Archive for Legal Cases

Bush-hiding hit-and-run driver gets 6 years; Highland Park road-rager guilty of assault with deadly weapon

March 13, 2012 / / 6 comments

More news on SoCal’s very crowded court dockets.

San Diego hit-and-run driver Julianne Elyse Thomson — famed for hiding under the bushes while her victim died in the street — was sentenced to a well-deserved six years in state prison.

Thomson had pled guilty in January to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and hit-and-run causing death. She had a blood-alcohol level of .25 — over three times the legal limit — when she killed 64-year old Arthur John Jacobs as he rode to work on July 27th of last year.

Meanwhile, bike riding attorney Ross Hirsch — who wrote the definitive explanation of L.A.’s new cyclist anti-harassment ordinance — reports that Highland Park road rage driver Louis Mraz has been convicted on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon.

Mraz was charged with deliberately running down cyclist Winona Wacker after a confrontation on Avenue 50, then fleeing the scene.

Not surprisingly, perhaps, it wasn’t his first time. But he still had the unbelievable chutzpah — or sheer hatred of anyone on two wheels — to publicly argue against bike lanes on North Figueroa avenue while facing charges for assaulting Wacker.

Now that’s major huevos. And not in a good way.

Hirsch reports that Mraz was acquitted on charges of hit-and-run and causing grave bodily injury. Sentencing is scheduled for March 26th; no word yet on what sentence he may face, but Hirsch suggests that Mraz is likely to serve his time in county lockup rather than state prison.

Update: The Highland Park and Eagle Rock editions of Patch have picked up the story, reporting that Mraz could face anything from a $10,000 fine to up to four years behind bars.

According to the California Penal Code “any person who commits an assault upon the person of another with a deadly weapon or instrument other than a firearm or by any means of force likely to produce great bodily injury shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or four years, or in a county jail for not exceeding one year, or by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both the fine and imprisonment.”

……..

A California legislator introduces a bill that would add a $2 surcharge to the price of every bike sold to maintain bike trails and paths within the state park system; in other words, a tax on all cyclists for trails most will never ride.

Personally, I have no problem with the concept, as long as the money doesn’t go into to state’s general fund where we’d never see it again, and is restricted for use exclusively on bike projects.

But why not make it half-a-percent, so the people who can afford high-end bikes pay a little more, while someone who can only afford a cheap bike pays a minimal amount. Then use for bikeways throughout the state, rather than just state parks.

If nothing else, it would shut up the misinformed bike haters who insist we have to pay our own way. Even though we’re already paying theirs.

Meanwhile, a writer in the Washington Post asks why should we?

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The Examined Spoke takes the father of Vehicular Cycling to task, and shows what might have been. Clearly, a UK writer is no fan, and Bike Snob doesn’t appear to be either.

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Somehow I missed this study last year, showing that more bikeways equals more bike riders, even when adjusting for other factors. However, it doesn’t say if more cyclists cause more bikeways, or the other way around.

My guess is it works both ways.

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Bike Radar interviews the LACBC’s Alexis Lantz about the new county bike plan. Turns out it’s not hard to get a permit to block a bike lane, if you actually apply for it. CicLAvia’s Joe Linton talks bike lanes and car-free Sundays. New bike lanes are coming to San Vicente Blvd in West Hollywood. Taking up the car-free lifestyle in Long Beach. Ventura County cyclists will get a new beachfront bike path along Highway 101 south of Carpinteria in a few years. Sadly, a long-time Solvang bike activist passes away just days before his 99th birthday. Evidently, Santa Barbara has a bike shop desert. A Bakersfield cyclist was killed crossing a road on Friday. A Montebello salmon cyclist is lucky to end up with just a broken ankle after getting hit by a van heading the wrong way on a one way street. Turns out that Rear Adm. Dixon Smith, the new commander of the Navy’s Southwest Region is one of us. It’s bad enough we have to dodge drivers, now we have to watch out for cows, too. PayPal Executive Eric Salvatierra was killed while walking his bike on Menlo Park railroad tracks on Friday. Union Pacific runs cyclists off a de facto bike park. Three years probation and 500 hours of community service for the San Francisco cyclist who killed a pedestrian while running a red light; if a driver had killed a cyclist under similar circumstances, we’d be screaming for his head.

