Archive for Injuries and Fatalities

Update: Man riding BMX bike killed by alleged drunk driver in Oxnard collision

February 14, 2022 / / Comments Off on Update: Man riding BMX bike killed by alleged drunk driver in Oxnard collision

Another day, another person on a bicycle killed by a driver on the streets of Southern California.

But at least this time, the driver stuck around. Even if he was drunk.

Allegedly.

According to the Ventura County Star, the victim was riding a BMX bike on the south shoulder of Wooley Road, just east of Oxnard Blvd, when he was struck by a driver around 10:18 Sunday night.

The driver was reportedly traveling east on Wooley at a high rate of speed when he swerved onto the shoulder and slammed into the victim.

The bike rider, who has not been publicly identified, died at the scene.

The 27-year old driver remained at the scene and was booked for vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, as well as felony DUI. He was being held on $50,000 bond.

Anyone with information is urged to call Oxnard Police Officer Manuel Perez at 805/385-7750 or email manuel.perez@oxnardpd.org.

This is at least the 13th bicycling fatality in Southern California already this year, and the first that I’m aware of in Ventura County.

Update: The victim has been identified as 47-year old Oxnard resident George R. Miranda Jr. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for George R. Miranda Jr. and his loved ones. 

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

Bicyclist killed in Santa Ana hit-and-run; half of all SoCal bike victims this year killed by hit-and-run drivers

February 13, 2022 / / Comments Off on Bicyclist killed in Santa Ana hit-and-run; half of all SoCal bike victims this year killed by hit-and-run drivers

Once again, someone riding a bicycle has been killed by a heartless hit-and-run driver.

This time in Santa Ana.

According to County News Service, the victim was found near West First and South Newhope Streets around 4:42 pm Saturday, suffering from injuries constant with being struck by a driver.

Despite the efforts of first responders, the victim, who was has not been publicly identified, died at the scene.

Police believe the victim was riding east in the bike lane on West First when the driver of a red Kia sedan ran them down from behind, then fled the scene.

Unfortunately, there’s no further description of the car or the driver. But whoever did it should face a murder charge for making a deliberate choice to leave an innocent victim to die in the street.

Anyone with information is urged to call Santa Ana Police Investigator Bao at 714/245-8223.

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

Half of those SoCal victims have been killed by drivers who didn’t have the basic human decency to stick around afterwards.

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

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

Update: 62-year old bike rider killed by hit-and-run driver near Hemet Thursday night; fifth fatal SoCal bicycling hit-and-run this year

February 12, 2022 / / Comments Off on Update: 62-year old bike rider killed by hit-and-run driver near Hemet Thursday night; fifth fatal SoCal bicycling hit-and-run this year

Yet another Southern California bike rider has been murdered by a heartless hit-and-run driver.

My News LA is reporting that a 62-year old Hemet man was killed when the driver of an SUV slammed into his bicycle, with enough force to hurl the victim from the point of impact and shatter the man’s bike.

Banning-Beaumont Patch places the collision just before 7:30 pm Thursday on California Ave south of Stetson Ave in unincorporated Winchester, southwest of Hemet.

The victim, who has not been publicly identified, died at the scene before first responder could arrive.

The driver reportedly sped away from the scene. Police later arrested 38-year old Hemet resident Carlos Arturo Acosta, who is being held on $75,000 bond.

Investigators don’t believe drugs or alcohol played a roll, even though Acosta currently has an open DUI charge. And despite having four hours to sober up before he was taken into custody, if he was under the influence.

Video from the scene, which I am not embedding due to its graphic nature, shows the victim’s bicycle shattered into a dozen or more barely recognizable pieces, suggesting he was hit at a high rate of speed.

California Ave is a narrow, two-lane, dead-end roadway with no center line, which suggests speeds like that shouldn’t be possible, let alone recommended.

This is at least the 11th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth that I’m aware of in Riverside County.

Nearly half of those deaths have been hit-and-runs.

Update: The victim has been identified as 62-year old Hemet resident Glen Hysom.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Glen Hysom and all his loved ones. 

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Man killed riding bike in Lancaster hit-and-run; heartless killer got out to look at victim before driving off and leaving him to die

February 8, 2022 / / Comments Off on Man killed riding bike in Lancaster hit-and-run; heartless killer got out to look at victim before driving off and leaving him to die

Once again, someone on a bicycle has been left to die in the street by a heartless coward.

