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Archive for Bicycle Safety

Update: Montclair Halloween ride becomes true horror show when alleged drunk, hit-and-run driver kills two, dragging one victim over a mile

October 25, 2026 / / No comments

Nothing like waking up to the worst possible news.

Because once again, a motor vehicle became a weapon of mass destruction in the hands of a drunken, heartless and murderous coward.

According to a press release from the Montclair Police Department, around 30 people taking part in a “self-coordinated” Halloween ride were riding east on Kingsley Street and Tudor Ave around 10:39 last night when the group was struck head-on by a westbound driver.

The driver fled the scene, dragging one victim over a mile before dislodging their body in a residential neighborhood.

One person died at the scene, while a woman lost her life after at 1:19 am Sunday after being taken to a hospital. Two others were injured; at last report, one was in stable condition with major injuries, while a person suffered a gash to the head, but declined treatment against medical advice.

Video from the scene shows a field of mangled bicycles. Police stressed that the ride “was not sponsored, organized, or affiliated with the City of Montclair.”

The driver was identified by detectives, and 38-year old Valentin Alberto Rodriguez was arrested at his at his home around 2:40 am.

He was booked at the West Valley Detention Center on charges of:

  • Vehicle Code § 23153(a): Driving under the influence and causing injury or death
  • Vehicle Code § 23153(b): Driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% or higher and causing injury or death
  • Vehicle Code § 20001(b)(2): Felony hit-and-run involving death or permanent, serious injury
  • Penal Code § 191.5(a): Gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated

These charges could be upgraded to murder if Rodriguez has a previous DUI. Although it should be considered murder simply for leaving one victim to die, and dragging another to their apparent death.

This is at least the 59th and 60th bicycling fatalities that I’m aware of in Southern California this year, and the third and fourth we know about in San Bernardino County.

Update: The victims have been identified as 25-year old Robert Garcia Umanzor and 30-year old single mother Rumor Ortiz.

According to KTLA-5, Ortiz had quickly developed a love of bicycling after joining the Luna bike crew. 

“She was kindhearted. She was happy all the time. She brought extreme joy to the group,” Ani Fine, a friend of Ortiz, told KTLA…

Among those attending the vigil was Yoly Shively, Umanzor’s aunt, who remembered her nephew as an outgoing person who enjoyed being surrounded by loved ones.

“He just loved being around people. I know that, and he just loved our family,” Shively told KTLA. “He was so sociable, I know, with all his friends.”

A crowdfunding campaign to help pay for Umanzor’s funeral expenses has raised over $10,000 of the $16,000 goal. There doesn’t appear to be a fundraiser for Ortiz at this time. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Robert Garcia Umanzor and Rumor Ortiz, and all their loved ones.

 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

62-year old woman dies after solo Huntington Beach ebike crash Saturday; city recently named CA’s most dangerous city for bicyclists

October 20, 2026 / / 5 comments

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.

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , ,

Person riding bicycle killed by driver in Palm Spring collision Monday night; 7th SoCal bike death in past two weeks

October 7, 2026 / / No comments

Well, we managed to make it three whole days without someone getting killed while riding a bicycle on the mean streets of Southern California.

That’s something, I guess.

According to multiple, virtually identical stories, someone — because that’s all we know about the victim — was struck by a driver going east on East Palm Canyon Drive near Cherokee Way in Palm Springs, around 8:30 pm Monday.

The victim died at the scene. The driver stuck around after the crash, and cooperated with investigators.

Unfortunately, that’s about all we know right now. There’s no word on how fast the driver was going, how the crash occurred, where the victim was or what they were doing.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Palm Springs Police Department at 760/327-1441.

This is at least the 57th bicycling fatality that I’m aware of in Southern California this year, and the seventh in Riverside County. It’s also at least the seventh person killed riding a bike in Southern California in the last two weeks.

Maybe we can manage to make it another three days without someone else getting killed.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and their loved ones.

