Archive for Injuries and Fatalities

Update: Bike rider killed in Canoga Park, apparently the innocent victim of a two-car collision

Once again, a bike rider appears to have been the tragic collateral damage of someone else’s collision.

According to KTLA-5, a woman in her 40s, whose identity has not been publicly released, was riding her bike on the 7100 block of North Shoup Ave just below Sherman Way around 4 pm, when she was somehow involved in a collision with two motor vehicles.

Details are still very sketchy; the best clue to what happened comes from a fire department spokesperson who described it as “a two-car accident also involving a bicyclist.”

The rider was killed at the scene; at least one other person was taken to a nearby hospital with critical injuries.

An aerial photo showed the victim covered by a tarp on the sidewalk, her mangled bike resting against the curb in front of the two vehicles that were apparently involved, one of which ended up on the sidewalk.

This is the 53rd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 21st in the County of Los Angeles. She is also the 7th bike rider to lose her life in the City of Los Angeles this year.

Update: A writer for the Huffington Post who lives in the neighborhood fills in some of the missing details. 

Linda Milazzo reports seeing news of the collision on her Twitter feed, then driving to the collision site after seeing a helicopter hovering overhead.

According to Milazzo, the victim was standing on the sidewalk next to her bike when a northbound car turning left onto Sherman Way collided with a car driving south on Shoup; the second car went onto the sidewalk where it struck the victim, who suffered “multiple traumatic injuries to her face and body.”

The victim wasn’t wearing a helmet; Milazzo was told no when she asked an investigator for the Coroner’s office if that could have made a difference. 

And this is why you should always carry ID when you ride. The victim, identified only as a woman around 40 years old, didn’t have any with her. While authorities think they know who she is, final identification will have to wait for confirmation from fingerprints or dental records next week.

Update 2: The LAPD Valley Traffic Division reports that it was a DUI collision. And while the victim has not yet been publicly identified, a comment from Jocelyne below says she knew the victim, who was most likely standing on the corner waiting for a bus; suggesting that the bike may not have been hers.

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

Thanks to Melissa Pamer for the heads-up.

Morning Links: Bike rider collateral damage in Compton drive-by, moving memorial to fallen cyclist Milt Olin

Sad news from Compton, as a woman riding her bike was killed in a drive-by shooting on the 800 block of West Cherry Street around 1 pm Monday.

LAist suggests she may not have been the intended target, but just happened to be riding by when the shooter(s) targeted a group of people standing in a driveway.

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After the ghost bike for fallen cyclist and former Napster CEO Milt Olin was removed recently — over the wishes of local officials — family members install a new one with a moving message for all of us.

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Former winner Andy Schleck is out of the Tour de France after crashing into a spectator, while Chris Froome may have dodged a bullet and the peloton rides through the ghostly remnants of the Great War.

Just thinking the other day I was thinking the Tour should ride through the Channel Tunnel — aka Chunnel — from the UK to France. Now it turns out Froome just did.

Meanwhile, the world’s best women are racing, too, as Marianne Vos wins stage four of the Giro Rosa and retains the leader’s jersey.

A little closer to home, Erica Allar and Ken Hanson win the Manhattan Beach Grand Prix, as Rahsaan Bahati puts you right in the middle of the last three laps; thanks to Jim Lyle for the heads-up.

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Local

The LACBC offers free ride marshal training this Saturday.

The third annual Clitoral Mass — yes, you read that right — rolls on August 16th.

What a difference two feet make, as Pasadena gets a new buffered bike lane.

Long Beach’s Third Street needs a facelift to improve safety for cyclists and motorists.

The Beach Babe Bicycling Classic comes back to Long Beach this weekend.

Pedal Love and Women Talk Bikes talk bikes on Bike Talk.

 

State

A Saratoga drunken hit-and-run driver gets out of prison with orders to never drive again for leaving a bike rider with permanent injuries. And immediately goes back to driving drunk and fleeing the scene.

