Archive for Injuries and Fatalities

40-year old cyclist killed in Whittier; 14-year old Garden Grove cyclist dies as final fatality of 2011

January 15, 2012 / / 4 comments

Just 13 days into the new year, 3 cyclists have already been killed on Southern California streets.

According to the Whittier Daily News, two cyclists were crossing Whittier Blvd in Whitter, headed north on Rockne Ave around 10:40 am, as a car approached from the east; only one rider made it across the street.

Forty-year old Joseph Parra was struck by the Dodge Magnum and died at the scene. Police note that the driver remained at the site, and no criminal behavior was suspected.

A photo on the Daily News site shows minor damage to the left front of the car, with a smashed windshield on the driver’s side.

Google Street View reveals the riders had a stop sign, while the driver had an uncontrolled intersection, suggesting that the riders may have gone through the stop. However, it is also possible that the driver may have been speeding, or the cyclists’ view of the oncoming car could have been obstructed in some way.

This is the first cycling fatality in Los Angeles County this year, along with one each in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties.

Thanks to Rex Reese for the heads-up.

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A search for information about this collision also uncovered one final fatality for 2011.

According to a release from the Orange County Coroner’s office, 14-year old Albert Nguyen of Garden Grove was hit by a car while riding his bike at the intersection of Gilbert Street and Chapman Avenue in Garden Grove around 4:45 pm on Thursday, December 29th. He died at 6:30 pm on New Years Day at UCI Medical Center in Orange.

Reports indicate he was killed in a right hook after riding his bike off the sidewalk into the path of a turning car.

That makes Nguyen the 71st — and hopefully last — traffic-related bike fatality in Southern California in 2011, and the 13th in Orange County.

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

Killer hit-and-run driver who hid in bushes faces six years; swift justice in Monrovia

January 13, 2012 / / 2 comments

The bike justice beat goes on.

It wasn’t that long ago that drivers who killed or maimed cyclists seemed to drive off with barely a slap on the wrist. But lately, there seems to be a steady drumbeat of convictions, even if some drivers still get off far too easy.

Maybe that speaks to the pressure we’ve been applying in our demands for justice.

Or maybe it just speaks to the unacceptably high number of serious cycling cases currently clogging the courts. Or the sheer idiocity of those behind the wheel.

Case in point, Julianne Elyse Thompson was convicted after pleading guilty in a bizarre case in which she ran down and killed 64-year old Arthur John Jacobs in Carlsbad. Then fled the scene at high speed, only to be discovered hiding in the bushes across from an apartment complex where she’d abandoned her car.

Thompson plead guilty to charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and hit-and-run causing death. Her blood alcohol level was measured at 0.25 after her arrest — over three times the legal limit, and approaching the level that can cause death.

She is expected to be sentenced to a well-deserved six years in state prison.

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In a case of remarkably swift justice, a driver has already been convicted in a Monrovia hit-and-run that occurred just this past Monday.

Yes, Monday.

Jason Travers was arrested about an hour after a 5:42 pm hit-and-run that left a cyclist with non-life threatening injuries. The 25-year old rider, identified as Paul Tetu, was hit from behind while attempting to make a left turn, and thrown 20 feet through the air.

In a sign of the sheer stupidity demonstrated by some drivers — especially those foolish enough to flee the scene of a collision — Travers called police to report he may have been in a collision, after apparently seeing the story on the news. But swore he wasn’t the one who hit the cyclist.

Needless to say, police investigators found evidence connecting him to the crime. Which they may never have found if Travers hadn’t attempted to craft a case of implausible deniability.

He showed much better judgement at his arraignment on Wednesday, entering a plea of No Contest to the hit-and-run charge; sentencing will take place next month.

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Finally, Orange County deputies stopped cars in an effort to find the hit-and-run killer of Randy Isaacs, as his family pleads for justice.

Isaacs was killed after putting his children to bed at his parents house, while riding his son’s bike a few blocks to the room he was renting after separating from his wife.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Bikes & the Law, Injuries and Fatalities, Legal Cases / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Red-light running(?) cyclist killed in San Bernardino; another slap on wrist for killer hit-and-run driver

January 10, 2012 / / 5 comments

Just 10 days into the new year, we’ve already had our second cycling fatality.

According to the Riverside Press-Enterprise, 61-year old San Bernardino resident Bernard F. Culbertson was hit by a vehicle driven by an unlicensed driver while riding at 5:31 Monday morning, and died of his injuries nearly 22 hours later.

Culbertson was reportedly riding without lights an hour before sunrise when he crossed North Waterman Ave headed west on Third Street, and was hit by a car driven by Benito Bustos-Gonzalez of Fontana.

Police report that Bustos-Gonzalez had the green light, suggesting that Culbertson ran the red light; however, there is no indication whether that was observed by independent witnesses or reported by the driver.

It’s a common problem in bike collisions that the victim is killed or incapacitated, and unable to give police their version of events. As a result, barring other witnesses, police are often forced to rely on statements given by the drivers involved, who have an incentive to cast events in the most favorable light.

The paper reports that investigators have not indicated if Bustos-Gonzalez will be charged or ticketed, but notes that jail records show no indication of an arrest.

This is the second fatality in Southern California so far this year, and the first in San Bernardino County.

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The Ventura County Star reports that Shannon Richard was sentenced to 270 days in county jail and three years probation for the hit-and-run death of Jose Louis Carmona last year.

