The rider, who has not been publicly identified, was thrown a considerable distance by the force of the impact, coming to rest in the center of the roadway. He was taken to Holy Cross Hospital with injuries to his head and upper torso, where he was pronounced dead at 11:36.
The driver remained at the scene and was cooperating with investigators. The force of the impact would suggest the driver may have been traveling faster than the posted 35 mph speed limit.
There’s no word on whether the victim had lights and reflectors on his bicycle, which should have made him visible as he crossed the street.
Anyone with information is urged to call Valley Traffic Division Office Martinez at 818/644-8032 or Det. III Bustos at 818/644-8021.
This is the 65th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, the 26th in LA County and the eighth in the City of Los Angeles. He also the third bicyclist killed on Foothill Blvd in the last three years, which suggests a need for significant safety improvements.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.
Come back later today when we’ll have a guest post from Mr. CiclaValley himself as he talks with Toluca Lake resident and pro cyclist Phil Gaimon about next weekend’s inaugural Malibu Gran Cookie Fondo.
………
This is who we share the roads with.
San Diego’s 10News reports a road raging driver intentionally knocked a local radio host off his bicycle as he was escorting a disabled cyclist on the Coast Highway in Carlsbad, just a few miles from the end of the Challenged Athletes Foundation’s 620-mile Million Dollar Challenge.
As the rider worked to make it up a small hill, an impatient driver began honking his horn, despite a support van warning cyclists were ahead. So KOGO host Bob “Sully” Sullivan rode back to explain that his riding partner was a paraplegic using a handcycle to get up the hill.
“‘We’ve gone 590 miles, give me 90 seconds, I’ll have him up and over this grade, you can be on your way,'” Sullivan said he told the man. “Completely agitated, he says to me, ‘I don’t care if it’s f-ing God up there. Get out of the f-ing road.'”
Sullivan said that’s when he stopped talking to the man and got back on his bike. The truck’s driver accelerated and hit Sullivan’s bike, causing him to fall to the roadway.
Yet despite the presence of an off-duty Carlsbad cop riding in the opposite direction, no charges have been filed.
“I think he needs to be arrested,” Sullivan said. “Somebody who purposely hits somebody on a bicycle using his car is either assault with a deadly weapon, attempted murder, at the very least shouldn’t be driving a car right now.”
The LAPD is asking for the public’s help in finding the person who shot and killed a bike rider in Echo Park last week; 37-year old William Perea was hit with gunfire as he rode at Mohawk and Montana the night of October 17th.
………
LADOT says safety remains the top priority on the LA River bike path, as they remind both walkers and bike riders about the statutes governing the pathway and the need to share it safely, in the wake of a collision with a bicyclist that sent an elderly woman to the hospital.
The LACBC deserves a lot of credit for starting this conversation, even before Butler came on board, with its outreach to lower income immigrant communities in the last decade. Along with notable presentations at the National Bike Summit that marked the bike coalition as a national leader on the subject.
The Westwood Village Improvement Association discusses how to improve business and better serve the surrounding community. Oddly, making it safer to walk and bike there doesn’t seem to be an option, even though both would benefit the Village’s long suffering businesses.
Bike lawyer Bob Mionske writes about a new Close Call Database allowing bike riders to report punishment passes from angry motorists to establish a paper trail in case the driver does it again. Or worse.
Who was that masked man? A Bronx bike rider is a hero after retrieving a woman’s stolen purse, then riding off before she could thank him. No word on whether he left a silver bike chainlink behind.
A Brit cyclist born with just one arm is raising funds to buy a prosthetic arm so he can compete in the Paralympic Games; a Go Fund Me account has raised a little more than half of the £7,500 goal, the equivalent of $9157.
According to the paper, Marsh attempting to make a left turn from Navajo onto Highway 74 when a westbound car went through the red light and struck his bicycle; he died at the scene.
The driver sped off without stopping. The suspect vehicle is described only as a dark sedan with possible front-end damage to passenger side and windshield.
Navajo Road ends at Highway 74 with a double left turn lane controlled by a red light, while Highway 74 has two lanes in each direction with a painted center divider. The road has a 45 mph speed limit, but its straight-open design could encourage higher speeds, especially at that hour.