Studies show active kids are smarter kids. Automakers say if you’re going to make us fight distracted driving, you need to stop smartphone makers, too; a good read on why drivers hate cars. A popular Seattle bicycle mechanic died after being hit by a car on his way to work. Don’t try this at home; a Chicago cyclist chases down and tackles a purse snatcher. Ohio bike volunteers are sued for practicing engineering without a license for offering advice on improving safety. Early ‘60s rockabilly singer Terry Teen was killed while riding his bike in Texas last week. No surprise as former president George W. Bush declines to participate in the Dallas Ride of Silence. Court records finally explain why the NYPD didn’t charge the hit-and-run driver who killed cyclist Mathieu Lefevre. Ex-framebuilder Dave Moulton offers an interesting comparison of 1950s and modern bike design.

Two years after being injured in a collision, a Vancouver cyclist is sued by the driver that hit him for damaging her car; no really. A Toronto Councilor brags that he would kick a bike courier’s ass if he wasn’t an elected official; maybe he shouldn’t be one. London traffic engineers were ordered to ignore cyclists in planning traffic capacity at a killer intersection. A new interactive map allows UK cyclists to pinpoint areas that need improvement. Bradley Wiggins kicks off the European season with a win in the Paris – Nice Classic; Santa Rosa’s Levi Leipheimer crashed out of competition. The Telegraph asks if Wiggo is the best rider Great Britain has ever produced. Volvo introduces the first air bag to protect people outside of the car — like cyclists and pedestrians. Even Dubai cyclists are getting a new bike plan, including dedicated cycle tracks integrated into all Metro stations; be nice to see that kind of planning in L.A. Green Party politicians say bikes and trucks don’t mix in a dangerous Australian intersection. Taiwan could rival The Netherlands as a bicycle paradise.

Finally, change your mind, change your gears, as a new Toyota Prius bike allows you to shift by thinking — as long as your iPad is strapped to your chest; since it was reported by Fox News, you can blame Obama if it doesn’t work.

And you might recognize the last caller on Patt Morrison’s KPCC segment on the job prospects for Gen Y, identified only as Charlie from Long Beach.

Category: Bikes & the Law, Legal Cases / Tags: , , , , , ,

A cold-hearted killer driver — and her father — goes to jail, yet justice seems hollow

March 7, 2012 / / 5 comments

Today it became final.

A little over 10 months after 17-year old high school student Alex Romero was run down in a high speed hit-and-run — and long after many of us had given up on seeing justice in this case — Dominique Rush was sentenced to prison for leaving him to die in the street.

Fortunately, the police never gave up — despite the efforts of her father to hide evidence linking Dominique to the crime. He was also sentenced to jail Tuesday for having the car repaired, then sent to a junkyard to keep it hidden from police.

Frankly, I don’t know which disturbs me more.

A young woman snuffing out the life of a popular and promising young man, then fleeing like a cold-blooded coward. Or a father who goes out of his way to help his daughter avoid responsibility.

And don’t even try to pretend that any parent would do the same thing. My father would have marched me into the nearest police station for a lot less than that.

As reported here by cyclist and attorney Dj Wheels, Dominique and her father accepted a plea deal in January that will put her behind bars for two years and eight months for vehicular manslaughter and leaving the scene, while father Steven Rush will serve just 10 days in jail as an accessory after the fact.

According to Wheels, Dominique was given credit for time served and good behavior, slicing over 300 days off her sentence. The L.A. Daily News notes her time will be served in county jail as part of the state’s prison realignment program.

In addition to 10 days in jail, Steven was sentenced to three years in jail and 30 days of community service. Hopefully, he’ll do his service somewhere he can see the results of drivers like his daughter, so the magnitude of his actions may actually sink in.

Wheels, who was in the courtroom Tuesday, reports that it was very painful and emotional to listen to the testimony from family members, who showed 20 minutes of family photos. He says Dominique wept openly during the slideshow, while her father showed little emotion.

KCBS-2 reports that Dominique offered a tearful apology.

“I’ll never be able to forgive myself,” said Rush. “And I’m sorry for all the pain that I caused his family.”

Bizarrely, KCBS also reports that, despite their actions, Stephen insisted that there was no attempt to coverup the crime.

Her father also apologized. “IT was never our intention to hide, or stay away from anything,” he said.

Nice to know they weren’t trying to hide anything in the four months police were searching for the driver and the car they had junked after having it repaired.

According to KCBS, Romero’s mother considers the sentences punishment fair for the crimes committed.