That’s significantly less than the two yeas the D.A. had asked for, or even the one year prison and five years probation the probation department had recommended.

Richard hit and killed Carmona as he was walking his bike along PCH near Faria Beach Road; she was arrested at her home after fleeing the scene, reportedly telling police she thought she hit an animal.

Of course, hitting an animal isn’t likely to explain why she felt the need immediately begin drinking again as soon as she returned home, muddying the results of the blood alcohol test after she had admitted drinking a few beers before driving home.

Pro tip: begin drinking as soon as possible following a collision so police won’t be able to establish what your BAC was at the time of the collision.

On the other hand, Carmona was wearing dark clothes with no lights on his bike, with a BAC of .20, and may — or may not — have been walking in the traffic lane at the time of the fatal collision.

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Our anonymous OC/South Bay court case reporter writes that the arraignment for Danae Miller in the death of world-class tri-athlete Amine Britel has been pushed back until February 27.

That’s almost exactly one year after Miller ran Britel down while he was riding in a Newport Beach bike lane in allegedly drunken/distracted collision.

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That same anonymous source also notes that the “private jail” where Adam Garrett has been allowed to serve his 180 day sentence for the hit-and-run death of Hung Khac Do — when he’s not out for work, school or church — is actually a halfway house in a converted apartment building.

And he’s not actually incarcerated yet, as the judge generously gave him until April 10th to begin his sentence, so he could wait until a spot opens up for him.

And that 180 days actually turns out to be just 90, since the judge generously stayed half of it. And if Garrett keeps his nose clean for just one full year, his felony conviction will be reduced to a misdemeanor.

Slap, meet wrist.

No wonder people continue to die on our streets, and drivers continue to ignore the legal requirement to stop at the scene of a collision, when we can’t even get the courts to take it seriously when an innocent person gets killed.

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She also notes that five of the 50 organ donors featured on the Donate Life float in the recent Rose Parade were killed while bicycling. That’s not to say cycling is dangerous; you could just as easily die sitting on your sofa as on your bike.

But no one gets out of this world alive.

And however I go, I want some good to come out of it.

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LAist reports that a driver has been arrested on hit-and-run charges after hitting a cyclist in Monrovia last night. Jason Travers allegedly fled after hitting the victim from behind at Violet Ave and Foothill Blvd around 6 pm.

Fortunately, the rider was not seriously injured.

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A Colorado driver has been sentenced to eight-years in prison for a fatal hit-and-run — despite beating a DUI charge for the same incident.

Maybe someday California courts will take hit-and-run cases that seriously.

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Finally, Bike lawyer Bob Mionske writes about when you need lights on your bike and why. And yet another anti-bike bigot broadcaster, this time a Brit, blathers about his hated of bikes.

Who knew we are responsible for global warming by forcing speeding drivers to actually slow down for a few seconds?

Category: Bicycle Safety, Bikes & the Law, Injuries and Fatalities, Legal Cases / Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Garrett guilty, Singh seriously blotto, more 2011 cycling fatalities & new interactive Westside bike map

January 6, 2012 / / Comments Off on Garrett guilty, Singh seriously blotto, more 2011 cycling fatalities & new interactive Westside bike map

Our frequent South Bay/OC tipster sends word that Adam Garrett has plead guilty in the hit-and-run death of cyclist Hung Khac Do in Fountain Valley last May.

This is the case in which Garrett not only ran Do down in his ’94 Camry, but inexplicably called police the next day pretending to be a witness. And the police, being far more intelligent than Do evidently assumed, quickly realized they were talking to the actual killer.

Garrett agreed to a plea including 180 days in a private jail, with time off for work, school and church release, as well as three years formal probation, 200 hours community service, $14,000 restitution and court fees. One slip-up and he’ll spend the maximum of four years behind bars.

On the other hand, I’d say that letting him out to attend church seems particularly appropriate.

Anyone who could leave a stranger to die in the street — then call police in a failed attempt to find out what they knew — could benefit from a little spiritual counseling.

Thanks to an anonymous reader for the link to the Star article; Dj Wheels sends a link the Times’ story on the case.

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Satnam Singh, the driver charged with murdering Ventura cyclist Nick Haverland in a drunken rampage last May, had a potentially fatal level of alcohol in his system when he killed Haverland and injured five other people.

According to the Ventura County Star, Singh had a blood alcohol level of .39 — nearly five times the legal limit. And well above the .25 to .32 level at which most people would die of alcohol poisoning.

So high, in fact, that Singh’s attorney argued the 2nd degree murder charge should be dropped because his client was too drunk to form the disregard for human life required under the law.

“The degree of intoxication was so high it would have rendered him incapable to entertain any kind of implied malice,” Biederman said.

I realize he’s just doing his job. But this is exactly why so many people hate lawyers.

Fortunately, judge Charles Campbell concluded that after knocking a mother and daughter off their bikes and rear-ending a car, Singh had to know what he was doing.

A witness described following Singh as he raced to his home at speeds up to 80 mph after he sent Haverland flying through the air to his death.

DJ wheels notes that Singh is currently out on $500,000 bail, with arraignment set for 9 am on January 18th in Courtroom 12 of the Ventura County Superior Court. Singh is allowed to work at the liquor store he owns, but may not consume alcohol, or be in possession of it outside of work.

Something tells me I wouldn’t want to bet on that.

Not surprisingly, Singh also faces a civil suit from Haverland’s family.