This is the 64th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the tenth in Riverside County; that compares with ten in the county for all of last year. Marsh is also the fifth bike rider to be killed in Perris in just the last three years.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Steven Marsh and all his loved ones.
October 24, 2016 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Morning Links: Caltrans meeting Tues, driver chases cyclist onto bike path, and plants close LA River bike path
Bobby Peppey sends news of a couple bike-related developments from Caltrans.
First up is a short survey — available in English and Spanish — regarding the state transportation department’s shift from a strictly motor vehicle-focused agency to planning for an “integrated multi-modal transportation network (including walking, biking, transit and driving) that meets the needs of all users.”
Next, he reminds us that Caltrans will host a public meeting and webinar tomorrow afternoon to discuss the latest developments on SoCal projects and gather public input.
He notes that the last meeting was filled with government bureaucrats who showed little sympathy for bicyclists and other vulnerable road users; in fact, he says he was the only person in the room who wasn’t paid to be there.
As he puts it,
I brought up the intransigence of Los Angeles City Councilmember’s towards building a safe, comfortable system of bicycle infrastructure in our City at the last meeting and hope to not be the only one doing so at the October 25 the meeting.
Let’s hope he’s not.
………
Speaking of Caltrans, Richard Masoner of Cyclelicious forwards news that bikes will be barred from Camp Pendleton for the coming week, although riders will still be allowed on the 5 Freeway.
………
A rider connecting with the Rio Hondo trail in Rosemead was literally chased onto the trail by a road raging pickup driver, who was only stopped by the bollards at the entrance to the path.
All, apparently, because the cyclist had the audacity to make a left turn into the crosswalk leading to the path by legally using the left turn lane, which did not delay the driver behind him by a fraction of a second.
The rider, identified only as Askeee, notes that he aggravated the situation by flipping off the driver after he honked at him, asking “since when is that an acceptable reason for vehicular assault?”
To which the answer would be, at least since police blamed me for the road raging driver who plowed into my rear wheel after I flipped her off when she angrily honked at me like that.
(Lesson #1: Never flip off the driver behind you.)
Even though that would never be considered an excuse for any other form of assault with a deadly weapon. No one would think it’s okay if someone pulled out a gun and shot the other person after being given the bird, yet the simple fact of being behind the wheel seems to make it okay.
Let’s hope he filed a police report. And that the police take it seriously this time.
Which does not explain why no notice was given, or why no one seems to give a damn about the needs of bike riders who use it.
At least the Corps promises LADOT has installed a detour path and signage. Which, based on what they offered last year, will likely be just as confusing, circuitous and impractical as ever.
Richard Risemberg writes about the impending departure of Michelle Mowery from LADOT to work on the LA River bike path. Maybe she could start by convincing the Army Corps of Engineers to keep it open a little more often.
A pair of Minnesota cities are declaring their DIY bikeshare systems a success; the systems make refurbished bicycles available to anyone for free, no ID necessary; surprisingly, 85% of the bikes were returned last year.
The driver of a stolen car was arrested after deliberately trying to run down a Philadelphia bike cop; fortunately, the officer was uninjured, though his bike appears to have seen better days.
Just a brief follow-up to the recent story about a woman who was seriously injured in a collision with a cyclist on the LA River Bike Path in Elysian Valley.
Still no details to explain what happened. However, the LACBC’s Colin Bogart forwards word that the rider did in fact stop after the wreck and cooperated with the police in their investigation.
So this was not a case of two-wheeled hit-and-run, as had been implied in earlier reports.
His cars won multiple victories at the Daytona 24 Hours, as well as two podium finishes at Le Mans. I’m told he also partnered on a car that won a $10 million Progressive XPrize for building a lightweight 100 mph car.
A GoFundMe page has raised nearly $14,000 to help defray his medical expenses.
A 19-year old woman is in critical condition after her bike was rear-ended by the driver of a pickup in Torrance Wednesday night; the driver was arrested on suspicion of driving while stoned.
A San Diego bicyclist was seriously injured when he was hit by an SUV in Mission Bay Park; the rider was making a left turn when he swerved in front of the oncoming vehicle, which police say had the right-of-way.