I don’t.

Less than three years seems like a very generous sentence for taking the life of another human being, then fleeing the scene and trying to destroy the evidence. But that just goes to show how lenient our traffic laws are, especially when it comes to hit-and-run.

And just 10 days for the attempted coverup is an inexplicable gift for which her father should be eternally grateful.

Alex received the death penalty for their actions.

And his family suffered a loss in their hearts and lives that can never be filled.

Thanks to the LAPD and all the officers involved in this investigation, as well as the prosecutors who helped get justice for the Romero family. The Rushes are behind bars tonight because the police refused to give up on this case.

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A group of cyclists lead by leading L.A. bike advocate Roadblock met with the L.A. Police Commission Tuesday morning to request that hit-and-run collisions involving cyclists and pedestrians be taken more seriously by police.

And yes, I was one of them, along with the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition staff member Bobby Gadda, to represent the LACBC. As well more than a dozen others who took time out of their day to fight for greater safety on our streets.

The Commissioners and Chief Beck were very receptive, and have asked for specific examples of cases where people feel the police weren’t responsive enough or didn’t take their case seriously.

If you were the victim of a hit-and-run and weren’t satisfied with the police response, let me know and I’ll forward your story to the right people in the department. You can find my email address on the About BikingInLA page.

Update: Bicycle Fixation’s Richard Risemberg forwards news of yet another violent hit-and-run, in which a 91-year old woman was critically injured in Lincoln Heights, and left lying  in the street by the heartless coward behind the wheel.

Evidently, the was operating two vehicles at once, as the Times reports police are looking for a white Toyota or beige Honda Accord with a cracked windshield and front bumper damage. The driver is described as a Latina between between 53 and 58 years old, weighing around 170 pounds.

This has got to stop.

Category: Bikes & the Law, Legal Cases / Tags: , , , ,

Two killer drivers — one stays at the scene and gets four years, one flees and gets no jail time

February 29, 2012 / / 2 comments

So let me get this straight.

A woman with 16 previous tickets runs down a cyclist while texting and drunk, and gets off with just four years.

Evidently, Danae Marie Miller got an early birthday gift. Although I’m sure she doesn’t think so.

Miller plead guilty on Tuesday to a single count of felony vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence while intoxicated. She had been facing a maximum sentence of 10 years in state prison; she accepted a plea deal for less than half of that.

Her victim, Amine Britel, a world-class triathlete as well as a popular local businessman, was riding in the bike lane on San Joaquin Road just east of Spyglass Hill Road in Newport Beach last February 21st when he was run down from behind by Miller’s car — just one year and one week from the day of her sentencing.

Why she was even on the road that night is question our lenient traffic courts will have to answer. Or would, if anyone was paying enough attention to ask the right questions.

In the six years between 2005 and 2011, Miller received six tickets for speeding or driving too fast for conditions, as well as tickets for driving the wrong way on a one-way street, failure to stop at the stop sign and two tickets for talking on a cell phone while driving.

A record like that should have been more than enough to get her off the road. If the courts had actually taken her obvious refusal to obey basic traffic laws seriously, a gifted athlete might still be alive today.

Instead, she was allowed to keep driving until she killed someone. Now her license has finally been revoked for three years as part of her sentence.

Just a tad too late, I’d say.

Despite initially claiming that she hadn’t been drinking, Miller had a BAC of over .10 nearly two hours after the collision after getting off work at the Zinc Café in Corona del Mar. And despite claiming that she never texts while driving, records showed that she had been texting just moments before killing Britel — though not, apparently, when she actually hit him.

Evidently, you’re not considered legally distracted unless you text WTF! at the exact moment you kill someone.

According to an anonymous source who attended the sentencing, the real surprise was that the two families seemed to be supportive of one another at the conclusion of the case, despite earlier anger.

The surprise in the Miller case is that the families, Miller’s and Britel’s, were amicable after the sentencing, talking with each other in the courthouse hallway. After the daggers I saw fly at Miller from the two members of the Britel’s family who had shown up at the prelim last December, I certainly would never have expected this, especially after the oral impact statements provided to the judge before sentencing. Miller’s family, however, had been very supportive of her, showing up at all her court appearances, so maybe this support will give her a shot at redemption, a chance to be a useful, productive, harmless member of society in the future; even Britel’s family seems to be hoping for this.