A San Francisco supervisor considers lowering speed limits in the City by the Bay.

We’ve mentioned this one before. But if you haven’t yet, sign the petition to support Andy’s Law to increase penalties for hit-and-run; thanks to Mario Gastelum for the reminder.

 

National

How to pay for innovative bicycling infrastructure (pdf).

Bike share programs reduce the risk for all riders, despite a misleading study suggesting the opposite.

Off-duty Albuquerque fireman uses the inner tube from an injured rider’s bike to save her life, if not her leg.

Louisiana prison inmates fix bikes seized by New Orleans police to donate to children.

New Jersey considers a $500 fine for any motorist who commits a traffic violation resulting in a collision with a bike rider.

Jerry Seinfeld rides a bike in New York, but the Mail can’t get over his toned arms.

Evidently, any DC bike rider who doesn’t want to get killed — or needs a boost up a steep hill — is a bully.

Confused — or maybe just confusing — Athens GA writer says there must be some truth to the scofflaw cyclist trope, even though he’s never seen one. And even then, not all bike riders should be held responsible for the actions of a few, unless maybe they should.

 

International

Ghost bikes come to Uruguay.

A British Columbia bike thief returns a boys stolen bike with a note apologizing for being such a drunken fool.

Toronto gets serious about parking in bike lanes.

A London bike rider says hell isn’t other people, it’s other bike riders. Especially the ones on Boris bikes. Then again, maybe other bike riders aren’t really the problem after all.

Caught on video: Gut-wrenching first-person view of a head-on cycling collision; fortunately, the rider survived with broken bones.

Dressing up in spandex beats sleeping with the secretary. Then again, who says you can’t do both?

 

Finally…

When you’re carrying homemade bombs on your bike to celebrate the 4th, don’t ride on the damn sidewalk. Esquire says Lance may not be in hell, but at least he’s in Purgatory.

And ride without fear; it turns out bike riding doesn’t cause erectile dysfunction or infertility after all.

 

Update: Mountain biker dies from solo fall at Snow Summit

Not every bicycling fatality involves another vehicle.

Sadly, sometimes all it take is one bad fall.

According to the San Bernardino Sun, 54-year old Valencia resident Mario Steven Cruz was riding on a downhill trail at the Snow Summit Mountain Resort in Big Bear on Friday morning when he fell from his bike. He was not breathing when an off-duty ski patrol member arrived at the scene around 9:35 am.

Cruz was flown to Loma Linda University Medical Center, where he died the next day around 10:35 am.

This is the 52nd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 7th in San Bernardino County; he is also the third bike rider to die in the county in just the last week.

Update: In tragic news for a department that has already suffered too much loss in recent months, Brion reports in a comment below that Cruz is a retired LAPD Motor Officer.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Mario Cruz and his family.

 

Update: Bike rider killed at deadly Fullerton intersection; second cyclist killed at same location since 2012

Some locations are more dangerous than others.

Which seems to be the case here, as a bike rider was killed in a collision at the intersection of Bastanchury Road and Morelia Avenue in Fullerton at 12:04 Saturday afternoon. Initial reports indicated he had been critically injured; however, according to the Orange County Register, he passed away at 3:45 pm after being taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange.

The OC Coroner’s office identifies the victim as 19-year old Anaheim resident Rafael Correa, Jr, and places the location at where the Juanita Cooke Greenbelt Trail intersects with Bastanchury, suggesting the Correa was coming off the dirt trail when the collision occurred.

Remarkably, this is the exact same location where La Habra resident Richard Paine was killed in a  hit-and-run after exiting the bike trail two years ago this week. Which suggests that there is something seriously wrong with the design of the intersection itself.

Both the Register and the coroner’s office suggest Correa collided with a vehicle, implying that he may have come off the hill leading to the intersection and been unable to slow or stop in time on the dirt surface.

Regardless of cause or who was at fault, Fullerton officials should take a close look at the site to determine what can be done to prevent any future incidents. One death is a tragedy; two in the same location, in a similar manner, suggests a serious design failure.

