Archive for Bicycle Safety

Update: Bicyclist killed when driver drifts off the road near El Cajon

April 18, 2018 / / 6 comments

It looks like LA’s recent epidemic of bicycling deaths has moved south.

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, a man on a road bike was killed when a driver drifted off the road, and lost control on the soft shoulder of a highway just outside El Cajon.

The crash occurred around 3:15 pm on Olde Highway 80 west of Flinn Crest Street.

The 67-year old driver reportedly sideswiped the victim, identified only as a 58-year old Alpine resident, before continuing to strike a bus stop sign, mailbox and a parked pickup truck.

The victim was taken to San Diego’s Sharp Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Video from the scene posted by San Diego’s KGTV-10 shows a badly mangled bike, and the driver’s minivan with the front end smashed in.

This is at least the 19th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the third in San Diego County.

Update: The victim has been identified as 58-year old Brian Jennings, a professor of comparative politics and U.S. Government at Grossmont College.

Police believe the driver of the minivan fell asleep before drifting off the road and slamming into Jennings.

Update 2: I originally said the victim was riding a mountain bike, based on the initial reports; however, the video above clearly shows a road bike. Thanks to BV for the correction. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Brian Jennings and his loved ones.

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

Bicyclist killed in crash after getting doored in Burbank

April 17, 2018 / / 17 comments

Sadly, last night’s breaking news has been confirmed.

As we noted earlier, KNBC-4 reported last night that a bike rider had been killed after getting doored at Alameda Avenue and Mariposa Street in Burbank.

Unfortunately, however, they failed to post the story online.

Now the Burbank Leader has confirmed that 53-year old Burbank resident Lenny Trinh died after the driver of a parked car opened door as Trinh rode in a bike lane on Alameda, knocking him off his bike and into the path of an oncoming pickup.

Trinh was taken to a nearby hospital where he died of his injuries.

The paper places the time of the crash at around 5 pm Monday, between Mariposa Street and Griffith Park Drive.

For a change, both drivers remained at the scene.

According to California law, the driver is always at fault in a dooring, as long as the victim is riding legally in the direction of traffic.

CVC 22517 clearly requires drivers to check for traffic before opening a car door and ensure that it does not interfere with traffic.

And yes, bike riders are considered traffic, in or out of a bike lane.

While dooring is one of the most common types of bicycle crashes, deaths are rare, averaging less than one per year in the entire SoCal region.

And they can be eliminated entirely if drivers are trained to use the Dutch Reach, opening the car door with their right hand so it forces them to look left over their shoulder.

This is at least the 18th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 10th in LA County; it’s also the fifth bicycling fatality in the LA area in just the past two weeks.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Lenny Trinh and all his family and loved ones.

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

Update: Yet another bike rider killed in South LA hit-and-run; third death in last week on LA’s High Injury Network

April 16, 2018 / / 3 comments

It’s happened yet again.

Another bike rider has been killed in a South LA hit-and-run, the third person murdered by heartless, cowardly drivers in the last week.

All on streets identified as part of the city’s High Injury Network.

And all in CD8 Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson’s district.

According to the Los Angeles Daily News, the victim was struck by one driver and run over by at least one other motorist at the intersection of South Avalon and East Century Boulevards — all of whom left the scene.

KNBC-4 adds more detail, saying the victim, identified only as a man who appeared to be in his 60s, was crossing Century headed south in the crosswalk on Avalon when he was struck around 12:15 pm.

Both drivers fled the scene, before a second driver in a Lexus SUV, eventually returned and talked with police.

Which means the first driver should face a murder charge for leaving his victim lying in the street to be run over at least one other time.

We’ll never know if the victim might have survived if the first driver had stopped. What we do know is that after leaving him sprawled and bleeding in the road, he probably never had a chance.

We’ll also never know if he would had survived if the city had moved forward with the safety improvements called for as part of the LA Vision Zero’s High Injury Network.

But we do know that the failure to take any action after identifying the problem could leave the city with a greater legal liability for this death, as well as the two previous deaths in the district this past week.

Not to mention the bicyclist seriously injured in a deliberate hit-and-run assault while participating in a protest Wednesday afternoon.

And never mind that the City of Los Angeles is well aware of the hit-and-run epidemic, but done little to address it other than passing a standing reward program.

This is at least the 17th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the ninth in Los Angeles County; it’s also the seventh in the City of Los Angeles.

There is an automatic $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect in this case.