We can hope.

Danae Miller is just 23 years old, and spent Tuesday night in the Orange County Jail pending transfer to state prison. With good behavior, she could be back on the streets in a few years.

Whether she will have learned her lesson by then remains to be seen.

Her birthday is in a few weeks; she’ll celebrate it behind bars. Hopefully, she’ll appreciate the early gift she got in court on Tuesday.

Thanks to Jeffrey Fylling and David Huntsman for the heads-up.

Update: I neglected to mention that two civil suits have been filed against Miller for the death of Amine Britel; they were recently consolidated into a single case.

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In yet another example of our courts coddling killer drivers, the same anonymous source tells me that Renato Demartino entered a surprise guilty plea on Tuesday for the hit-and-run death of 22-year old Marco Acuapan.

Acuapan was also riding in a marked bike lane, on Walnut Avenue near Browning Avenue, on November 17, 2010 when he was rear-ended by red 2010 Mustang. The driver, later identified as Demartino, fled the scene, leaving his victim lying in the street with severe head injuries.

Acuapan was taken to a hospital in critical condition, where he remained in a coma until his death last April.

According to my source, Demartino was sentenced to just two years in state prison. And even that was stayed, meaning he is unlikely to spend a single night in jail.

Thankfully, his license was revoked for three years, since the court saw fit to let him out.

Seriously, he killed a man and fled the scene. And didn’t even get a slap on the wrist for heartlessly leaving another human being to die in the streets.

May I politely ask what the f*** is wrong with our legal system?

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One brief bit of good news.

The County of Los Angeles now has a shiny new bike plan, as the Board of Supervisors passes it on a vote of four to zero; Supervisor Mike Antonovich abstained because of questions about funding the plan.

And a planned Altadena bike boulevard was given teeth when the Supervisors voted to require traffic calming measures, rather than merely allowing as called for in the plan.

Category: Bikes & the Law, Legal Cases / Tags: , , , , , , ,

Breaking news — Dominique and Stephen Rush accept a plea deal in hit-and-run death of Alex Romero

January 28, 2012 / / 9 comments

Big news on the legal front.

According to courtroom reports from cyclist and attorney Dj Wheels, Dominique Rush, the driver charged with the hit-and-run death of 17-year old cyclist Alex Romero, will spend the next few years behind bars.

Wheels, who was in the courtroom for today’s preliminary hearing, reports the 23-year old Rush entered a plea of No Contest to charges of gross vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run.

Her father, Steven Rush, also entered a plea of No Contest to being an accessory after the fact for his efforts in helping his daughter cover-up her crime.

Romero was riding north along De Soto Avenue with a friend on the night of April 20th when he was struck by a speeding car near the intersection with Valerio Street. The driver, later identified as Rush, reportedly tried to pass another vehicle on the right, striking Romero’s bike from behind and killing him instantly before speeding off without stopping or slowing down.

That began a months-long investigation in which the police soon identified Rush as the suspect, but were unable to find the 2003 Toyota Corolla she’d been driving at the time.

According to the police, that difficulty was due, at least in part, to her father’s efforts. As KNBC-4 reported at the time of the arrest,

“The father went way beyond taking care of his child,” said Capt. Ivan Minsal of LAPD Valley Traffic Division. “He concealed the information. He concealed the car that his daughter, the driver, was driving.”

Now they’ll both have to pay for their crimes.

Wheels reports that Dominique will be sentenced to two years and eight months in prison on March 6th, while her father will receive 10 days in jail, along with 30 days on a Caltrans road crew.

I hope he works on a roadway where he’ll have to watch a lot of cyclists go by.

And yes, that sentence is a relative slap on the wrist for running down another human being and leaving him to die in the street where he fell. Maybe someday someone can explain to me how anyone could do that to another person.

Anyone with a heart, anyway.

But it may be the best prosecutors could do under the circumstances.

The fact is, this is one case the police didn’t give up on. Maybe it was pressure from the cycling community. Or maybe it was dedication to their jobs, and a commitment to keep going until they had the guilty party behind bars.

The LAPD investigators in charge of this case kept at it long after they could have given up and pushed it off the back burner. And long after many of us had given up on this case.

That they didn’t says a lot about them.

And the gratitude we all owe them on Alex’ behalf.

Wheels reports that his aunt Matilda addressed the court, saying Alex was a precious gift from God, and asking Dominique to repent. He says Dominique cried during the aunt’s comments, while Steven was tearful but composed.