This is the 51st bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 11th in Orange County, which compares to six in the county this time last year.

In fact, the total is early equal to the 12 deaths in Orange County in all of 2013. It’s also the third bicycling fatality in Fullerton in just the last two years.

Update: The Orange County Register confirms that Correa was riding downhill on the bike trail, and was unable to stop before sliding into the roadway and crashing into an eastbound car on Bastanchury.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Fullerton PD Traffic Bureau at 714/738-6812.

 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Rafael Correa, Jr and all his loved ones.

 

Sad news, as 15-year old Canyon Lake bike rider declared brain dead; 50th SoCal cycling fatality this year

The news did not look good last night.

And today, our worst fears were confirmed as news came that a 15-year old bike rider was declared brain dead following a Tuesday collision in Canyon Lake.

As noted earlier, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reported yesterday that the rider suffered major injuries when he broadsided a Cadillac Escalade after crossing into an intersection following a steep descent on a side street.

The collision occurred around 4:30 pm on Tuesday in the 22800 block of Vacation Drive; based on the satellite view, it appears he must have been descending from Old Wrangler Road.

As of Wednesday morning, the victim was hospitalized in critical condition with major head trauma. The impact was hard enough that the side airbags deployed on the SUV; the driver remained at the scene and cooperated with police.

The Friday Flyer reported today that the victim, Sam Siroky of Canyon Lake, was declared brain dead Wednesday evening. According to his father, his body was being kept alive so his organs could be harvested for transplant.

Matthew Siroky says the family thanks everyone for their wonderful support, and they want something positive to come out of this terrible circumstance. Matthew says, “We know Sam would want to help as many people as possible, so we are donating his organs.”

A website has been established to help cover his memorial and medical expenses.

Both stories note that Siroky was not wearing a helmet, even though that’s required for all cyclists below the age of 18 under California law.

It’s possible a helmet may have made a difference in this case, since he died of brain injuries; however, given the apparent force of the impact, it may not have made a difference.

This is the 50th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and ninth in Riverside County; that compares with just five in the county this time last year.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Sam Siroky and all his family.

Morning Links: Making up the law on PCH, Olin ghost bike goes missing, and Canyon Lake cyclist critically injured

Once again, a sheriff’s deputy is caught on video making up traffic law on PCH.

For anyone unclear on the concept — law enforcement included — bike riders are allowed to ride in the traffic lane under California law, and allowed to take the full lane if it’s not wide enough to safely share with a motor vehicle.

And there is nothing in state law banning cyclists from riding two or more abreast as long as they stay in a single, non-sharable lane on a multi-lane roadway.

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Someone has taken the ghost bike for fallen cyclist and Napster CEO Milt Olin, despite efforts of the City of Calabasas to maintain it. And still no word about the results of the investigation into Olin’s death or whether the sheriff’s deputy who killed him will face charges.

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More bad news from the Inland Empire, as a 15-year old Canyon Lake cyclist suffers critical injuries after broadsiding an SUV at the base of a steep descent. The impact was hard enough that the vehicle’s airbags deployed.

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Local

Some of DTLA’s larger new buildings feature more bike than car parking.

New LADOT General Manager Seleta Reynolds says it’s time to slow LA traffic to a more human scale, and may bring big changes to the city.

Meanwhile, LADOT has completed 50 miles of road diets in the last 15 years, and has finally budgeted for a citywide network of bicycle wayfinding signs.

Discovering the Ballona Creek bike path.

Sounds like fun. Metro and CICLE sponsor a Downtown LA Film History Ride on July 19th; maybe they’ll visit the Spring Street green lane gutted at the request of Hollywood filmmakers.

 

State

Newport Beach unveils the city’s draft bicycle plan, which will be under discussion when the Bicycle Master Plan Oversight Committee meets on Monday.

Nice. San Clemente approves a two-way bike path along the coast highway, as well as bike lanes for riders who want to remain on the roadway.