The Bay Area Bike Share system brings greater equity to bikeshare by reducing their first year annual membership to just five dollars for low income people, while allowing them to pay in cash instead of credit cards.
Chinese electronics giant LeEco is bringing what they call the world’s first super bike to the US. The 30-speed bike with built-in lighting comes complete with an Android touchscreen and fingerprint scanner; no word on US prices yet. Thanks to Adam Ginsburgh for the tip.
Now that’s something to look forward to. A 100-year old Memphis bridge spanning the Mississippi River will be converted to a bike bridge, a key link in a planned bikeway running from Memphis to New Orleans. With any luck, I’ll be the first one in line with my bike when it opens; thanks to Bob Young for the link.
Sometimes, doing the right thing turns out wrong; a Philadelphia bike rider was shot when he tried to stop an armed robbery; he’s expected to survive despite being shot four or five times. Meanwhile, an 18-year old bike rider was fatally gunned down following an argument, and another man was seen walking off with his bicycle afterwards.
Belize cycling champ Marlon Castillo pled guilty to a reduced charge of causing death by careless conduct in the 2011 death of fellow cyclist Ariel Rosado in a traffic collision.
A driver on Prince Edward Island insists that modern bike riders ride wherever the hell they want, jumping from one side of the road to another, then onto the sidewalk and through the crosswalk against the light.
The Orange County Register is reporting that a 44-year old Stanton woman was killed in a collision Friday night.
According to the paper, Deborah Gresham was riding her bike on Cerritos Ave east of Knott Ave at 7:35 pm when she was stuck by a vehicle. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The male driver, who has not been identified, was arrested on suspicion of vehicular homicide.
Unfortunately, no other information is available at this time. No word on how the crash occurred, or why OC sheriff’s deputies appear to have taken the unusual step of arresting the driver at the scene.
A street view shows a five lane roadway with two lanes in each direction and a center turn lane, with a wide right lane where parking is prohibited.
Given the location east of the intersection, it’s possible that she was rear-ended, or could have been struck by someone entering or leaving a driveway..
This is the 63rd bicycling fatality in Southern California, and the 10th in Orange County; it’s also the third in Stanton in the past four years. That compares with 62 in SoCal this time last year, and 16 in Orange County.
Update: City News Service identifies the driver as Ricardo Hernandez Sandoval, who is being held on $100,000 bond on suspicion of felony hit and run, felony DUI and vehicular manslaughter.
A source in Orange County reports he was followed to his home by horrified witnesses, where he was arrested less than an hour after the crash.
Gresham was in the westbound lanes when she was struck, literally within sight of her home.
Meanwhile, the Orange County Register identifies her as the founder of a Walking Dead fan site on Facebook with 20,000 followers worldwide.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Deborah Gresham and all her loved ones.
The paper reports that the Metro Bike system, currently limited to DTLA, averaged 73 trips per bicycle in the first three months of operation, less than one-sixth that of New York’s Citi Bike bikeshare.
However, it’s doing better than Santa Monica’s Breeze, which averaged just 58 trips per bike in its first three months.
The paper also reports that Metro Bike plans to expand to Pasadena, Venice and the Port of Los Angeles next year, continuing its policy of developing isolated systems, rather than building an interconnected network throughout the city.
But it’s irresponsible to assume the rider was at fault without knowing any details of how it happened, or even if he or she stopped afterwards. And even more irresponsible to call for banning all bikes from the bike path as a result, as members of the Elysian Valley Neighborhood Watch are demanding.
Particularly if this is just the second such collision in three years, as the story suggests. Which would be an enviable record for any shared path.
Shared pathways inevitably pose risks to both bike riders and walkers. Yes, those of us on two wheels have a greater responsibility to watch out for others, since we pose the greater risk.
But we can be the victims of careless pedestrians, just as they can be the victims of careless bicyclists.
The inventor of hidden motors in racing bicycles accuses UCI, bike racing’s governing body, of blocking tests for motor doping at this year’s Tour de France.