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It doesn’t look like we’re going to get on to happier subjects anytime soon, as last year’s bike fatalities keep rearing their ugly head.

A comment from TQ lead to the discovery of three more cycling deaths that I was previously unaware of, which have been added to Part 1 of the In Memoriam list.

1/14/11 13-year old Kayel Smith was riding against traffic in Lake Elsinore when he veered right to cross the road, and was struck from behind by a vehicle on the opposite side; Kavel suffered major head injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.

2/16/11 A 50-year old transient and registered sex offender was fatally injured when he was hit by a VW Beetle while crossing an intersection in Fountain Valley; he was wearing dark clothes on a black bike with no lights or reflectors.

In addition, an unidentified cyclist was hit by a motorist after failing to stop for a stop sign in Santa Ana on 6/24/11; I have a report that he died after being placed on life support, but I’m still waiting for confirmation.

That brings last years total cycling deaths in the eight-county Southern California area to 79; 70 killed in collisions — traffic or solo — and nine by shooting. That compares to an average of 68.2 fatalities for the last five years on record (2005 – 2009), and 15 more than each of the previous two years (55 in 2008 and 2009).

Going forward, I’ll drop Santa Barbara County from this list to conform with the seven-county region covered by the Southern California Association of Governments.

This week I’ve focused on the people behind the statistics. Next week, I’ll offer a breakdown of the statistics, including at least one starting finding.

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Culver City bike advocate and KCRW Chief Engineer Steve Herbert has created a wikimap of bike facilities on the Westside.

Borrowing from San Diego’s Bike Parking Map, I began today Westside Bicycle Facilities map, an interactive Google map which is open to everyone to add bike facilities they know of for the benefit of all in the cycling community. It’s easy to update, simply press the EDIT button on the screen, enlarge the map to the location of the bike rack, shop or other facility being added, click the Blue Balloon place mark and then point and click where the facility is. Next, change the icon to represent the facility noted: A green cyclist for bike parking, a yellow shopping bag for a bike shop, and add any notation which will aid in locating the facility. Then press SAVE & DONE.

The power in this is the collaborative nature of Google Maps, as one person could never keep up with the all updates, but utilizing the power of the community at large we can empower everyone in creating a potentially useful reference tool.

Briefly started as a map of Culver City facilities, it quickly became apparent a regional coverage area makes more sense & given the lack of restrictions there’s nothing to prevent people from adding facilities on the map outside of the Westside region such as downtown, the valley, South Bay, Orange County….

I hope the community embraces this and adds their knowledge to the effort.

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Catching up on a few items I haven’t had a chance to post until now:

The County of Los Angeles is still accepting comments on the new county Bicycle Master Plan prior to the public hearing before the County Regional Planning Commission scheduled for 9 am on January 11th, at the Hall of Records, Room 150, 320 West Temple Street Downtown.

SCAG Senior Planner Alan Thompson forwards a link to download the Southern California Council of Government’s draft Regional Transportation Plan covering the years from 21012 to 2035. If you want to know where transportation planning is headed for the next 23 years, it might be a good idea to check it out.

LADOT is looking for a Safe Routes to School Pedestrian Coordinator and Assistant Pedestrian Coordinator for the next year.

You have less than two weeks to comment on Glendale’s proposed bike and pedestrian master plan.

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And a few others items that have intrigued and/or infuriated me lately —

Flying Pigeon’s Josef Bray-Ali uncovers the corporate theft of a Venice Blvd bike lane, and gets a promise from city officials to get it back.

Freakonomics suggests you’re more likely to be injured walking drunk than driving under the influence; Flying Pigeon points out that many of those drunk walkers are injured or killed by cars. And I might add that the problem with driving drunk isn’t the risk of being injured, it’s danger that you could kill someone else.

The estimable Will Campbell looks at Pedestrians Behaving Badly on the L.A. River Bike Path.

A New Mexico tribal government caves in to public pressure and decides to prosecute a driver for killing cross-country cyclist John Anczarski, after they bungled the investigation by failing to properly investigate the crash scene or conduct alcohol or drug tests. And the driver can look forward to a slap on the wrist, since tribal authorities can only prosecute misdemeanors, with a maximum of one year per charge. Maybe they can come up with 40 or 50 counts to charge him with, to be served consecutively.

A Mississippi woman who ran down a cyclist, then drove over her head trying to move her car to the side of the road, gets off with a lousy $50 fine — and then has the heuvos to appeal her already incredibly weak slap on the wrist. Not to mention she has to pay over twice the amount of her fine to do it.

The family of a fallen cyclist files suit against the NYPD for withholding information and bending over backwards to let a killer driver off the hook.

Remarkably, a Lehigh Valley paper gets it exactly wrong, insisting — incorrectly — that most bike safety experts consider shared lanes safer than designated bike lanes, even after a local bike advocate is killed crossing a bridge that used to have bike lanes.

Yet another sports broadcasting jerk tries to get himself fired by tweeting that he intends to run over any cyclist he sees in the street. Here’s hoping he succeeds. At getting himself fired, that is; you can email the station’s General Manager here.

Nearly 50 years after Bob Dylan sang “Don’t criticize what you can’t understand,” some cyclists continue to criticize people who have the temerity to not ride or dress the way they do. Seriously, if you want to wear spandex do it. And if you don’t, don’t. End of story.

Finally, some sick SOB strings wire over the entrance to a Canadian trail and fells an eight-year old girl riding her bike. Yes, clothes-lining an eight-effing-years old.