Seriously? San Diego is the only California city named to USA Today’s list of the 10 best cities for bicycling. No mention of Long Beach, Santa Monica, San Francisco, Davis, Palo Alto or any other CA towns.

 

National

Your bike is finally welcome on Amtrak.

Fading bike lanes send a message of disrespect from motorists.

A bike safety educator takes issue with the Bike League’s recent report showing 40% of bicycling fatalities over a 12-month period involved hit-from-behind collisions; thanks to Karen Karabell for the heads-up.

The feds are investigating a sabotaged Aspen CO bike trail after someone hid nail-studded boards on the path. Except it’s the Bureau of Land Management doing the investigating, not the FBI.

Life is cheap in Colorado, as a hit-and-run driver who killed a cyclist from my hometown gets four years probation and one year of work release.

A new deal could save New York’s Citi Bike bike share program.

 

International

How can you tell when police investigations are biased against bike riders? When they conclude cyclists are at fault in over three-quarters of all bike collisions.

The key to encouraging alternative transportation is to make private cars the least efficient mode of transport.

Maybe wheel-suckers don’t suck after all. Drafting cuts wind resistance up to 49%, while reducing drag for the lead rider by 5%. And it turns out shaving your legs really does make you faster.

A UK man is riding across Africa following the death of his parents from cancer.

Bicycling is booming in Bangkok, even if it puts bike riders in the danger zone.

 

Finally…

An LA cop watches as a red light-running driver threatens a pedestrian, then blames the walker for blocking the road. And no matter how mad you may be, your bike deserves better than to be thrown onto the hood of a driver’s car; maybe they can charge him with bicycle cruelty.

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Just a quick reminder. Bikes are usually the most efficient way to get in and out of your local fireworks display. Just ride with extra care, because drivers will be focused on finding that elusive parking space or beating the crowd home instead of looking for you.

Update: Young boy killed in San Bernardino bicycling collision

Every every traffic death is needless; every bicycling fatality is heartbreaking.

But some tug a little harder on the heartstrings.

Like yesterday’s collision that took the life of a 79-year old bike rider in Chino, at an age when he had more than earned to right to a far more peaceful end. And today, when a wreck in San Bernardino left parents grieving a son who will never come home.

According to the Press-Enterprise, a boy around seven or eight years old was hit by a pickup around 1:20 this afternoon. Initial reports indicated that he was rushed to a hospital after suffering major injuries, where he died sometime later.

The collision occurred at or near the offramp to the eastbound 210 Freeway at Del Rosa Avenue. Presumably, the victim, who has not been publicly identified, was riding across the intersection when he was hit by the truck exiting the freeway; however, as too often happens with news reports from the county, no explanation is given for how or why the wreck happened.

The intersection is controlled by a traffic light, but authorities were unsure who had the right-of-way or if the victim was riding in the crosswalk. A satellite view shows a crosswalk connecting the sidewalk on either side of the off-ramp, which is where he was most likely riding.

He was reportedly riding with another boy, who apparently did not see the collision despite being positioned behind him.

Now a young boy will never grow up, and a family must somehow find a way to go on without him.

This is the 49th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year. and the 6th in San Bernardino County. And as noted above, the second cycling death in the county in the past two days.

Update: The victim has been identified as 12-year old Tewon Woods, presumably of San Bernardino.

And a fund has been established to help pay his burial expenses. A tragedy like this shouldn’t be allowed to break his family financially. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the Tewon Woods and all his family and loved ones.

Thanks to attorney James Johnson and the IE Biking Alliance for the heads-up.

79-year old bike rider killed in Chino; SoCal cycling fatalities up slightly over last year

Word is just coming in that a 79-year old bike rider was killed in a Chino collision earlier today.

According to the Press-Enterprise, Manuel Vera Ortega was struck by Silverado pickup at noon Tuesday somewhere south of the intersection of Central and Washington Avenues. He was taken to a nearby medical center where he died less than an hour later.

