but turns than name on its head by opposing bike lanes — so what they really want is to just keep the streets for drivers. And just because someone in their 70s can’t ride a bike is no reason to oppose bike lanes for others. The idea is to make it safe for people who want to bike, not require everyone to do so.
No bias here, either. A British school bus driver is under investigation after making it clear he just doesn’t give a damn about human lives, telling a bike rider he’s “really not bothered” about killing someone on a bicycle, after he was challenged about an overly close pass.
He’s got a point. A 70-something man in the UK says “bicycling is a good thing but not in the hands of idiots,” after he and his wife were nearly run down by someone on a bicycle who “had no regard for anyone else in a crowded situation.”
Sad news from Sacramento, where a man died days after he was run down by a hit-and-run driver while riding his bike. We’ve said it before, but drivers who flee the scene should face a murder charge because they’ve made a conscious decision to allow the victim to die, rather than stop and get help.
Life is cheap in New Mexico, where a judge sent a clear message that killing someone while driving drunk and fleeing the scene of the crash is just no big deal, by cutting the nine-year sentence of killer, drunken Albuquerque hit-and-run driver in half, because someone else who was convicted of what may or may not have been a similar crime got off with a lighter sentence.
The owner of an Arkansas bike rental says assume drivers there can’t see you when you ride. Actually, that’s good advice everywhere, because drivers can’t see you when they’re looking at their phones, which they’re usually doing. Or not looking for you, period.
A Nairobi woman says she had an epiphany to take up bicycling as she lay in the roadway with a badly broken leg after jumping off one of the local motor scooters known as a boda boda to avoid a drunk driver, and hasn’t looked back — even after a doctor recommended amputating her leg.
A new study of “bicycle accidents with respect to spatial heterogeneity” from Seoul, Korea offers results that aren’t really that surprising, concluding that more local buses on a roadway results in a reduction in bike use, and that the presence of bike lanes results in more bicycle crashes. Probably because there are more bike riders using them.
December 9, 2023 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Man riding bicycle struck and killed by 2nd driver after Coachella hit-and-run; 19th fatal SoCal bike hit-and-run this year
A man riding a bicycle was struck by a hit-and-run driver in Coachella Thursday night, then left in the road for another motorist to finish the job.
The victim was reportedly riding south in the 54000 block of Grapefruit Blvd, north of Palm Street, when he was run down from behind by a heartless coward, who fled the scene, around 11:35 pm.
He was then struck by a second driver, who stuck around after the crash and called 911.
There’s no word on whether he was riding in the traffic lane when he was struck; a street view shows a two lane highway with a minimal paved shoulder he could have been using.
It’s also not clear how long after the initial impact he was struck by the second motorist, or if he could have survived if the first driver had the basic human decency to stop after hitting someone.
Unfortunately, no description is available for vehicle used in the hit-and-run, or for the person driving it. Anyone with information is urged to call CHP Officer Windsor at 760/772-5300.
This is at least the 67th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the ninth that I’m aware of in Riverside County.
At least 19 of those SoCal bicyclists have been the victims of heartless hit-and-run drivers.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.
