There’s no mention of whether he was wearing a helmet, as required by law for anyone under 18. In this case, it may matter since he apparently died of a head injury.
The driver stayed at the scene. No word on how fast she was going.
A street view shows a narrow two-lane roadway with a dirt shoulder on the eastbound side.
This is at least the eleventh bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the second I’m aware of in San Bernardino County.
Somehow, it always seems sadder when the victim is a child.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and all her loved ones.
A street view shows a four-lane road with a single left turn lane and wide parking lanes on Railroad; 15th ends at Railroad with a signalized intersection.
This is at least the tenth bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the sixth I’m aware of in Los Angeles County
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and all her loved ones.
The victim, who appeared to be on a knobby-tired bicycle, died at the scene. The impact was hard enough that a witness described finding his shoes on opposite sides of the wide, four lane street.
Unfortunately, there is no description of the suspect or his or her vehicle.
An infuriating report by KCAL-9 says the victim was riding in the street despite the presence of a wide sidewalk, implying that’s where he should have been.
This is the second fatal hit-and-run involving a bicycle rider on Manchester Blvd in less than a year, following the death of Frederick “Woon” Frazer at less that a mile away at Manchester and Normandie last April.
Which makes you wonder just what it takes to get the DA to file charges.
In addition, no action has been taken to improve the deadly street that has now taken the lives of two bike riders in recent months, despite the presence of both Manchester and Normandie on the city’s High Injury Network.
As with any fatal hit-and-run in LA, there is a standing $50,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.
This is at least the tenth bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fifth I’m aware of 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 loved ones.
Early reports indicate the collision occurred at the intersection of Wilshire Blvd and Catalina Street in Koreatown at 3:30 am Wednesday, near the site of the former Ambassador Hotel, now the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools.
The station also reports that coroners smelled alcohol at the scene, suggesting the victim may have been intoxicated, which could explain why he was was lying in the street. Although it does not explain why the driver failed to seem him or the bicycle next to him.
This is at least the ninth bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth I’m aware of in Los Angeles County; it’s also the second in the City of Los Angeles.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and all his loved ones.
Thanks to Mike Wilkinson, Sindy Saito, David Drexler and John McBrearty for the heads-up. And my apologies for the delay in posting this.
This morning we mentioned a breaking news report about a fatal crash between two drivers in South LA’s Florence neighborhood that may have involved two people on bicycles.
Sadly, our worst fears have bee confirmed, although several of the details were wrong.
No other bike rider was involved in the crash, despite the presence of two badly mangled bicycles, as seen in this screen shot from the KNBC-4 broadcast, with one attached to a bike trailer.
Findley may have been ghost riding the other bicycle, which is where a person rides one bicycle while towing another riderless bike alongside.
It’s also possible that the second bike may only appear to be damaged, and could have been left by a bystander.
Findley is described as the second youngest out of nine brothers and sisters, and leaves behind an adult son.
According to KCBS-2, the driver who hit him admitted to street racing; however, that has not been confirmed by other sources. He was arrested on suspicion of gross negligence and vehicular manslaughter.
This is at least the seventh bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the third I’m aware of in Los Angeles County; it’s also the first in the city of Los Angeles.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for James Findley and all his loved ones.
Thanks to Steve S and Sindy Saito for the heads-up.
A Good Samaritan performed CPR on the 62-year old Long Beach man until paramedics arrived to take him to a local hospital, where he died.
The paper reports he was riding north in the bike lane on Los Coyotes when he cut across at least four lanes of the roadway at Palo Verde Ave, and was struck by the 88-year old driver of a southbound car.
For a change, the driver remained at the scene. Whether a younger motorist would have been able to stop in time is something we may never know.
Photos from the scene show a badly mangled road bike.
And Los Coyotes has seen more than its share of fatal bike crashes, either on or just off the deadly corridor.
This is at least the sixth bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the second I’m aware of in Los Angeles County; both of those deaths have been in Long Beach.
The driver fled the scene, but was arrested about a mile away in Aliso Viejo around 8:30 am, based on witness descriptions of the vehicle.
KCBS-2 places the time of the crash as 6:30 am, and reports the victim was crossing the street when he was struck, but does not say which street he or the driver was on.
A witness provided first aid until paramedics arrived.