The truck, driven by 73-year old William Parkinson of Chino, was traveling south on Central; no word on which direction Ortega was traveling or where he was on the roadway. And no other details on how the collision may have occurred.

A satellite view shows a five lane divided boulevard with no bike lanes, and only one visible driveway on the southbound side.

This is the 48th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fifth in San Bernardino County; that compares with 45 SoCal deaths and four in the county this time last year.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Manual Ortega and all his loved ones.

Thanks to Danny Gamboa for the link.

 

 

Downey bike rider killed in collision with Metro Blue Line

Word broke late Saturday night that a cyclist may have killed in a collision with a Metro Blue Line train in the Florence neighborhood of Los Angeles.

KABC-7 tweeted that a bike rider had been killed crossing the tracks at East Gage and Holmes Avenues, citing a report from the CHP. However, while the Highway Patrol dispatch confirmed a fatality, it did not identify the victim as a bike rider.

Any question was resolved Sunday evening when KCBS-2 confirmed that a 51-year old Downey resident was killed when he rode his bike in front of the train, which was traveling at 50 mph at the time. At that speed, such a collision is unlikely to be survivable; he was pronounced dead at the scene at 10:01 pm.

The victim was not publicly identified pending notification of next of kin.

No word on why he did not see or hear the train approaching, or whether the crossing arms were working properly.

This is the 47th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 20th in Los Angeles County. It’s also the sixth cycling death in the City of Los Angeles since the first of the year.

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

 

Don’t expect justice. Not on a bike, not for hit-and-run. And not in Beverly Hills.

Paul Livingston, back on his feet.

Paul Livingston, back on his feet. Photo by Brandon Lake.

Three days in jail for felony hit-and-run.

Exactly half the time her victim spent in a coma. And just a fraction of the seemingly endless days he spent in the hospital, let alone long months in rehab.

No wonder Paul Livingston is mad.

Maybe you remember the story.

Just over three years ago, June 12, 2011, to be exact, Livingston was riding his bike through the Biking Black Hole of Beverly Hills when he was rear-ended by a driver, who a witness described as weaving in and out of traffic “as if she was drunk.”

In fact, that same witness was dialing 911 to report the driver when she heard the sickening thud of the impact that nearly took Livingston’s life.

As Don Ward tells the story in LA Streetsblog,

Last summer Paul Livingston, an experienced cyclist of 15 years, was commuting along Santa Monica Blvd heading east through Beverly Hills. He began slowing as he approached a stale red light. Relaxed, it was about 6pm on a clear skied Sunday afternoon and his lane – the right lane – was clear. He was estimated to be moving at about 8 miles per hour. Suddenly his world changed forever. Witnesses describe an impatient and unpredictable driver racing in and out of pockets heading east towards the soon to be green light that Paul was approaching. Paul had no chance. He was smashed from behind and thrown. It was reported that the driver never braked but instead accelerated to get away after impact.

Even worse was the terrible toll caused by that collision.

The impact was so harsh that Paul suffered multiple spinal and pelvic fractures, severe internal bleeding and abdominal injuries. He spent 6 days in a coma and another month in the hospital. Doctors performed spinal fusion surgery to 5 levels of his vertebrae. Because of his disability he was let go from his job at SIR Hollywood, and as a result his medical insurance was terminated. With no ability to work he lost his apartment soon after. Paul’s hospital bills add up to well over $1 million dollars. The driver not only left Paul with a massive hospital bill, she stole a life’s joy from him as he lie broken in the street that day. Paul may never again ride a bicycle. None of the witnesses that stayed managed to get a plate, just a vehicle description.

In fact, it was far worse.