People often quit cycling because of a wreck with a car; a 76-year old Santa Monica man got into bicycling because of one; he took up master’s bike racing after he was hit by a car while walking, ending his career as a power lifter.
The Wall Street Journal highlights some of the 87 bicycles from the collection of the late Marin County resident Robin Williams that are being auctioned this week; VeloNews lists their five favorite bikes from the collection. I’ll take the Soviet team bike, thank you; thanks to George Wolfberg for the heads-up.
London business leaders say the solution to managing traffic is to rip out the bike lanes, drop the congestion charge, and let motor vehicles run amok. In other words, continue the same outdated policies that got them into this mess.
A group of Muslim women in Australia ride each week to overcome fear caused by “negative Islamic rhetoric” and show that they’re the same as any other women.
October 12, 2016 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Morning Links: Woman injured by cyclist in Elysian Valley, and sidewalk cyclist injured in WeHo right hook
My apologies for the continued lack of email notifications for subscribers. We’re still working on it.
………
This is why you always have to ride carefully around pedestrians.
This past Saturday, a senior citizen, a mother, grandmother, active member of the Jardin del Rio Community Garden and a beautiful EV neighbor sustained life threatening injuries while on her morning exercise walk on the Elysian Valley Pedestrian/Bike path. She is said to have been struck from behind by a speeding cyclist at or around 8:00 AM, near the Riverdale Ave. street access to the path. Minutes ago, I visited her at the USC Medical Center with her son, where she is in ICU (intensive care unit) with head injuries that have her intubated and with a “no bone flap on right side” of her skull.
The Elysian Valley Neighborhood watch has called for safety on the path and necessary City correction from the inception of the bike path, a flawed design that neglected area historical pedestrian use and that today has a beloved neighbor battling for her life. The decision by City officials to favor the cycling community and to respond to area calls for safety improvements with bandaid approaches makes the city complicit in this injuries and grossly negligent.
Unfortunately, there’s no word on whether the rider stopped following the collision, or just fast he or she was actually traveling.
It’s always possible the victim may have stepped into the path of the rider without looking, something familiar to many of us who have used shared pathways.
But regardless, it’s up to all of us to ride in a safe and careful manner around pedestrians, to slow down and give them as much passing room as we’d expect from a motor vehicle. And give some kind of audible warning before passing to avoid tragedies like this, whether it’s “passing on your left” or a cheerful “good morning.”
Because this is what can happen if we don’t.
However, the writer goes on to call for immediately closing the bike path to cyclists until improvements are made — even though no one would ever demand all cars be banned from a street if a driver hit someone.
Let’s hope this woman pulls through, and makes a full and fast recovery.
And that the local community will work with bicyclists to find solutions that will benefit everyone.
Thanks to Patrick Pascal and Colin Bogart for the heads-up.
This should be a reminder to always use extreme caution when entering an intersection if you’re riding on the sidewalk. Or better yet, ride in the street; statistics show you’re actually safer on the roadway where you’re more visible to everyone.
………
You’d think for $12,000, the wheels would stay on.
DTLA’s Metro Bike Share will expand to Pasadena next summer with at least 400 bikes in 34 stations; however, most of those stations will be south of the 210 Freeway, potentially underserving the poorer communities to the north.
The Daily Breeze reports on Palos Verdes Estates’ decision to overrule the PVE Traffic Safety Committee and not place “Bikes May Use Full Lane” signs on the city’s streets, saying it would cause confusion since they aren’t posted in other cities on the peninsula. Even though those signs only clarify to drivers what bicyclists are already allowed to do under state law.
Construction has been completed on the fully separated bike path on the east span of San Francisco’s Bay Bridge, although it won’t open for another few weeks. And even though it only goes halfway across the bay.
The Minneapolis Bike Coalition questions whether bicyclists are being stopped for biking while black, after stats show nearly half of the tickets written to cyclists went to black riders in the overwhelming white city.
Unbelievable. Police blame a Canadian cyclist after he’s hit by a city road patching truck, even though he was walking his bike in a crosswalk after suffering a double flat.
An Irish writer says she nearly killed three cyclists in just the last week because they were dressed in black and riding dark bikes, insisting it’s a disgrace that helmets and reflective vests aren’t mandatory. She’s got a point about riding with lights, although if she’s had that many close calls in a single week, the problem may not be with the people on the bicycles.