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , ,

Man riding ebike killed by semi driver in Escondido Friday am; 12th San Diego County bike death this year, 8th SoCal death in 2 weeks

October 2, 2026 / / One comment

Another day, another bike rider killed on the mean streets of Southern California.

For the 8th time in the last two weeks, someone riding a bicycle in SoCal has been killed by a driver, this time in Escondido Friday morning.

According to multiple sources, the victim was struck by the driver of a semi-truck, apparently in the northbound lanes near North Centre City Parkway and Champagne Blvd around 5:50 am.

The victim, identified only as a man, was trapped under the massive truck, and unresponsive when San Diego County sheriff’s deputies arrived. He was taken to a local hospital, where he died.

A map shows North Centre and Champaign are the same north-south street paralleling the 15 Freeway on opposite sides of Deer Springs/Mountain Road. A street view shows a painted bike lane next to a 55 mph speed limit sign.

Video from the North County Chronicle shows the victim was riding an ebike with pedals, and was wearing a helmet, which would have done little to protect  against the massive truck — especially if the truck was traveling at that speed.

This is at least the 54th bicycling fatality that I’m aware of in Southern California this year, and the 12th in San Diego County.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , ,

40-year old man riding ebike killed on North Figueroa in Highland Park, where Gil Cedillo cancelled traffic safety project in 2014

October 2, 2026 / / No comments

Gil Cedillo killed a man in Highland Park Wednesday night.

No, the former CD1 councilmember wasn’t behind the wheel when a man riding an ebike was run down from behind on North Figueroa, but he might as well have been.

Because it was Cedillo who singlehandedly killed a fully funded and shovel-ready safety project to tame the deadly corridor in 2014, after a series of sham public meetings in which only opponents of the project were allowed to be heard.

Now yet another man has lost his life, exactly where traffic lanes should have been narrowed and bike lanes installed over a decade ago — just the latest in a string of violent collisions that have left at least five people dead since 2015, keeping the corridor on LA’s High Injury Network.

According to KABC-7, the victim, described only as a 40-year old man, was riding north in the right lane of the 4500 block of North Figueroa Street when he was rear-ended by the driver of a gray sedan around 11 pm.

The victim was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The driver remained at the scene.

Video from the scene shows a mangled ebike resting on the curb, but it’s not clear enough to tell what kind of bike it is, though other sources describe it as a bicycle.

There’s no way to say for certain that the victim could be home with his family tonight had Cedillo had not been elected to replace a termed out Ed Reyes. But he would have had a better chance if the safety project approved by Reyes had been allowed to move forward.

I honestly don’t have the words left to express the sadness and anger I feel right now, after writing about seven other fallen bike riders in the last 14 days.

But Gil Cedillo has this man’s blood on his hands, and I hope his loved ones allow him to lie in repose on Cedillo’s doorstep, figuratively if not literally. And I hope they have a damn good lawyer.

This is at least the 53rd bicycling fatality that I’m aware of in Southern California this year, and the 18th in Los Angeles County.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones. 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , , , ,

45-year old Homeland man on bicycle killed by hit-and-run driver; 4th SoCal bike death in one week, third fatal hit-and-run

September 29, 2026 / / No comments

For the fourth time in less than a week, someone riding a bicycle has been killed by a motorist in Southern California.

And for the third time, the victim was murdered by a hit-and-run driver. Because that’s the right way to describe a conscious decision to leave someone to die in the street, even if the law doesn’t agree.

According to the Lake Elsinore-Wildomar edition of Patch, the victim was riding in Homeland, California shortly before 8 p.m. Saturday when he was run over and killed by a heartless coward who fled the scene without stopping.

And no, I never heard of Homeland before, either.

The victim, identified as 45-year old Homeland resident Juan Holguin, was riding his bike on Leon Road at Queen Palm Drive when the driver of a Gray Mazda 3 plowed into him at an unknown speed, and apparently an unknown direction.

Witnesses immediately reported Holguin down in the roadway, and he was taken to Riverside University Medical Center in Moreno Valley, where he died four hours later.

