More bad news, as if we haven’t had enough already.
According to Zackary Rynew, a group of motorists came upon a bike rider lying unconscious in the roadway on Angeles Crest Highway around 8 am this morning.
Rynew later placed the crash just before the fire station on Highway 2; unfortunately, I can’t locate it on a map.
The victim was described only as a man with a mustache, who appeared to be in his 60s, and wearing an orange bicycle helmet.
Several people attempted CPR, but he was unconscious with no signs of life when paramedics arrived.
Terrible news: My friend came up on an unconscious cyclist at 8am in his 60s, orange helmet & mustached, on Hwy 2 (near Lukens TT) & no signs of a collision. Her sister (nurse practitioner) and others used CPR, but did not have a heartbeat when the ambulance came. @bikinginla
This is at least the 35th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the eleventh that I’m aware of already this year in Los Angeles County.
He apparently suffered some sort of medical emergency while riding his Cervelo east on Angeles Crest, and collapsed on the spot.
Update 2: A comment from Mary Smith clarifies that all the people who discovered and attempted to revive Gerdes were motorists, and the only people who rode by on bicycles continued without stopping or offering to help.
Something to remember when the next time someone tries to assign motorists and bicyclists into irreconcilably conflicting camps.
My deepest sympathy and prayers Steve Gerdes and his loved ones.
Thanks to Zachary Rynew and Tim Rutt for the heads-up.
July 16, 2021 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Update: 27-year old man killed in Oceanside hit-and-run late Thursday; tenth bicycling death in San Diego County this year
Another day, another Southern California bike rider murdered by a hit-and-run driver.
There’s no word on whether he was wearing a helmet, which might have a difference in this case.
Or not, depending on the speed of his killer’s car.
Investigators believe he was riding east on Oceanside when he was run down from behind by the driver of a black 2014 to 2016 Nissan Versa Note hatchback, based at least in part on evidence left at the scene. The car is likely to have damage to the front grill, hood and undercarriage.
Anyone with informations urged to call Accident Investigator Kevin Lissner of the Oceanside Police Department at 760/435-4651.
This is at least the 34th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the tenth that I’m aware of already this year in San Diego County.
At least 14 of those deaths have been hit-and-runs, including four just in the last two and a half weeks.
Update: This is the cost of traffic violence.
Hi everyone, my boyfriend was killed Thursday night by a hit and run on Oceanside Blvd. If anyone has any information please reach out. It seems it was a 2014-2016Nissan Versa hatchback. Please share and help us find the person. Here’s some of my favorite photos of Jackson ♥️ pic.twitter.com/sStZieHil0
But at least this time there wasn’t a motorist involved.
Ventura talk radio station KVTA reports a man was killed when he was run down from behind by an Amtrak train while riding on the tracks in Oxnard Tuesday morning.
According to Oxnard Police Commander Luis McArthur, the engineer of Pacific Surfliner Train 763 sounded his horn several times and tried to stop, but couldn’t bring the train to a halt in time, despite witness statements that it was traveling at just 20-30 mph before the crash.
The victim made no effort to get out of the way as he rode with a hoody pulled over his head; however, there’s no evidence that he was wearing headphones or earbuds.
Which raises the question of why he wasn’t aware of the massive train bearing down on him. Let alone what he was doing on the tracks in the first place.
This is at least the 33rd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fifth that I’m aware of in Ventura County, which exceeds the total for all of last year.
It’s also the sixth Southern California bike death that’s come to our attention in less than two weeks.
The victim, who still hasn’t been publicly identified nearly two weeks later, was taken to a local hospital, where he died sometime later.
As usual, there’s no word on why the public wasn’t informed until My News LA broke the story on Sunday.
Police are looking for the driver of a white two-door 2019-21 Camaro with a black convertible top, likely with noticeable front-end damage.
Anyone with information is urged to call LAPD West Traffic Division detectives at 213/473-0236, or call Crime Stoppers at 800/222-8477. As always, there is a standing $50,000 reward for any fatal hit-and-run in Los Angeles.