According to the Antelope Valley Times, the victim, described only as a man in his 30s, was riding east on Avenue H east of Division Street in Lancaster when he was rear-ended by a pickup driver at around 9:02 pm Saturday.

He died at the scene.

The driver actually got out of his truck to examine his victim lying bleeding in the roadway, before simply getting back in his truck and driving away without attempting to aid the victim or call for help.

A witness attempted to follow the suspect, before losing him around Avenue E and 20th Street West.

The driver is described as a Hispanic man wearing a reflective vest and construction boots, while the suspect vehicle is described as a 1994-2000, dark colored GMC Sierra or Chevrolet Silverado, possibly red or green, with front end collision damage.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Lancaster Sheriff’s Station traffic investigators at 661/948-8466.

This is at least the tenth bicycling fatality in Southern California already this year, and the fifth that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.

Shamefully, drivers have fled the scene in four of those ten deaths.

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

Thanks to Joe Linton for the heads-up. 

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

Update — Bike rider killed in collision with Azusa motorcycle cop; 9th SoCal bike death this month

February 1, 2022 / / Comments Off on Update — Bike rider killed in collision with Azusa motorcycle cop; 9th SoCal bike death this month

KCBS2/KCAL9 is reporting that a person riding a bicycle died after being struck by an Azusa police officer Monday night.

According to the station, the victim, who has not been publicly identified, was stuck by a motorcycle cop at the intersection of Cienega and Sunflower Avenues around 9:10 pm.

Both the victim and the officer were taken to local trauma centers, where the bike rider died of their injuries.

The motorcycle officer is expected to recover.

Unfortunately, that’s all we know at this time.

There’s no word on how the collision occurred or who had the right-of-way, or if the officer was using lights and siren or responding to a call at the time of the crash.

Hopefully, we’ll learn more later.

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

Update: Three days later, the victim has still only been publicly identified as a man. No further details about the crash have been provided.

Update 2: The victim has been identified as 67-year old Xueqi Li, no city of residence given.

Li was reportedly crossing Cienega Ave at Asherton Ave when he was struck by the off-duty officer, who was traveling east on Cienega on his way home. 

The officer remains hospitalized in stable condition. 

The collision remains under investigation by the CHP. Anyone with information is urged to call the Southern Division Investigative Services Unit at 323/644-9550.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Xueqi Li and his loved ones.

 

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

Bike rider killed in Temecula crash; 3rd Riverside County bicycling death already this year

January 30, 2022 / / 2 comments

Someone was killed riding a bicycle in Temecula Friday night.

Once again, there’s almost no information available. And what little there is doesn’t make much sense.

According to multiple, nearly identical stories, a bike rider was riding on Temecula’s Margarita Road, near Moraga Road, when they was struck by a driver around 8:50 pm Friday.

they died at the scene, despite the efforts of first responders.

The victim, who has not been publicly identified in any way, was reportedly riding outside of the bike lane on Margarita while attempting to cross the street.

Which doesn’t make sense, because it would be impossible to cross the street without leaving the bike lane, regardless of just where the crash occurred, which isn’t clear, or whether he was directly crossing the road or trying to make a left turn.

There’s also no word on which direction the driver was going, or why they were unable to avoid hitting the victim.

At least the driver remained at the scene following the crash, which should be a given, but sadly isn’t these days.

This is at least the eighth bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and already the third that I’m aware of in Riverside County.

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

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , ,

Bicyclist killed at PCH and Big Rock in Malibu; 4th Malibu PCH bike death in nine months, and 2nd at the same intersection

January 22, 2022 / / One comment

Southern California’s killer highway has claimed the the life of yet another person on a bicycle.

The Malibu Times is reporting that a bike rider was killed on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu Thursday afternoon — the same day another victim was killed on PCH in Huntington Beach.

And at nearly the same location another bike rider was killed just a month ago.

The victim, who hasn’t been publicly identified, was struck by a driver at PCH and Big Rock Drive around 2 pm.

He was dead in the street by the time emergency personnel got there.

According to the Canyon News, the driver isn’t suspected of being under the influence, which suggests this was not a hit-and-run.

Traffic signals were upgraded at the intersection in 2014 to improve safety; clearly, it didn’t work.