The suspect vehicle was found abandoned in a dirt alley approximately one-and-a-half miles from the crash scene with “damage consistent with the reported collision,” according to a CHP spokesperson, including visible “damage to the passenger side of the front windshield.”

There is a 35 mph speed limit on Leon Road, but the straight, wide-open roadway, just half block south of California Highway 74, is engineered to encourage speeding.

Anyone with information is urged to call the CHP Temecula office at 951/466-4300.

This is at least the 52nd bicycling fatality that I’m aware of in Southern California this year, and the sixth in Riverside County — the second in the county in just three-and-a-half days.

At least 17 of those SoCal deaths this year have been hit-and-runs.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Juan Holguin and all of his loved ones.

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , ,

Update: Man riding bicycle killed in Paramount hit-and-run, 3rd SoCal bike death in 3 days, 16th bicycling hit-and-run death this year

September 25, 2026 / / No comments

What is a human life worth?

About four sentences, evidently.

That’s all KABC-7 devoted to reporting that a man riding a bicycle was killed by a hit-and-run driver in Paramount Thursday night. According to the station, the victim, who was not publicly identified, was riding near the Rosecrans Boulevard onramp to the 710 Freeway around 11:40 pm Thursday.

Apparently, they mean Rosecrans Ave and the 710. Judging by the map, if the crash actually occurred in Paramount, that would mean the onramp to the northbound 710 from westbound Rosecrans.

There’s no word on how the crash occurred, or whether the victim died at the scene. Although the divided roadway means the driver was most likely turning right onto the freeway, and either struck the victim from behind, or right-crossed him as he was riding on the sidewalk.

There’s also no description of the heartless coward who drove away, or the suspect vehicle, and Sheriff’s investigators and the CHP say they don’t have any leads.

This is at least the 51st bicycling fatality that I’m aware of in Southern California this year, and the 17th we know about in Los Angeles County; this is also the third bicycling death in Southern California in the last three days.

At least 16 of those SoCal deaths have been hit-and-runs.

Update: The victim has been identified as 54-year old Melchor De la Torre. 

My News LA reports De la Torre’s body was found on the onramp to the 710, but he may have been struck while riding on Rosecrans, and knocked onto the onramp. 

There’s still no description of the suspect or the vehicle. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Melchor De la Torre and his loved ones, who deserved better.

 

 

 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , ,

Man riding bicycle killed by semi-truck driver in apparent right hook in Riverside Tuesday morning, 50th known SoCal bike death this year

September 25, 2026 / / One comment

Another day, another bike rider killed on the mean streets of Southern California.

Less than 34 hours after a man riding a bicycle was killed in a San Diego hit-and-run, another bike-riding man was killed by a semi driver in Riverside. But at least this time, the driver stuck around.

According to My News LA — since the Riverside paper of record seems to think stories than can be readily found elsewhere should be hidden behind a paywall — the victim was struck by the driver at 10:25 am Thursday at Indiana Ave and Jefferson Street, just south of the Riverside (91) Freeway.

A police detective reports the driver was turning right from Jefferson onto eastbound Indiana when the truck hit the bike rider in an apparent right hook. The victim, who has not been publicly identified, died at the scene.

Or as the detective put it, the “bicyclist and trailer collided,” as if no one was responsible for putting that trailer into the victim’s path.

To their credit, the driver immediately stopped following the collision and remained at the scene, as both the law and basic human decency require.

The victim’s mangled mountain bike can be seen lying in the street afterwards, next to markings indicating the track’s pathway as the driver turned. There is a bike lane on Jefferson, though it’s used as a parking lane for the local Toyota dealer.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Major Accident Investigation Team of the Riverside Police Department at 951/826-8723.

This is at least the 50th bicycling fatality that I’m aware of in Southern California this year, and the fifth in Riverside County.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones. 

 

 

 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

45-year old man killed by hit-and-run driver in San Diego’s Egger Highlands, at least 11th bike death in San Diego County this year

September 23, 2026 / / No comments

Yet another Southern California bike rider has been killed by yet another hit-and-run driver.