I hope he’s proud of himself.

Category: Bikes & the Law, General, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , , ,

Indio cyclist killed Wednesday afternoon; first bike fatality of the new year

January 5, 2012 / / 4 comments

A 30-year old man was killed Wednesday afternoon when his bike hit the rear of a pickup in Indio.

According to KPSP-2, the driver pulled out of a driveway at 4:30, and may not have seen the rider in the gathering dusk. MyDesert.com reports that the driver made a left turn across the northbound lanes of Monroe Street near Shadow Palm Ave before pulling onto the southbound side of the street, where he was rear-ended by the bike.

Reading between the lines, the driver must have pulled directly in front of the cyclist and cut him off; either the rider was traveling fast or the pickup must have been moving unusually slowly after pulling in front of the rider for the collision to occur the way it was described. And not seeing the rider, as the driver claimed, should be seen as an admission of guilt, not an excuse.

The unnamed victim was rushed to a medical center in Palm Springs, where he died.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Indio Police Department at (760) 391-4057.

This is the first bike fatality to make the news in Southern California this year, after a total of 70 traffic-related bicycling fatalities in 2011, including 11 in Riverside County.

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

In memoriam 2011; part 2

January 4, 2012 / / 10 comments

7/2/11 A 68-year old cyclist who was not publicly identified died after being rear-end by a driver on PCH in Long Beach; the driver was questioned and released.

7/4/11 32-year old George Loudon was run down from behind by a hit-and-run driver while riding his bike home from work at 2:30 am near Dockweiler Beach.

7/4/11 39-year old musician Stephen Pyle was critically injured when he was struck by a car after riding into the street from between two parked cars in San Pedro; he was removed from life support and died the next day.

7/6/11 67-year old Louis Gabor suffered critical injuries when he was hit by a pickup that may have run a red light in Long Beach; he died of his injuries on 7/19/11. No word on whether the driver was ever charged.

7/14/11 4-year old Sabastian Parada was hit by a car while crossing the street near his home in Desert Hot Springs; he was taken off life support two days later.

7/16/2011 17-year old Jesus Lopez was shot multiple times as he tried to flee from suspected gang members in Montecito Heights.

7/18/11 23-year old Christopher Sop was found dead on the side of the road in unincorporated Big Bear following an apparent solo riding accident; officers concluded that lost control of his bike and hit his head on a rock.

7/19/11 63-year old Victor Rodriguez was collateral damage as two drivers apparently competed for lane space in Downtown L.A. in what was initially described as a road rage incident; Philip Goldburn Williams faces a charge of misdemeanor vehicular homicide without gross negligence.

7/22/11 Jose Garcia-Espinoza was killed in Moreno Valley when a 64-year old driver may have suffered a seizure before losing control of his motor home, fatally striking the rider before hitting a utility pole.

7/23/11 An unidentified Hispanic cyclist was hit head-on after riding against traffic on a busy highway; local reports blamed the victim for riding after dark and not wearing a helmet, as well.

7/27/11 64-year old Arthur John Jacobs was killed in a hit-and-run while riding in North San Diego County. After a brief search, Julianne Elyse Thompson was found hiding under some nearby bushes; she was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter, felony hit-and-run and drunk driving.

7/29/11 16-year old Bernard Cota suffered severe brain injuries when he was hit by a car while while riding to see a friend in Rancho Cucamonga; his organs where donated after being taken off life support six days later.

8/3/11 51-year old Michael Biel died when he was hit by an oncoming truck in Jurupa Valley; no word on whether he was riding on the wrong side or if the truck had strayed into his lane.

8/5/11 19-year old Cody Wessel was killed in Lake Elsinore after riding his BMX bike in front of an oncoming van after leaving work.

8/5/11 7-year old Jeremy Perez was riding to visit his mother at her new job at a Redondo Beach Albertsons when he rode behind a truck backing into the store’s loading dock.

8/10/11 42-year old Riverside Sheriff’s Detective Duane Parkinson was riding off-duty in Irvine when he was hit from behind by a Mercedes Benz SUV; Parkinson left behind a wife and three children.

8/13/11 12-year old Zachariah Houck was hit and killed In Hesperia after reportedly riding through a stop sign into the path of a Lincoln Navigator; the driver reportedly was unable to avoid Houck.

8/23/11 50-year old Enrique Lemus Bautista was killed in on Avalon Blvd in South Los Angeles; the suspect vehicle may have been a black BMW.

8/27/11 Nathan “Bud” Tippee and his wife were participating in a Saturday morning group ride when two cars collided in a Lancaster intersection and spun out of control, injuring them both; Nathan died of his injuries several days later.

9/18/11 24-year old Oregon resident Jocelyn Young fell off her bike in Pasadena and was run over by a passing car, which fled the scene; a witness followed Nicholas Avila to his home, where he was arrested on suspicion of felony drunk driving.

9/22/11 61-year old Alan Deane was riding on a Pasadena sidewalk when he rode out into the crosswalk and was hit and killed by a left turning car; the collision was ruled an accident by the coroner. Deane was a musician who had performed with the Captain & Tennille, The Grass Roots and Johnny Rivers, among others.

9/27/11 79-year old Jerzy Nowak was found dead on the side of the road in Escondido; there was no evidence of any other vehicle involved.