Update: The victim has been identified as 60-year old Christopher White, no town of residence given.

While the story mentions the $50,000 reward for the hit-and-run death of Frederick Frazier, there should also be a similar reward in this case under the city’s hit-and-run reward program. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Christopher White and his loved ones.

Thanks to Michael MacDonald for the heads-up.

 

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

Update: Bike rider killed in South LA hit-and-run

April 10, 2018 / / 5 comments

Yet another LA bike rider has been killed by a heartless coward who fled the scene.

According to a tweet by LAPD Capt. Jonathan Tom, a person riding a bicycle died after being struck by the driver of a white Porsche Cayenne at Manchester Blvd and Normandie Ave in the Manchester Square neighborhood.

A photo from the scene shows a shattered bike with debris scattered across the roadway.

No other information is available at this time.

Anyone with information is urged to call LAPD South Traffic Detectives at 323/421-2500, or anonymously at 800/222-TIPS (8477)

This is at least the 16th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the eighth in Los Angeles County; it’s also the sixth in the City of Los Angeles.

Update: The victim has been identified as 22-year old Frederick Frazier.

KABC-7 reports the crash occurred around 12:47 pm today; they place it in the 1300 block of West Manchester Ave.

Update 2: Streetsblog’s Sahra Sulaiman has written a moving — and graphic — description of the final moments of the man known as Woon to his friends, described as a strong an experienced cyclist. 

She also reminds us that, thanks to LA’s hit-and-run reward system, there is a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of his killer.  

And in a tragic irony, after several people blocked the intersection where Frazier was killed in an impromptu bike protest the next day, one person suffered minor injuries when a driver deliberately slammed her car into his bike. 

And naturally, fled the scene.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Frederick Frazier and his loved ones. 

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

Elderly man killed riding his bicycle in Norwalk collision

April 6, 2018 / / One comment

Evidently, the driver had nothing to do with it.

According to the Whittier Daily News, a man described only as a Latino in his 80s was killed when he was struck by a sedan in Norwalk this morning.

The collision occurred at 7:46 this morning at Mapledale Street and Claressa Avenue. He died at the scene.

It’s only in the last sentence of the article that the driver was even mentioned. And then only to say he or she was not arrested.

A street view shows two quiet, residential streets with no lane markings, which should have a 25 mph speed limit.

Normally a crash at that speed should have been survivable, but someone of that age is likely to be more fragile than a younger person would be.

This is at least the 15th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the seventh in Los Angeles County.

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

Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , ,

Update: Bike rider killed in Rancho Mirage; driver may have drifted into bike lane

April 2, 2018 / / 9 comments

More bad news today.

According to KESQ-3, a man was killed in a collision while riding his bike in Rancho Mirage this morning.

The victim, identified only as an adult man, was struck near the intersection of Bob Hope Drive and Ginger Rodgers at 10:13 am.

He died at the scene.

The driver stopped after the crash, and was cooperating with investigators. Police do not think drugs or alcohol played a role in the crash.

The Desert Sun reports the crash occurred on a relatively desolate stretch of northbound Bob Hope Drive. The victim was found several feet from his bike, with a heavily damaged utility truck stopped nearby.

A street view shows two wide, straight traffic lanes in each direction on Bob Hope, with a 50 mph speed limit, and an unprotected gutter bike lane on each side.

According to KMIR-TV, the driver may have drifted into the bike lane.

This is at least the 14th bicycling fatality in Southern California, and the second in Riverside County.

Update: The victim has been identified as 74-year old Victoria, British Colombia, resident Peter Harvey.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Peter Harvey and his loved ones. 

Thanks to Victor Bale for the heads-up. 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

Update: Teenage bike rider killed by alleged speeding driver in San Fernando Valley Easter Sunday

April 2, 2018 / / 10 comments

Tragic news, from what should have been a joyous day.

Word broke this morning that a 15-year old bike rider was killed in a collision in the San Fernando Valley on Easter Sunday.

A GoFundMe page to raise funds for funeral expenses reports that Reseda High School student Sebastian Montero was struck head-on by a speeding driver at the intersection of De Soto and Burbank.

No time of the crash, or any other information is available at this time.

There are two intersections for De Soto and Burbank, as the street jumps a block north before continuing; no word yet on exactly which one the crash occurred on. However, there appears to be bike lanes on either side of De Soto.

Hopefully we’ll have more information soon.

This is the 13th bicycling fatality I’m aware of in Southern California, and the sixth in Los Angeles County. It’s also the fifth in the City of Los Angeles.