This is at least the 32nd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the tenth that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County; it’s also at least the fifth in the City of LA.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.
The driver continued east on Jefferson without stopping, which suggests he or she was likely traveling in the same direction as Dimeglio prior to the crash.
Police are looking for a dark-colored SUV, most likely with heavy damage.
There was no explanation given for why the LAPD waited almost three weeks to ask for the public’s help in finding the driver, or even release word that someone had been killed on city streets.
It also makes you wonder if there are more bicycling deaths they haven’t bothered to tell us about.
Anyone with information is urged to contact LAPD South Traffic Division Detective Daniel Ramirez or Officer Andrew Guzman at 323/421-2500.
As always, there is a standing $50,000 reward for any fatal hit-and-run in the City of Los Angeles.
This is at least the 31st bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the ninth that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County; it’s also at least the fourth in the City of LA.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Leo Dimeglio and all his loved ones.
Thanks to Jeff Vaughn for the heads-up.
STD Detectives seeking help from our community on a hit and run that occurred on Jefferson Blvd @ approximately 11:41 hours. If anyone can provide additional information please contact South Traffic Detectives. 323-421-2500. pic.twitter.com/1OqFgwCQTh
— LAPD South Traffic (@LAPDSouthTraff) June 29, 2021
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, 75-year old San Diego resident Allen Hunter was the victim of a hit-and-run last Tuesday — one week ago today.
He was riding on the South Coast Highway 101 near Lomas Santa Fe Drive around 10:35 am on June 22nd when he was run down from behind by vehicle allegedly driven by 21-year-old Lucas Beau Morgans of Solana Beach.
Hunter was taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital in nearby La Jolla, where he died of multiple blunt force trauma around 6:30 that evening.
Morgans was arrested later the same day, about six miles from the crash scene, on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter, felony hit and run resulting in death or injury and felony DUI causing great bodily injury.
He was released after posting bail, and isn’t due back in court until October.
This is at least the 30th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the ninth that I’m aware of in San Diego County already this year.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Allen Hunter and all his loved ones.
News is just breaking that a woman was killed in a collision while riding in La Jolla yesterday afternoon, continuing the county’s unusual rash of bicycling deaths.
The victim, identified only as a 34-year old woman, was reportedly riding in the right lane of the roadway when she merged into the left lane, and was struck by a 74-year old driver.
She died at the scene.
The driver remained following the crash — which should not need to be said, but sadly, does — and was not suspected of being under the influence.
However, the report raises a few questions, since there is a bike lane on Torrey Pines Road where she would have presumably been riding, unless she had shifted into the right lane in preparation for merging into the left lane.
In which case, why didn’t she see the large oncoming Mercedes to her left — and why didn’t the driver see her?
There is also the question of why she was merging into the left lane, since there is no street to the left on the three-way intersection. It’s possible she was attempting to make a U-turn, or may have been turning onto a pathway that appears to lead to the UCSD campus on the north side of the roadway.
And as always, the question is whether there were any independent witnesses, other than the driver, who actually saw her move in front of the car that killed her. Although there should have been several people around the busy intersection at that hour who may have seen the crash.
The story reports that the collision is still under investigation, so hopefully we’ll learn more soon.
This is at least the 29th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the eighth that I’m aware of in San Diego County already this year, in what is turning out to be an exceptionally bloody year.
Update: The victim has not been publicly identified. However, comments below indicate she was from India with her husband, and the mother of a one-year old child.
Meanwhile, Douglas Alden left the following comment.
I passed by the crash on my bike commute home shortly after it happened. It occurred in the southbound lanes of North Torrey Pines Road just north of the intersection with Revelle College Drive. The police had closed the road in both directions and several cars were pulled over. The body of the woman that was killed was covered by a yellow sheet and was still lying in the street in front of the car. It is possible that the cyclist was crossing lanes to make a left from southbound North Torrey Pines onto Revelle College Drive. There is a protected left turn lane at the intersection. It is hard to speculate without knowing all the facts.