9/28/11 30-year old Justin Newman suffered a massive head injury after being doored in San Diego and died two days later; no word on whether the driver was charged.

10/1/11 29-year old Reynard Lionell Fulton was shot and killed while riding his bike in Long Beach.

10/2/11 74-year old Vernon Slade was killed when he was hit by a Dodge Ram truck in Moreno Valley at 3:27 am.

10/8/11 27-year old Omar Gomez was hit from behind in Chino Hills just days after Governor Brown vetoed the states proposed three foot passing law; the driver reportedly looked away from the road just moments before striking Gomez.

10/13/11 21-year old Disneyland employee Margaret Conway, known as Maggie May to her friends, was killed when she was struck from behind by a Ford SUV as she crossed an Anaheim overpass on her way home from work; no word on why the driver didn’t see her on the well-lit bridge.

10/16/11 28-year old Mark Leones was leading a group of riders on a steep, high-speed descent when his wheel caught a groove by the gutter and he lost control; he suffered multiple head injuries after striking a concrete embankment and died at a hospital soon after.

10/17/11 19-year old Genaro Ramirez was shot from a passing car and killed while riding in Downey at 3 am.

10/18/11 Juan Z. Gutierrez was shot and killed while riding his bike in Pico Rivera at 1:25 am, less than 24 hours and 10 miles from where Ramirez died.

10/26/11 44-year old Francisco Donato was fatally injured in Chino when 18-year old Gerardo Mendez attempted to pass another vehicle by driving his massive Yukon SUV through the bike lane Donato was riding in. Donato died two days later; no word on charges against the driver.

11/3/11 Sherri Norton was riding in Santiago Canyon when she reportedly made a 90 degree turn to her left to go back to meet her riding partner, and was struck by a car travelling at 50 mph. She died two days later, and many riders question whether the collision actually occurred the way it was described in the press.

11/5/11 51-year old Robert (Roberto) Hyndman died when he lost control of his bike while riding with his brother on a steep decent on Los Flores Canyon during the Rapha Gentlmen’s Ride.

11/12/11 35-year old Romeo Jimenez-Zavaleta was right-hooked by an Orange County OCTA bus while riding in a Laguna Hills crosswalk; a reader reports that weather conditions may have been a factor.

11/24/11 6-year old Anthony Martinez was killed while riding his bike in Oxnard on Thanksgiving Day when he was hit by a neighbor’s truck after being forced to ride around a commercial truck that was blocking the sidewalk.

12/3/11 65-year old Hollywood writer/producer Carol Schreder was riding on Mulholland Highway in the Malibu Hills when she was struck by a van pulling a trailer, which reportedly jackknifed when forced to stop suddenly; however, several people reported the vehicle was speeding and driving recklessly just moments before the fatal collision.

12/3/11 An unidentified 57-year old man was hit and killed by a passing freight train as he rode slowly across the tracks.

12/13/11 47-year old Randy Isaacs was killed in a Lake Forest hit-and-run while riding in the crosswalk; he was riding on the sidewalk for the few blocks to his home after kissing his children, who were staying at his parent house, good night.

12/28/11 44-year old Gabriel Perez was dragged half-a-block to his death in a Pomona hit-and-run when he was hit by an SUV while riding across an intersection; Chino resident Rodger Allen Karcher was arrested on a charge of hit-and-run causing death after turning himself in the next day.

12/29/11 14-year old Albert Nguyen was killed in a right hook as he rode off the sidewalk into the path of a turning car; he died in the hospital on New Years Day.

Finally, a CHP report indicated that another cyclist was killed in East Los Angeles on 6/20/11; however, I have been unable to confirm the fatality or get any details.

It is also important to note that these are only the fatalities that I am aware of, whether they were reported in the press or sent to me directly. It is entirely possible — in fact, likely — that other deaths occurred last year which I am unaware of; as a case in point, I only learned about the death of 4-year old Sabastian Parada today while researching another fatality.

Click here for Part 1.

My sympathy and prayers to all the victims and their loved ones.

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

Update: In memoriam 2011; part 1

January 3, 2012 / / 5 comments

1/3/11 48-year old Joseph Powers lost control of his bike while rounding a curve at an estimated 30 mph on Highway 150 in the Carpinteria Valley, succumbing to his injuries three days later.

1/5/11 69-year old Robert Gary Gavin suffered a serious head injury after being hit by a black Ford pickup while turning onto PCH in Redondo Beach, dying of his injuries on 1/13.

1/9/11 44-year old masters racer Kevin Unck lost control of his bike on a group decent on Glendora Mountain Road and skidded into the path of an oncoming car.

1/14/11 13-year old Kayel Smith was riding against traffic in Lake Elsinore when he veered right to cross the road, and was struck from behind by a vehicle on the opposite side; Kavel suffered major head injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.

1/17/11 57-year old Gary Garvin was killed in a solo collision when he rode his ebike into a tree in Oceanside.

1/18/11 An unidentified 80-year old man was killed in a right hook while riding on a sidewalk by a truck exiting a Garden Grove shopping center.

1/19/11 8-year old Andrew Brumback died when he was hit by a car while riding to school in Westminster; Anita Sue Cherry was charged with his death.

1/19/11 An unidentified cyclist was killed while trying to beat the Metro Blue Line across the tracks in Long Beach.

1/21/11 37-year old Steven Garner lost his life when he allegedly swerved across the center line to strike a flatbed truck travelling in the opposite direction; CHP investigators said he appeared to be under the influence.