I’m sure they’ll shed more tears in the days and years to come.

But it won’t begin to compare with the tears that have already been shed by Romero’s family and friends.

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A couple other notes from Dj Wheels.

He reports that Jeffrey Ray Adams, the road raging driver charged with intentionally cutting off a cyclist in Santa Monica — then ranting about it as the camera rolled — had a preliminary hearing last Friday. The court found there was enough evidence to take the case before a jury; he’ll have a felony arraignment in a couple of weeks.

And a restitution hearing was held Tuesday in the case of Jaclyn Andrea Garcia, the underage driver charged with nearly killing cyclist Adam Rybicki last April when she collided with a group of Sunday morning riders while still drunk from the night before.

She may have gotten off with a slap on the wrist at her sentencing. But the judge lowered the boom in assigning restitution, ordering Garcia to pay $16,162,239.24.

Yes, that’s 16 million, one-hundred-sixty-two-thousand, two-hundred-thirty-nine dollars. And twenty-four cents change.

On top of that, she was ordered to pay 10% annual interest until the amount is paid in full.

Although I suspect they might be willing to write off that last 24 cents.

Which means that unless she’s phenomenally successful, Garcia will likely be working for the Rybickis for the remainder of her life. And that is a heavy price to pay for a night of youthful stupidity.

Yet it doesn’t begin to make up for what Garcia has put Adam Rybicki and his family through.

Speaking of Adam, Jim Lyle sends word that he continues to make slow, steady progress in recovery from his injuries. And that he’s back on a bike — even if it is a stationary bike in rehab.

That’s a lot more than most of us would have expected — or even dared to hope — just nine months ago. He’s clearly one tough, determined guy, with a support circle that refuses to give up.

I hope you’ll join me in offering my best wishes and prayers for Adam and his family for a full recovery. 

Category: Bikes & the Law, Legal Cases / Tags: , , , , , , ,

Innovative insights to prevent bike theft, DUI hit-and-run fire captain found drunk behind bars

January 25, 2012 / / 4 comments

There’s no shortage of advice on how to keep your bike from being stolen.

But it’s rare that someone offers insight that goes much beyond using a U-lock, locking your rear triangle or parking in a public place where your bike can be seen.

That’s why I was surprised when I was forwarded an email written by cyclist and former LAPD officer Craig White.

In it, White was responding to a recent rash of bikes stolen from garages on the Westside and the San Fernando Valley. And offering advice that goes far beyond anything I’ve encountered before.

For instance, he points out that many roll-up garage doors have windows at the top. The middle window can be punched out, providing easy access to the door mechanism and allowing thieves to reach inside and release the door so it can be pulled up. And then they’re free to walk right in — and right out with your bike.

The solution? Simply use a zip tie to secure the door mechanism so it can’t be pulled down and released.

Another prevention tool he suggests is to get an inexpensive hotel door alarm that alerts you if someone tries to enter your room. And hang it on an inconspicuous place on your bike, so it will sound if someone tries to move it, alerting you and possibly scaring the thief away.

It’s a cheap enough solution that I intend to get one and carry it with me for when I have to lock up my bike.

And of course, using a cable lock to secure your bike even when you park it inside.

After all, every extra bit of security helps.

Then there’s the question of how thieves know which bikes to steal, and which homes have bikes worth stealing.

White points the finger at the Garmin on your handlebars. He’s heard reports that thieves can track your GPS signal when they spot you riding and follow that signal to your home. Or hack your Stava or Garmin account to figure out where you live.

Likely? Maybe not.

Possible? Absolutely.

The simple solution is to make sure the info on your accounts is not public.

He also adds a suggestion I’ve made a number of times. Make sure you’ve recorded your serial number in a secure place — and keep a current photo of your bike the way it looks now, especially if you’ve made any changes recently.

And I’d take if a step further by encouraging you to register your bike. Bike Shepherd offers free lifetime registration, with tamperproof ID stickers available at REI for just $15.

Or you could just do what I’ve done for the last few decades, by keeping your bike securely inside your home — not your garage — when you’re not riding. And always keeping it within reach when you are.

Of course, that’s not always practical if you’re using your bike for transportation.

Which is why I now own a U-lock the size of a small SUV.

Thanks to my friends at GEKLaw for the heads-up.