In a follow-up piece, Streetsblog’s Sara Bond wrote,

The last thing Paul remembers that day is being put on a stretcher before he woke up in a hospital bed six days later. He suffered spinal and pelvic fractures. His pelvic bone, broken in half and pushed upwards into his bladder had severed blood vessels causing him to bleed internally. When he was first admitted to the hospital he was hypotensive, which means his organs were shutting down with the lack of blood and his body was going into shock. Paul underwent three abdominal surgeries within the first two days just to stop the bleeding. On the fourth day, the doctors were able to fix his pelvis and then he went through spine surgery only to have pelvic surgery once again to get it back to its original position. Paul also suffered from post-operative infection from the abdominal surgeries. Finally, with his fever gone, he was healthy enough to have his spinal fusion – as a result, Paul is a bit shorter now.

Yet despite the severities of his injuries, he credits his helmet with saving his life, and the large bike bag he was carrying with cushioning the impact from the car and protecting him from even greater harm.

The driver, Victoria Chin, called police to turn herself in the next day — after she’d had time to sober up, if the witness was correct — claiming she didn’t stop because she couldn’t find a parking spot.

Well, okay then.

Or at least, that seemed to be the laissez faire — if not incompetent — attitude of the Beverly Hills police.

Rather than send a patrol officer out to see her — let alone make a badly needed arrest — the officer she spoke with told her she had to come to the station turn herself in, and to bring the car with her. Instead, she showed up the next day with no car and a lawyer in tow, refusing to say or do anything other than identify herself.

And that’s when things got strange.

Livingston's warped bike doesn't begin to capture the extent of his injuries.

Livingston’s badly warped bike doesn’t begin to capture the extent of his injuries.

As far as the BHPD was concerned, no harm, no foul — ignoring that her victim was in the ICU at Cedars Sinai in a medically induced coma at that very moment.

Because of the botched non-investigation, the DA initially declined to press charges. It wasn’t until Livingston’s own lawyer conducted his own investigation and handed them a gift-wrapped case on a silver platter that they even deemed it worth pursuing.

Not that they really seemed very interested, even then.

“I never got the feeling Marta (Miller, the prosecuting attorney) gave a shit about me or my case,” Livingston said when I spoke with him last week.

In fact, he had a bad feeling about it from the beginning.

Chin’s defense attorney, a former Los Angeles DA, boasted on his website about using his connections with the office to benefit his clients. And when Livingston asked about it, he was told that Miller had worked with him for over 10 years.

But no one else seemed to see a conflict of interest; his request for a new prosecutor never even received a response from the DA’s office.

Evidently, his intuition was on target.

At the final court hearing, Miller refused to even acknowledge his presence before the plea deal was announced. Livingston says he knew a deal had been made by the guilty expression on the face of the prosecutor who should have been fighting for society’s, if not his, interests.

Chin entered a plea of no contest to felony hit-and-run. Or rather, a plea was entered on her behalf; she had moved back to her family home in Pennsylvania, and after her initial hearing, didn’t attend any court sessions until she was ultimately sentenced.

That plea deal should have been good news. California sentencing guidelines for felony hit-and-run call for 16 months to three years in state prison, with a fine of $1,000 to $10,000. Severe bodily injury brings an additional one-year enhancement, while permanent injury or death calls for another two to four years.

You’d think titanium rods permanently embedded in your back just to hold your body together would qualify as permanent injury.

But you would be wrong.

As a result of an incredibly generous deal, and despite the felony conviction, Chin was sentenced this past April to just 120 days in jail.

County jail.

Not state prison.

And given the current overcrowding conditions in LA County lockup, Livingston was warned that she wasn’t likely to serve anything close to the full term.

But he was shocked to learn she’d been released after just two days behind bars.

Two days.

Combined with another day in jail following her arrest, her total incarceration adds up to just three days, compared with the minimum 26 months in state custody she should have received. And just half the time Livingston spent in a coma because of her actions.

On the other hand, she was ordered to pay $638,434 in restitution.

Not that he will ever see the money.

Livingston’s insurance company has a $468,000 lien on any judgment. Cedars has another for $150,000. And whatever is left when they’re done will go to St. Vincent Hospital.

And not like anyone realistically expects her to pay.