1/25/11 16-year old Jose Angel Dominguez was fatally shot while riding his bike in Pomona.

2/1/11 48-year old Fernando Santiago was struck and killed while riding through the Los Coyotes Traffic Circle in Long Beach.

2/5/11 60-year old Marberry Ben Acree was hit by a semi-truck exiting I-15 while riding in a poorly designed bike lane in San Diego, and died at the scene.

2/13/11 44-year old Suntat Peverly was killed when the driver of a street sweeper fell asleep at the wheel and drifted into the San Diego bike lane Peverly was riding in.

2/16/11 A 50-year old transient and registered sex offender was fatally injured when he was hit by a VW Beetle while crossing an intersection in Fountain Valley; he was wearing dark clothes on a black bike with no lights or reflectors.

2/21/11 41-year old triathlete Amine Britel was hit from behind while riding in a bike lane in Newport Beach; driver Danae Marie Miller was allegedly drunk and texting at the time of the collision.

3/5/11 40-year old Jose Luis Carmona was killed in a hit-and-run collision while walking his bike alongside PCH in Ventura County; Ventura resident Shannon Richard pleaded no contest to hit-and-run in the death.

3/6/11 73-year old Ignacio Manriques Sanchez was killed in Lomita when a motorist drove up onto the sidewalk he was riding on and struck him from behind.

3/11/11 26-year old Roberto Garcia suffered fatal injuries while crossing a railroad track in Riverside; after waiting for the train to pass, he started across the tracks and was hit by a second train passing in the opposite direction.

3/18/11 56-year old Leonardo Antonio Florez died in an early morning rear-end collision in Long Beach; Florez was reportedly riding without lights.

3/28/11 18-year old David Mendez was found lying next to his bike on the side of the road in Oceanside suffering from severe head injuries, and died the next day; Herman Gozalez of Oceanside was later booked on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter, felony hit-and-run and felony DUI.

4/10/11 47-year old endurance cyclist Jim Swarzman was hit from behind while riding on PCH in Leucadia, the driver fled the scene without slowing down; Joseph Ricardo Fernandez was sentenced in September to three years for hit-and-run after turning himself in.

4/14/11 39-year old Travis Carroll was hit head-on in Bermuda Dunes while riding without lights on the wrong side of the street without lights

4/17/11 28-year old Manuel Santizo was knocked off his bike in Silver Lake, then shot and killed; despite initial suspicion that it was a gang shooting, police later determined it resulted from a dispute over a woman.

4/20/11 17-year old German Alex Romero was fatally injured in a hit-and-run when he was struck from behind by a speeding car while riding with a friend on DeSoto Avenue in the West Valley; Dominiqu Rush was charged for the death and fleeing the scene, while her father Steven was charged with assisting in the cover-up.

4/22/11 63-year old Nemesio Herrera was found dead on the side of the road in Coachella; despite initial suspicion that he was the victim of a hit-and-run, authorities concluded that he had crashed into a light pole while riding a bike with no brakes.

4/22/11 12-year old honor student Shantrel Kailyn Williams was riding on the sidewalk in front of her home in Compton when she rode into the street to turn around, and was struck by a car driven by Thomas Abraham Long. Long was arrested at the scene for driving under the influence; Shantrel died after being taken off life support on 5/1/11.

4/29/11 21-year old Jordan Hickey was shot and killed in National City; the developmentally disabled man did not drive and rode his bike everywhere; at last report, there were no suspects in the case, or any apparent motive for the shooting.

5/11/11 20-year old Nick Haverland was hit from behind while on his way to take a final exam at Ventura College; Satnam Singh faces a second degree murder charge for the drunken rampage that left five additional people injured, including two additional cyclists.

5/15/11 25-year old Hung Khac Do was killed in a Fountain Valley hit-and-run; Adam Garrett was arrested for the crime after calling police pretending to be a witness.

5/16/11 91-year old Fred Walsh died when he was struck by a pickup in Riverside; he died in the hospital eight days later.

5/19/11 71-year old Eduardo Perez lost his life in a Canoga Park hit-and-run when he was right hooked while riding in the crosswalk; to the best of my knowledge, no arrest has been made.

5/31/11 40-year old Nick Venuto was killed when a car driven by Sheena Saranita went off the road at high speed, climbed a 15-foot embankment and flipped over onto to a separated bike path in North San Diego, killing Venuto and critically injuring Baron Hederlin-Doherty.

6/3/11 15-year old Jonathan Acosta Fernandez was struck in Norwalk by a car driven by Ana Chavez at a speed of 60 mph; Fernandez died a week later, and Chavez, who initially was booked on suspicion of drunk driving, now faces a charge of vehicular manslaughter.

6/10/11 19-year old Shoichi Joe Minesaki was murdered in an apparent gang-related drive-by shooting in North Hollywood.

6/20/11 76-year old John H. Dillingham was attempting to turn left into a Camarillo park when he drifted in front of car coming up from behind; the driver reportedly was unable to avoid him.

6/23/11 34-year old Pablo Ortiz was shot and killed in Long Beach.

6/24/11 23-year old Alejandro Lopez Jr. was hit by a motorist after failing to stop for a stop sign in Santa Ana, and the following day after being placed on life support.

6/26/11 74-year old David Sandoval Caldera was killed in Blyth while riding after dark without lights or reflectors; the driver reportedly did not see him before hitting Caldera from behind.