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Now this is just sad. If not pathetic.

Not too long ago, we were criticizing the apparent slap on the wrist given former Long Beach fire caption John David Hines.

Now it’s looking like he is a very sick man. And on his way to a long stint in state prison.

As you may recall, Hines was convicted for the drunken hit-and-run that severely injured cyclist Jeffrey Gordon in Seal Beach last April 1st, after spending the entire morning drinking in a Long Beach bar. He was arrested after witnesses followed him to his home, where police found him wearing urine-soaked pants, with a blood alcohol level of .24 — two hours after he left the bar.

Yet despite pleading guilty to driving under the influence, driving with a blood alcohol level in excess of .08, and hit-and-run, as well as sentencing enhancements for having a BAC over .20 and causing great bodily injury, he received just one year in the relatively plush pay-to-stay city jail in Huntington Beach.

A jail that actually lied — repeatedly — about his presence when our anonymous source called to confirm that he was staying there, I might add.

The judge suspended a much tougher sentence of five in state prison on the condition that Hines keep his nose clean.

He didn’t.

Last week, his jailers noticed Hines wobbling. And discovered he had a BAC of .22 — behind bars. And that he got the booze by filtering liquid hand sanitizer through salt to filter out the alcohol.

Now there’s a party trick for you.

And that was after a stint in rehab.

He’s now locked up in county jail, pending a probation hearing scheduled for March 16th.

That anonymous source also reports that Hines EMT certification has been revoked, along with his ambulance driver’s certificate. And his Class C driver’s license has been suspended until at least April.

It’s not often that I pity a drunk driver. Especially not one who sped off and left innocent victim — the kind he devoted his career to saving — bleeding in the street.

But Hines’s clearly has a serious problem.

Yes, he deserves prison. But he also needs help.

Desperately.

Thanks to Jim Lyle for the tip.

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What should we think about an unarmed man getting shot by Sheriff’s deputies after getting stopped while riding his bike?

Deputies initially attempted to stop 26-year old Christian Cobian for not having a headlight on his bike late Saturday night. He reported responded by dropping his bike and running, then was shot when he reportedly reached into his waistband, making the pursuing officers think he was reaching for a gun.

Maybe it happened exactly that way.

On the other hand, police often have more important things to do than pull over a cyclist for a simple light violation. Which is not to say they never do, but more likely, it was a pretense to stop someone they thought looked suspicious, just as police may pull over a car with a broken tail light as an excuse to look inside.

Or the way some LAPD divisions reportedly used the now repealed bike licensing law as an excuse to stop — some would say harass — bike riders.

The minor traffic violation gives them probable cause to make a traffic stop.

The question is, why did he run?

Most likely, it was because there was a felony narcotics warrant for his arrest. It’s also possible that he might have been holding, though authorities haven’t mentioned any drugs being found on his body or in the immediate area.

And unless they happened to recognize him — which no one has mentioned up to this point — police had no way of knowing he was wanted. Or that he had a record and was on probation for receiving stolen property.

Then there’s the question of why an officer would shoot simply because a suspect reached towards his waist, without determining what he was reaching for first.

Given the current low hung fashions, it’s entirely possible he was just trying to keep his pants from falling down while he ran.

I’m not one to be overly critical of the decisions police have to make in the heat of the moment. Things happen fast, and officers have to make split second decisions that others have the luxury of endlessly analyzing after the fact.

But this one raises a lot of questions.

One of which is whether this should be included in the list of cycling fatalities. My gut reaction is to say no.

Anyone disagree?

Thanks to Erik for the link to the Weekly article.

……..

A study from the Los Angeles County Department of Health shows it will take $40 billion dollars to make the six county region represented by the Southern California Council of Governments (SCAG) safe for cyclists and pedestrians over the next 25 years. The current budget allocates $6 billion — just 1.1% of the total $524.7 billion budget — for biking and walking projects, despite the fact that non-motorized transportation makes up 21% of all trips and 25% of the fatalities in the region.

Meanwhile, the Alliance for Biking and Walking has released their new study Bicycling and Walking in the United States: 2012 Benchmarking Report. Despite a long-held myth that no one walks in L.A., Los Angeles ranks 20th on list of biking and walking cities, and 26th for bike/ped fatalities; California as a whole ranks 19th and 32nd, respectively.