Like most California drivers, she had the minimum liability insurance coverage of just $15,000 required by California law; an amount that hasn’t been increased since it was established in the 1970s.

Which also means that, while he’s almost assured of winning his civil suit, Livingston probably won’t see a dime for his lost wages, pain or suffering. The only hope is that Chin may — key word, may — have been driving as part of her job that day; if that turns out to be the case, her employer could be on the hook for the full amount of what should be a multi-million dollar settlement on top of the restitution.

Let’s hope so.

……..

Despite everything, Paul Livingston remains remarkably upbeat.

“I’m so lucky,” he says. “I got so lucky.”

Without the herculean efforts of the paramedics and ER staff, he probably wouldn’t have made it through the first night. Even after that, so much could have gone wrong that could have changed his life forever.

Yet today, he pronounces himself fully recovered, physically anyway. He’s jogging a couple of miles every other day, doing push-ups and pull-ups, even lifting weights.

And he’s back to work as a drummer in a reggae band.

On the other hand, as Streetsblog noted, he’s not back on his bike, and probably never will be.

“I’m not riding anymore and I miss it. But there’s absolutely no way I would get on a bike in traffic again, anywhere.”

He also has to bite his tongue when he sees someone else riding a bike on crowded city streets.

“I want to tell them, if you only knew the danger you’re in, not just of getting hurt, but of the person who hit you never being brought to justice…”

His voice tapers off, leaving the thought dangling in the air.

He’d never actually say it, of course.

He knows the sheer joy that comes from riding a bike, and wouldn’t want to take that away from someone else.

But for all his upbeat attitude, the pain and financial stress has taken its toll.

I’ve gotta be honest. I’ve been really bummed out about the medical liens, insurance bullshit, and the reality of possibly not getting anything financially for my pain, suffering and all the emotional stress. I’m a professional musician and I lost my studio in Hollywood, my apartment, my job, my medical insurance. It’s been just one gnarly fight after another.

I had to fight to stay alive, I had to fight to learn how to walk again, I had to fight to get disability payments, I had to fight to get the Beverly Hills DA’s office to press charges and it just keeps going.

The hell I went through is something anyone would go to great lengths to avoid and that’s what’s hard to explain to people.

Until you experience trauma like that, you just don’t know. Imagine not being able to sleep while in pain waiting for spine surgery wondering if you’re going to still be able to walk again, go to the bathroom by yourself, and have sex again.

The physical pain was absolutely brutal but the emotional trauma is something that still haunts me. And I have to live with titanium rods and screws in my back forever.

So yeah, she took a lot away from me and the fact that she only did 3 days in jail makes me want to pack my shit and move to Montana.

But I want to try and help change things here so that other people don’t have to go through the hell I went through.

Yet remarkably, Paul Livingstone is not a vengeful man.

If she had shown some sign of remorse; if she’d just come up to me one time to say she was sorry, I might have let the whole thing go.

But she never did.

……..

Maybe I should let the story end there.

But as someone who has long argued for tougher hit-and-run laws, and applauded the efforts of Don Ward, Damian Kevitt, state Assemblymember Mike Gatto and others to pass hard-hitting legislation, I realize it doesn’t really matter.

This obscene epidemic will never end, and the physical, emotional and financial toll of hit-and-run will continue to build as long as police, prosecutors and the courts refuse to take it seriously.

This should have been an easy case for the police to investigate. But they didn’t care.

It should have been a clear-cut prosecution for the DA’s office. But they didn’t care.

It should have been a chance for the judge to send a message that this kind of behavior won’t be tolerated in a civil society, and that there are serious consequences for running away like a coward and leaving another human being to bleed, and possibly die, in the street.

But he didn’t care.

Or if anyone did, not enough to actually do anything about it.

Until we change the attitude that traffic crime doesn’t matter and people don’t have to be held accountable for their actions, nothing will ever change.

Livingston is right. We can expect a lot of things when we ride.

But justice isn’t one of them.

Especially not in Beverly Hills.