6/29/11 47-year old Jaime Ruiz was riding his bike against traffic without lights in the Nestor neighborhood of San Diego when he hit a parked car and fell into the traffic lane, where he was struck by an oncoming SUV.

6/30/11 15-year old Ricardo Gilberto Lizarraga rode his bike into the path of a Metrolink train in Fontana; he reportedly was wearing earbuds and may not have heard the train, however, the warning gates were working at the time of the collision.

Update: Three cyclists have been added to this list, based on a comment from TQ; thanks to her help, I’ve now been able to verify all three.

Click here for part two.

My sympathy and prayers to all the victims and their loved ones.

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

Pomona hit-and-run killer arrested, OC Register’s Dan Whiting questioned, and a Westwood pothole fail

December 31, 2011 / / 5 comments

The driver who killed Rafael Perez in a Pomona hit-and-run on Wednesday has turned himself in to the police.

According to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, 67-year old Chino resident Rodger Allen Karcher walked into the Pomona Police Station around 8 pm Thursday. Police speculated that Karcher turned himself in after hearing media coverage of the collision, in which the victim was dragged half a block under Karcher’s SUV.

The Tribune reports that his SUV was also located, and matched the evidence found at the seen.

Karcher was booked on suspicion of hit-and-run causing death, and was being held on $50,000 bail; arraignment is scheduled for Tuesday in Pomona Superior Court.

Yes, that’s a lousy $50,000 for dragging a man half a city block to his death.

And of course, Karcher may — or may not — have been drunk as a skunk when the collision occurred. But if he was, he had plenty of time to sober up in the 26-and-a-half hours before he turned himself in.

Thanks to Opus the Poet for the heads-up.

……..

I’m still hearing from cyclists about David Whiting’s recent columns about bicycling in the Orange County Register.

As I’ve said before, Whiting seems to have his heart in the right place. I have no doubt that he genuinely cares about keeping riders safe, and ending the seemingly eternal conflict between riders and drivers behind the Orange Curtain — one that has contributed to a nearly one a month rate of biking fatalities in the county.

On the other hand, that’s a hell of a lot better than the 21 riders killed on OC streets in 2006, or even the 15 killed the following year.

The problem is that Whiting seems to blame the victims, placing more than our share of responsibility firmly on the helmets and wheels of riders. And interpreting bike laws in an overly conservative manner, including a common misconception that riding two or more abreast is against the law — even though that isn’t mentioned anywhere in the California Vehicle Code.

Mark Loftus, author of the insightful riding website The C-Blog — I particularly like his explanation of why we roadies wear such ridiculous clothes — copied me on an email he sent to Whiting in response to his latest column on bicycling.

I have a quick observation that I was hoping you might see fit to print in the future…

There are several comments from readers included in your piece (referenced above) that go something like this:

  • I saw cyclists doing this (breaking a perceived law).
  • I saw cyclists run this light.
  • I saw a cyclist run that stop sign.
  • I saw cyclists do that.

And then these comments conclude with something akin to:

  • Cyclists should not be allowed on the road.
  • Cyclists should ride on bike paths.

I will not debate the validity of these observations except to say that many comments, on many different websites (not just your article) put out a cyclist “infraction” and it’s not really against the law anyway because the writer apparently doesn’t know/understand the law.

At any rate, why is it, in articles that draw out comments such as these, we don’t see comments also saying:

  • I saw a car driver not stop at a stop sign.
  • I saw a car driver texting while driving.
  • I saw a car driver blocking the whole lane and they wouldn’t let me pass. I had to pass on the shoulder or into oncoming traffic.
  • I saw a car driver run that red light.

And then, these comments could conclude with:

  • Car drivers should not be allowed on the road.

Food for thought, I should think.

Whiting responded positively, indicating that he’s written critically about drivers in the past. And may do so again soon.

Now that’s something I’ll look forward to reading.

……..

Finally, a major Streets Services fail in Westwood.

In the roughly 18 years I’ve lived in this neighborhood, I’ve noticed a repeated problem at the corner of Manning and Ohio Avenues.

A near constant flow of water through the gutter on the west side of the intersection results in a massive recurring pothole undermining the eastbound lane — in fact, you can even see it in this Google satellite photo.

For nearly two decades, I’ve watched as the city would send out a crew to patch the pavement, without ever doing anything about the root cause of the problem. And every time, the patch would only hold for a few months — or in some cases, weeks — before washing out again under the continual barrage of water and traffic.

Never mind that if they figured out where the water was coming from, they might be able to actually solve the problem, and save a fortune in perennial pothole repair.

Maybe they’re finally catching on.

Instead of patching the pothole once again, after doing it yet again just a few months earlier, the city responded by placing warning signs directly over the potholes.

In the middle of the traffic lane.

So instead of investing a few bucks worth of asphalt for yet another temporary fix, they’ve decided to avoid the issue entirely.

And hope drivers manage to avoid the signs placed directly in their path, forcing them to go around by either cutting into the heavily trafficked pedestrian crosswalk on the right. Or cut around the signs on the left by entering the oncoming traffic lane.

Neither of which is a reasonable — or even rational — expectation.

And never mind that the second option places motorists directly in the path of vehicles coming over a blind hill, at an intersection where drivers frequently roll through the stop in all four directions.

And of course, when the inevitable collision occurs, if it hasn’t already, it will be your tax dollars that will pay the city’s share of the damages.