There are a number of other comments below that add insight to this tragedy.
Which raises the tragic question of what scientific breakthroughs in the field could be lost or delayed because of her needless death.
Tyagi leaves behind her husband of six years, a scientist at The Scripps Research Institute, and their 11-month old son, who is just shy of his first birthday.
Meanwhile, her parents and other family members have been unable to enter the US due to Covid restrictions in India, or to get her body sent back to the country of her birth, compounding the tragedy.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Swati Tyagi and all her loved ones.
There’s no information about the victim, or how the crash occurred. And the U–T story doesn’t even mention what kind of vehicle was involved, let alone whether it had a driver.
In fact, there’s no mention of a driver at all.
Hopefully, we’ll learn more later.
This is at least the 28th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year; however, it’s the seventh that I’m aware of in San Diego County already this year.
Update: The victim has been identified as a man, but no name or age was given. The driver was ID’d as a 39-year old woman in a GMC Yukon SUV.
According to the latest reports, the victim, who was riding a Motiv ebike, was headed south Monterey Crest Drive when he allegedly entered the intersection directly in front of the westbound SUV.
Given the size, flat front and high-clearance of the SUV, there’s little chance of survival if the truck was traveling at speed.
As always, however, the question is whether there were any witnesses other than the driver, particularly given the rural intersection at dusk.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.
The Orange County Register identifies him as Huntington Beach resident John Crouch, while placing the time at 1:38.
Investigators allege Crouch was attempting to cross the six lane highway against the red light when he was run down by a 23-year old Bloomington man, who has not been publicly identified.
Crouch was unresponsive before being taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The driver stayed at the scene, and was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence; no word was given on whether he was suspected of being drunk or stoned
There’s also no word on whether there were any independent witnesses who saw Crouch run the light; however, the intersection was likely to be busy at that hour, which raises the possibility that it was seen by multiple people.
This is at least the 27th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year; however, it’s just the third that I’m aware of in Orange County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for John Crouch and his loved ones.
May 26, 2021 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Able-bodied mtn biker confronts disabled ebike rider, Metrolink helps promote bikes, and redesigning LA’s worst intersections
A video from last fall has popped up again, causing fresh outrage online.
Justifiable outrage, for a change.
David Wolfberg forwards a story from Boing Boing that picks up a video we posted last September, showing an able-bodied mountain biker complaining about a disabled rider’s adaptive ebike, and demanding to see the rule allowing him to use it on the Indiana trail.
Maybe you’ll remember it.
Lord knows I do.
The story doesn’t end there, though, as reprehensible as this uncomprehending attack on a disabled man is.
Morris…has since said he has been in touch with Terry Coleman, the deputy director of Indiana’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR), who told him that his bike was perfectly legal to ride on trails.
Morris said: “What I’m on is not an e-bike, it’s an adaptive piece of equipment. And adaptive equipment is allowed on all of the trails throughout all of Indiana. So if you’ve got this equipment, get out and use it, use it in the state parks, use it on these trails.”
Morris also said Coleman told him that the DNR had actually just bought 12 “off-roading wheelchairs”, to give disabled people in the state more access to trails and paths for leisure activities.
So the next time you find tempted to criticize someone else for some infraction, real or imagined, think twice.
Then don’t.
There may be some reason why they’re doing what they’re doing. And it doesn’t really matter whether you understand or agree with it.
Because it’s not your job to enforce the rules, any more than driveway vigilante drivers have the right to enforce their interpretations — or misinterpretations, more often — of bike laws on you.
Try a little empathy and understanding instead.
And maybe make this world a little better for all of us in the process.
Image by Michael Gaida from Pixabay.
………
Remember this tweet the next time someone insists Los Angeles isn’t (insert more progressive city here).
Metrolink is teaming with the LACBC to promote bicycling as Bike Month sinks slowly in the west.