Judging by the video, it appears he may have been riding an ebike with multiple rear lights and reflectors, and was wearing hi-viz.
At least she may have been able to be with him in his final moments.
The cowardly driver who fled the seen is not suspected of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Orange County Sheriff’s Department at 714/647-7000.
This is at least the fifth bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the second I’m aware of in Orange County.
Meanwhile, the driver has been identified as 38-year old Rogelio Martinez Cuin of Lake Forest; he’s being held on suspicion of felony hit and run and vehicular manslaughter.
Rogelio Martinez-Cuin faces one count each of gross vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run with permanent and serious injury, both felonies, as well as a misdemeanor count of driving on a suspended or revoked license due to a DUI, with a sentence-enhancing allegation of fleeing the scene of a vehicular manslaughter, according to court records.
The complaint against Martinez-Cuin alleges he ran a red light, was inattentive and was driving at an unsafe speed.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Michael David Tomlinson and all his loved ones.
Thanks to Mike Wilkinson and Bill Sellin for the heads-up.
Deputies responded to the intersection of Sterling Avenue and Ninth Street, where they found the victim. They determined he’d been riding his bike when he was struck by a hit-and-run driver headed south on Sterling.
A street view of the Highland itersection shows a four lane roadway with center turn lane on Sterling, with one general lane and a bike lane in each direction on Ninth; the intersection is controlled by a traffic signal in every direction.
Without witnesses, there’s no way to know who may have had the right-of-way at the time of the crash.
Anyone with information is urged to call San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputies at 909/425-9793.
When the driver is caught, he or she should face a murder charge for making a conscious decision to let Alexander die in the street.
This is at least the fourth bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the first I’m aware of in San Bernardino County.
According to the report, Alexander was wearing a hi-viz vest while riding home on Sterling Ave. Yet the driver apparently didn’t see him, and never bothered to stop.
His niece called his killer “heartless,” as the family struggles to understand how anyone could just leave him like that — just like the loved ones of virtually any victim of hit-and-run.
And who can blame her? That’s about the mildest term I would use.
But perhaps most heartbreaking of all is the image of his dog by the gate, waiting for an owner who will never come home.
Still waiting for official confirmation, however, I’ve received two credible reports that a bike rider was killed at PCH and Seal Beach Blvd in Seal Beach around 8:12 this morning from people who passed by the crash site.
More information when it becomes available. However, it looks like SoCal’s killer highway has taken yet another life.
If confirmed, this will be at least the third bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the first I’m aware of in Orange County.
Update: Still no official confirmation of the crash. However, I received the following update from Allyson Vought Friday evening.
My friend was at the accident scene just after it occurred. He said the rider was on a black Kestrel road bike and sadly was face down on the roadway — unmoving. The bike had been struck from behind at speed and a vehicle’s windshield was badly damaged.
This is a particularly bad intersection that Strava calls “time the light.” It’s a downhill from a bridge into Seal Beach on PCH that we riders always make speed — while watching for cars that can travel 50 mph plus through the intersection while traveling straight — or speed ahead of riders on a long right hand turn lane that takes you to the 405. Cars often interfere with the riders in making this turn and all of us have had to dodge, slow or slam on the brakes all too often here! Important to note that this is a marked bike lane as well. Solo riders are often not seen or just ignored by careless drivers in too bag a hurry.
Update 2: We finally have official confirmation from the Seal Beach Police Department. However, his name has not been released, despite being well known in the community. Thanks to Nani Luculescu for the heads-up.
I refrained from naming him over the weekend, even as his name became common knowledge, out of respect for his family until he was publicly identified.
The paper reports around 150 people attended a memorial service for Smith on Sunday afternoon, on an unpaved shoulder of the roadway where he was killed. They recalled him as a loving, generous and devout man who was a friend to everyone he met.
In 2016, Ed Ryder prepared a report on Southern California’s deadly coast highway through San Diego, Orange and LA Counties for this site, based on stats from the CHP’s SWITRS crash database.
She was taken to a local hospital, where she died four hours later.
The driver remained at the scene, and was not suspected of being under the influence.
The question is why he failed to notice the victim riding her bike in the roadway directly in front of him, regardless of whether he had the green light.
This is the second bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the first in Los Angeles County. It’s also at least the fourth bicycling death in Long Beach in the past year.