All because some rocket scientist thought putting a warning sign in a traffic lane was a better idea than patching the damn pothole one more time. Let alone finding the problem causing the posthole to keep coming back.

And fixing it.

Best wishes to all for a very healthy, happy and prosperous new year!

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Bikes & the Law, Injuries and Fatalities, Legal Cases, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Update: Cyclist murdered in Pomona hit-and-run

December 29, 2011 / / 6 comments

Evidently, it was just too much to ask.

I’d been hoping that we could somehow manage to make it through this year without another cyclist getting killed. But Wednesday night, those hopes were dashed in a gruesome hit-and-run in rush hour traffic.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the driver was traveling northbound on Towne Ave in Pomona around 5:30 pm — KCBS-2 lists it as precisely 5:29 — when he struck a male cyclist crossing Towne on 6th Street. The green Dodge or Chrysler SUV then continued without stopping, dragging the victim half a block to his death.

The SUV was last seen traveling east on Mission Blvd, with moderate to major front-end damage.

As usual, the rider has not been publicly identified pending notification of next of kin.

And yes, this should be considered a homicide, regardless of who might have originally been at fault. Had the driver stopped at the scene, the victim may or may not have had a chance. But by heartlessly dragging him down the street, the driver undoubtedly — and knowingly — contributed to his death.

And there should be no question of intent. Dragging someone that far without stopping pretty well indicates that, at best, the driver didn’t give a damn whether the victim lived or died.

Anyone with information is urged to call Pomona police at 909/622-1241.

This is the 22nd confirmed traffic-related bike fatality in Los Angeles County this year, and the 67th in the greater Southern California area. This is also the 5th fatal hit-and-run in L.A. County, and 12th in SoCal.

Update: The victim has been identified as 44-year old Gabriel Perez of Pomona; according to KNBC-4, he was riding home from work when he was killed, leaving behind a wife and daughter. 

KNBC captures the heartrending reaction from Perez’ widow.

“I want to ask that person – why didn’t he help at that moment? Why did he leave?” said Patty Cardenas, Perez’ wife. “Maybe there was a chance my husband still be alive.”

Cardenas is now faced with the challenge of telling her 8-year-old daughter about her husband’s death. So far, she’s isolated her from hearing the news.

“Oh what can I say! What can I say! Tell me!” said Cardenas. “He was loving. Loving to his daughter. Right now I don’t know how I am going to tell her about this!”

My heart and prayers go out to Gabriel Perez and all his family and loved ones.

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

Stephanie Segal pleads No Contest in last year’s Agoura Hills death of cyclist James Laing

December 22, 2011 / / 3 comments

Jim Laing, photo courtesy of his sister Peggy Laing-Krause

It looks like the Laing family may get closure for Christmas.

I heard from a reliable source Wednesday afternoon that Stephanie Segal has entered a plea of No Contest to both counts in the drunken hit-and-run death of cyclist James Laing in Agoura Hills last year.

That means she is not admitting guilt in the case, but won’t fight the charges, and will accept the court’s judgment in the case.

The judge has already indicated that he intends to impose a sentence of at least nine years in state prison, with formal sentencing to take place in late January of next year.

Laing was riding on in the bike lane on Agoura Hills Road on the afternoon of Saturday, October 23rd of last year, when he was run down from behind by Segal’s car and died at the scene. She fled the scene, and was followed by witnesses to a nearby parking lot, where she was arrested with a blood alcohol content of .26 — over three times the legal limit.

She almost immediately entered a rehab facility, where she spent much of the past year, whether in a genuine attempt to get help, or a callous — and failed — attempt to get leniency from the court.

By all accounts, Segal has refused to take any responsibility for getting drunk and climbing behind the wheel, let alone needlessly taking the life of an innocent human being.

I’m told that her testimony — against the advice of both the court and her own attorney — in the preliminary hearing was contradictory and confusing, backpedalling repeatedly as she attempted to shift the blame and explain away her actions.

Her attorney seemed to be making the case that she hadn’t attempted to flee, but merely continued driving until reaching a safe place to stop.

Right.

Laing’s sister Carolyn also reports that she tried to blame Laing for kicking her Mercedes Benz, which appears to have been a last-ditch effort to push away from her car in a failed attempt to save his own life.

In other words, he saw it coming. And there was nothing he could do.

Somehow, kicking a car in self defense seems to pale when compared to the drunken murder of another person. But Segal still doesn’t seem to get that.

By all accounts, she came off as arrogant and argumentative during her ill-advised testimony; I suspect her attorney strongly advised her to plead guilty to the charges to avoid digging herself in any deeper.

As one person put it to me, failure to do so after her dramatic failure on the stand probably would have been legal malpractice.

Of course, she’s not likely to spend the full term behind bars. The current prison overcrowding problems mean she’s likely to be released long before the nine years are up. And as a non-violent offender, she may even do her time in county jail.

But I wouldn’t count on getting time off for good behavior, either.

We can only hope that she’ll finally grasp the consequences of her actions as she sits in her cell, for however long that may end up being.

But at least the loved ones Jim Laing left behind can finally end this year with the light of a very long and tragic tunnel firmly in sight.

Update: An anonymous comment below indicates that Segal will be required to spend at least 85% of her sentence behind bars due to the nature and severity of her crime, and that the sentencing will take place on January 26th in the Malibu courthouse.

Category: Bikes & the Law, Injuries and Fatalities, Legal Cases / Tags: , , , , ,
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