But the San Diego press didn’t even care enough to do more than retype the police press release, if that. Let alone try to get anymore information.

According to multiple, nearly identical reports, the bicyclist was killed early Wednesday morning in San Diego’s Egger Highlands neighborhood.

And frankly, if you read one of those links, you’ve read them all.

The victim, identified only as a 45-year old man, was riding a mountain bike in the eastbound bike lane on the 1500 block of Palm Ave when he was struck by the driver around 1:15 am. The driver reportedly veered right into the bike lane to strike the victim from behind.

The driver fled the scene, leaving the man behind to die in the street.

There’s no word on whether there were any witnesses. There’s also no description on the suspect vehicle, which way the driver fled, or any word on the heartless coward behind the wheel.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Traffic Division of the San Diego Police Department at 858/495-7800 or Crime Stoppers at 888/580-8477.

This is at least the 49th bicycling fatality that I’m aware of in Southern California this year, and the 11th in San Diego County. At least 15 of those SoCal deaths have been hit-and-runs.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones. 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

13-year old boy killed riding ebike in Menifee Monday, collateral damage in a police chase for a non-violent property crime

September 17, 2026 / / No comments

Southern California’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad few days continued in Menifee on Wednesday, where a 13-year boy became collateral damage in a police chase.

And yes, he was riding an ebike. And no, it really doesn’t matter what kind of an ebike it was, because the kid apparently did nothing wrong, and his ebike was not a factor in the crash.

Multiple sources are reporting that police in Menifee responded to a report of a burglary in progress on the 27000 block of Hemingway Court around 4:54 pm Monday.

A car driven by a woman believed to be involved in the burglary was seen leaving the area, and fled when the cops attempted to pull her over.

The driver was headed west on Holland Road at a high rate of speed when she ran the red light at Holland and Evans Road, striking the boy, who was riding north on Evans Road.

The victim, identified as 13-year-old Menifee resident Cody Villatoro, died at the scene, despite the efforts of police and paramedics.

The driver continued to flee until her car became disabled, at which point police arrested the woman, 21-year old Temecula resident Melody Valdez, on suspicion of evading police and homicide, among other charges.

So let’s repeat. Villatoro was riding with the green light, and apparently did nothing wrong other than share the planet with a driver wanted by police for a nonviolent property crime. But now he’s dead, because of a driver’s bad decision to flee and the cops’ choice to continue the chase.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Detective Garcia of the Menifee Police Department at Ogarcia@menifeepolice.org or call 951/723-1641.

A crowdfunding campaign has raised over $17,000 of the $20,000 goal.

Our beloved 13-year-old Cody Valentino Garcia Villatoro was taken from us far too soon. He was a kind, loving, and joyful child who brought happiness wherever he went. He had such a beautiful spirit and a way of making the people around him smile. Sadly, his life was cut short when he was hit by a car that was being pursued by authorities. Our family is devastated by this unimaginable loss. We would deeply appreciate any help, no matter how small, to help our family in these incredibly difficult time. If you are unable to donate, sharing this message and keeping our family in your thoughts and prayers means more to us than words can express. Thank you for helping us honor and remember our sweet Cody Valentino Garcia Villatoro.

This is at least the 48th bicycling fatality that I’m aware of in Southern California this year, and the fourth we know about in Riverside County. At least 14 of those SoCal deaths have been hit-and-runs.

This comes in addition to two 14-year old boys killed when they were struck by an 88-year old driver in Riverside on Tuesday, August 25, while one was riding an e-scooter and the other was on an e-motorbike; they both died of their injuries last week.

And a 52-year old man was killed in Carson on Friday when he was struck by a driver while riding either a motorcycle or a bicycle. Because those two are so easily confused.

Maybe tomorrow we can get back to our usual business, if drivers will just stop killing us for a few days.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Cody Valentino Garcia Villatoro and all his family and loved ones. 

 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , ,
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