Unfortunately, there’s no further information at this time. No word on which way the victim and his killer where going, or how the crash occurred.

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

It’s also the fourth person killed riding a bike on PCH in Malibu in just the last none months. Just more evidence of a serious traffic safety problem in the beachfront city.

Correction: I originally misidentified the cross street as Black Rock, rather than Big Rock, for reasons that will forever escape me. Thanks to Andrew Goldstein for the heads-up. 

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

52-year old man killed riding bike on PCH in Huntington Beach; 2nd Orange County bicycling fatality in past 6 days

January 21, 2022 / / Comments Off on 52-year old man killed riding bike on PCH in Huntington Beach; 2nd Orange County bicycling fatality in past 6 days

SoCal’s killer highway has claimed yet another life.

And once again, in Huntington Beach.

According to the Daily Pilot, 52-year-old Kelly Carrington was riding on Pacific Coast Highway, just north of Seapoint Drive, when he was stuck by a 79-year old driver headed north on PCH around 11:20 last night.

He was dead before police arrived.

The driver, who has not been identified, remained at the scene. Both he and his wife suffered minor injuries, and were taken to a local hospital.

Police don’t believe he was under the influence.

Investigators say only that Carrington was in the roadway when he was killed, making it unclear whether he was riding in the traffic lane or crossing the roadway.

It’s also possible that he was riding on the shoulder, and only briefly entered the lane to avoid some obstacle.

Anyone with information is urged to call Huntington Beach traffic investigator Doug Demetre at 714/536-5670 or investigator Vishal Rattanchandani at 714/ 536-5231.

This is at least the sixth bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the second that I’m aware of in Orange County.

His death comes just six days after a 71-year old man was killed in a Fountain Valley hit-and-run while riding his bike.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Kelly Carrington and his loved ones. 

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

Update: 71-year old Santa Ana man killed riding bike in Fountain Valley hit-and-run; driver arrested for felony DUI

January 15, 2022 / / 2 comments

A 71-year old man riding a bicycle lost his life in Fountain Valley early Saturday morning, thanks to a drunken coward who didn’t have the decency stop.

Allegedly.

According to County News TV, police responding to reports of a crash found 71-year old Santa Ana resident Liem Bui lying on southbound Euclid Ave just north of Heil Ave, next to Mile Square Regional Park, around 5:39 this morning.

The Orange County Register reports he was dead when officers arrived.

The driver fled the scene, leaving Liem to die alone in the street.

Police identified the suspect vehicle, locating it in Westminster sometime later with 32-year-old Fountain Valley resident Amanda Martin still in the driver’s seat.

She was arrested on suspicion of felony driving under the influence, felony hit-and-run and vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.

It’s not clear if she was driving at the time or had stopped, or whether she was awake or passed out behind the wheel.

She was being held on $100,000 bond.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Traffic Bureau of the Fountain Valley Police Department at 714/593-4481.

This is at least the fifth bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the first that I’m aware of in Orange County. Three of those deaths have been hit-and-runs.

Update: A Facebook post from the VeloViet Cycling Team indicates Liem Bui was a bike racer and coach in Vietnam, before coming to the US. Thanks to Christian for the heads-up. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Liem Bui and his loved ones. 

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

Teen killed riding bicycle in Corona crash, victim identified as 13-year old Corona boy

January 14, 2022 / / 12 comments

Every death is tragic.

But it always hits harder when the victim is a kid.

That was the case in Corona yesterday, where KTLA-5 reports that a 13-year old boy was killed when he was struck by a driver Thursday afternoon.

According to a press release from the Corona Police Department, the victim was riding his bike at West Citron Street and South Lincoln Avenue when he was run down by a motorist, who has not been publicly identified, around 4:32 pm.

He died after being taken to a local hospital.

The Riverside County coroner identified the boy as 13-year old Corona resident Edward Vazquez.

The driver remained at the scene, and police don’t suspect drug or alcohol use.

Unfortunately, there’s no word on how the collision occurred, or who might have had the right of way at the signalized intersection; there are no bike lanes or any other bike infrastructure in any direction.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Traffic Officer Johnathan Drylie at 951/817-5784, or at Johnathan.Drylie@Coronaca.gov.

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

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Edward Vazquez and all his family and loved ones. 

 

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