We've teamed up with the Los Angeles County Bike Coalition (@lacbc) to promote the many benefits of cycling as an alternative transportation choice that improves our health and our environment in Southern California. Head to our blog to learn how: https://t.co/8pmx74pNN7pic.twitter.com/hTpO3xYTt6
And particularly now that it’s getting safer to get back on a train.
………
Great thread from 18-year old housing and transportation enthusiast Zennon Ulyate-Crow, who is doing the work LADOT should be doing to reimagine some of LA’s most problematic intersections.
Inspired by this tweet, I’ve started a new art project where I’ll be slowly redesigning all the intersections people listed in this thread, alongside other dangerous streets, to make them safer for all. https://t.co/K4uJQ4gtxH
Here’s his latest project, which turns an East Hollywood mess into something we could all live with.
My next intersection is Hollywood/Virgil/Sunset/Hillhurst on the border of #CD13 and #CD4. I removed the car connection to Sunset Dr. and changed Virgil St. to a three lane configuration, continuing the already existing road diet from Santa Monica. pic.twitter.com/CoRaXeK6ly
Let’s hope LADOT is already keeping an eye on him, with the promise of a job once he gets his degree.
………
Speaking of LADOT, it seems the ostensibly progressive department ostensibly focused on Compete Streets still hasn’t gotten the message of the mayor’s Green New Deal — that we have to reimagine our streets and how we get around if we’re going to meet the city’s climate change goals, let alone survive.
Or maybe they still have old school engineers on staff who retain their focus on automotive throughput, as an obsolete plan to widen Burbank Blvd rises from the dead.
With auto-centric crap like this is still being pushed by Metro and LADOT, maybe we can’t afford to wait, and need to get Ulyate-Crow working there now.
Or better yet, running it.
………
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration wants to instruct you in how to wear a bike helmet.
#DidYouKnow: When it comes to a bicycle helmet, one size doesn’t fit all. It may take time to ensure a proper helmet fit, but your life is worth it. Learn more about proper helmet fit today: https://t.co/Kp40W736xYpic.twitter.com/LW4RYvRXc7
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
No bias here. San Carlos has installed a bicycle dismount zone where people are supposed to get off their bikes and walk them across an intersection to “minimize conflicts between vehicles, pedestrians and bicyclists.” Even though bike riders have every right to just ride across the damn street.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Streets For All introduces Destruction for Nada, a much-needed campaign to stop all highway widening in LA County, as Metro considers an induced-demand boosting jump in highway spending at Thursday’s board meeting, along with a proposal to kill the wasteful and destructive $8 billion plan to widen the 710 Freeway. It’s long past time all of Metro’s funding was shifted to transit and Complete Streets.
The post-pandemic reopening is raising a debate over the streets of San Francisco, as advocates call for keeping closed-off streets carfree, while drivers insist they need the roads open to get around. That’s a debate that should be happening in Los Angeles, as well, as the city faces an urgent need to reimagine how people get around in order to meet climate goals, and confront the ever-increasing congestion on our streets. But isn’t.
San Francisco installs the city’s first advisory lane, where bike riders use bike lanes on either side of the street, while drivers in both directions share a single center lane.
Sad news from Northern California, where a man riding a bike in Cottonwood was killed by a hit-and-run driver who just left him on the side of the road to die. As we’ve said before, in cases like that, the driver should face a murder charge once they’re caught for making the conscious decision to let their victim die.
A Chicago man took an “epic” bike ride across Indiana just to dine at the nearest Waffle House. Although the real story is how he was able to make almost the entire trip on offroad bike paths.
Island Pressintroduces Bike Easy, which has played a significant role in the remarkable transformation of New Orleans into a bike friendly — or at least, friendlier — city.
A Canadian girl got a new BMX bike for being honest enough to return a bike a stranger had given her, after learning it had been stolen. Although the question is why did a stranger give her a stolen bike to begin with.
International politics once again reaches into the sports world, as Germany responds to the hijacking and apparent torture of an opposition journalist in Belarus by pulling out of next month’s Elite Track European Championships in the country. And yes, that’s the right move; hopefully other countries will follow their lead.