The head of Ireland’s no-frills Ryanair goes off on cyclists once again, ranting that Dublin’s city council had destroyed the city center through “nonsensical pandering to bloody cyclists;” it was only five months ago he said cyclists should be shot.
Britain’s Duchess of Cambridge visits an American-style bike co-op in the Netherlands, helping kids work on a bike wheel despite her haute couture outfit.
Thanks to Samuel Kuruts for his generous donation to support this site. If everyone who visits this site today donated just $10, it would fund BikinginLA for a full year.
Sadly, the bike rider who died of a heart attack during the Long Beach Marathon on Sunday was a well-known member of the South Bay cycling community, and a board member of Lightening Velo.
CiclaValley discusses the conflict between bicyclists needing a safe place to ride on Forest Lawn Drive and people parking in the bike lane near the Mount Sinai cemetery for the High Holidays.
A German filmmaker offers a documentary about the battle over the Burbank Mariposa bridge and the ongoing efforts of equestrians to keep bike riders the hell off it. Thanks to Doug Weiskopf for the link.
BikeSGV reports the Pasadena city council will vote on the Union Ave protected bikeway at their 4pm meeting today. So if you live, work or ride in the area, be sure to attend the meeting to support safer bikeways.
KPCC asks if California’s roads are ready for recreational marijuana, which appears likely to be approved by California voters next month. There shouldn’t be any major issues beyond what we already face; afterall, anyone who wants dope can get it now by claiming some sort of physical problem. Like nausea caused by the presidential campaign, for instance.
A Rochester NY pastor could soon be jumping through flames again; his prayers were answered when someone returned the 80 pound, custom-made bicycle he lost when it fell off his rack as he drove home from an August performance. On the other hand, riding through flames without divine intervention probably isn’t the best idea.
Philadelphia police are looking for a bike-riding man suspected of attacking two prostitutes in recent days; he is believed to be the same man who killed one woman and attacked another earlier this year.
A little windshield bias from Romania, where cyclists are blamed for causing 630 collisions since the first of the year. However, they fail to mention what percentage of bike crashes that represents, implying that the people on two wheels caused all of them, which is highly unlikely.
Thanks to Vincent Malgren and John P. Lynch for their generous donations to support this site. If everyone who visits this site today donated just $10, it would fund BikinginLA for a full year.
………
On a personal note, thanks to everyone who expressed concern for the Corgi; she’s doing a little better, and seems to be on the road to recovery after a full weekend on the extreme weight loss plan.
The Long Beach Press-Telegram is reporting that a man apparently died as a result of what was described as a major medical emergency during the bicycle segment of today’s Long Beach Marathon.
According to the paper, the man, who has not been publicly identified, suffered a cardiac arrest while riding near the intersection of Ocean Blvd and Prospect Ave in Belmont Shore at 6:30 am Sunday.
Despite the effort of paramedics, he was pronounced dead after being transported to a local hospital.
No other information is available at this time.
This is the 62nd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 25th in Los Angeles County.
Update: News like this is always tragic; it somehow seems even worse when it’s someone who’s well known in the cycling community.
While the victim still has not been publicly identified, I received the following email from Richard Rosenthal Monday evening.
I was on the ride with my girlfriend, and we both witnessed the paramedics giving CPR to a cyclist on ground. It really shook my up, as he was a older man in full kit, much as I am. It was on my mind the remainder of the ride, and when I found out Monday morning that the cyclist had died I was even more shaken.
The news just got worse for me personally. I found out that the deceased was my friend Steve Hernandez. We both served together on the Board of Directors of Lightning Velo in Long Beach. Steve was one of the kindest people I have ever met….an imposing bear of a man with long hair and beard, but his personality couldn’t have been more opposite. Always quick with a smile and a laugh, he was one of the most beloved members of our club, and he will be missed sorely.
Update: The LA County coroner’s office confirms his identity as 59-year old Steven Hernandez.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Steve Hernandez and his family.
Thanks to Danny Gamboa and Richard Rosenthal for the heads-up.