A ghost bike will be installed at 9 pm tonight.

Update: According to a source with the LAPD, the crash took place at the south intersection, directly in front of Kaiser Medical Center, as Montero was crossing De Soto headed east, where the crosswalk would be if one was painted. 

The driver reportedly shifted to the right lane, and accelerated through the intersection as soon as the light changed, catching Montero before he could get across the street.

No information yet on who may be at fault or any possible charges. 

Update 2: The Los Angeles Daily News says the crash occurred around 11:40 am Sunday. He died about an hour later after being taken to a local hospital.

Police are investigating the timing of the traffic light, as well as the speed of the driver. 

Montero was riding with a friend, who was unharmed. 

Photos from GoFundMe page

Photo by Steve Spence

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Sebastian Montero and all his family and friends.

Thanks to Steve and Zachary Rynew for the heads-up.

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

Woman on bike killed by FedEx driver in Los Angeles hit-and-run, suspect detained by police

March 15, 2018 / / 2 comments

A Los Angeles woman has been killed in a collision with a FedEx driver in the Newton Area.

KTLA-5 reports the victim was riding her bike east on Washington Blvd at Staunton Ave around 8:40 Thursday morning, when the northbound FedEx truck pulled out from a stop sign on Staunton.

Witnesses reported that she was directly in front of the truck. Yet somehow, the driver apparently failed to the woman her on her bike.

He kept going following the impact, dragging the victim under the truck, then continued without stopping.

She was pronounced dead at the scene, left to die in the middle of the intersection.

The LAPD has identified the victim as 54-year old Elisa Gomez.

Police have found the suspected FedEx driver, who has been detained for questioning.

According to KTLA-5, LAPD Capt. Alfonso Lopez suggested he could be looking at a manslaughter charge.

It was not immediately known whether the driver saw the cyclist, but “based on the physical evidence at scene and based on the officer’s expertise, and the construction of the traffic collision, it is our belief that the driver of the vehicle would have, or could have, or should have known that he had struck an individual,” the captain said…

“Had this individual stayed at scene and rendered aid — or at least called somebody and cooperated — and remained at scene, it would be looked at as a traffic collision,” Lopez said. “The fact that his individual failed to stay at scene and then fled makes us look at it now like a hit-and-run investigation, leading to a manslaughter case.”

Anyone with information is urged to call LAPD Detective Calvin Dehesa at 213/486-0750 or the Central Traffic Division Detectives 213/833-3713.

This is the eleventh bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fifth in Los Angeles County. It’s also the fourth in the City of Los Angeles since the start of the year.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Elisa Gomez and all her loved ones.

 

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

Victim identified in Long Beach bicycling double hit-and-run last weekend

March 9, 2018 / / 2 comments

Somehow, we missed this one last weekend.

Friday morning, the LA County Coroner’s office released the name of a hit-and-run victim who was killed while riding a bike in Long Beach last Saturday.

Long Beach police officers discovered 24-year old San Pedro resident Cole Micek lying on the Terminal Island Freeway at Pier A Way around 3 am last Saturday.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Micek’s identification was delayed because he wasn’t carrying any ID.

According to the Long Beach police, he was struck by two drivers, both of whom fled the scene. They’re looking for white 2015-17 Toyota Camry, as well as a late-1990s Honda Accord with a dark hood and a sunroof.

Anyone with information about the crash was asked to call Long Beach Police Detective Sirilo Garcia at 562/570-7355 or Crime Stoppers at 800/222-8477.

This is the tenth bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth in Los Angeles County.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Cole Micek and all his family and loved ones.

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

Bike rider killed on the 101 Freeway in Studio City Friday morning

March 9, 2018 / / One comment

Sometimes, there’s just no information available.

According to multiple sources, a bike rider was killed in the center lane of the eastbound 101 Freeway near the Laurel Canyon exit in Studio City around 6:11 this morning.

No information was available on the victim or how the crash may have occurred.

The reports said it was unclear if the victim was riding the bike or walking it at the time of the crash.

However, a still from KNBC-4 shows an apparently undamaged bike leaning against the sound wall on the side of the freeway, suggesting that the victim may have left it there before walking onto the roadway.

There was no explanation for why the victim was riding a bike on the freeway, or why he or she may have entered the traffic lanes.

This is the ninth bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the third in Los Angeles County; it’s also the third in the City of Los Angeles.

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

 

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