L.A. County takes a tentative first step in fighting the unacceptably high rate of obesity by requiring wider sidewalks and bike parking, while studying other ways to make the county more friendly for the non-motorized.

And Dave Moulton points out the relationship between food diets and road diets.

……..

A couple other quick notes —

Steve Herbert reminds us that new LACBC board member Herbie Huff is a Hollywood star, or Westwood, anyway. Roadblock rides in the King Day parade. Great photos from the recent cyclocross state championships. Maybe women are the real riding experts. Our friend Zeke sends word that Western North Carolina bicyclists are on their way to a new regional bike plan — even if they are dramatically underfunded, like cyclists everywhere. May 9th will mark the first ever National Bike to School Day.

And finally, a Turlock man celebrates his 8oth birthday by riding 103.5 miles.

Seriously, I want to be just like him when I grow up.

Category: Bikes & the Law, Legal Cases, Violence & Crime / Tags: , , , , , , ,

Killer hit-and-run driver who hid in bushes faces six years; swift justice in Monrovia

January 13, 2012 / / 2 comments

The bike justice beat goes on.

It wasn’t that long ago that drivers who killed or maimed cyclists seemed to drive off with barely a slap on the wrist. But lately, there seems to be a steady drumbeat of convictions, even if some drivers still get off far too easy.

Maybe that speaks to the pressure we’ve been applying in our demands for justice.

Or maybe it just speaks to the unacceptably high number of serious cycling cases currently clogging the courts. Or the sheer idiocity of those behind the wheel.

Case in point, Julianne Elyse Thompson was convicted after pleading guilty in a bizarre case in which she ran down and killed 64-year old Arthur John Jacobs in Carlsbad. Then fled the scene at high speed, only to be discovered hiding in the bushes across from an apartment complex where she’d abandoned her car.

Thompson plead guilty to charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and hit-and-run causing death. Her blood alcohol level was measured at 0.25 after her arrest — over three times the legal limit, and approaching the level that can cause death.

She is expected to be sentenced to a well-deserved six years in state prison.

……..

In a case of remarkably swift justice, a driver has already been convicted in a Monrovia hit-and-run that occurred just this past Monday.

Yes, Monday.

Jason Travers was arrested about an hour after a 5:42 pm hit-and-run that left a cyclist with non-life threatening injuries. The 25-year old rider, identified as Paul Tetu, was hit from behind while attempting to make a left turn, and thrown 20 feet through the air.

In a sign of the sheer stupidity demonstrated by some drivers — especially those foolish enough to flee the scene of a collision — Travers called police to report he may have been in a collision, after apparently seeing the story on the news. But swore he wasn’t the one who hit the cyclist.

Needless to say, police investigators found evidence connecting him to the crime. Which they may never have found if Travers hadn’t attempted to craft a case of implausible deniability.

He showed much better judgement at his arraignment on Wednesday, entering a plea of No Contest to the hit-and-run charge; sentencing will take place next month.

……..

Finally, Orange County deputies stopped cars in an effort to find the hit-and-run killer of Randy Isaacs, as his family pleads for justice.

Isaacs was killed after putting his children to bed at his parents house, while riding his son’s bike a few blocks to the room he was renting after separating from his wife.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Bikes & the Law, Injuries and Fatalities, Legal Cases / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Red-light running(?) cyclist killed in San Bernardino; another slap on wrist for killer hit-and-run driver

January 10, 2012 / / 5 comments

Just 10 days into the new year, we’ve already had our second cycling fatality.

According to the Riverside Press-Enterprise, 61-year old San Bernardino resident Bernard F. Culbertson was hit by a vehicle driven by an unlicensed driver while riding at 5:31 Monday morning, and died of his injuries nearly 22 hours later.

Culbertson was reportedly riding without lights an hour before sunrise when he crossed North Waterman Ave headed west on Third Street, and was hit by a car driven by Benito Bustos-Gonzalez of Fontana.

Police report that Bustos-Gonzalez had the green light, suggesting that Culbertson ran the red light; however, there is no indication whether that was observed by independent witnesses or reported by the driver.

It’s a common problem in bike collisions that the victim is killed or incapacitated, and unable to give police their version of events. As a result, barring other witnesses, police are often forced to rely on statements given by the drivers involved, who have an incentive to cast events in the most favorable light.

The paper reports that investigators have not indicated if Bustos-Gonzalez will be charged or ticketed, but notes that jail records show no indication of an arrest.

This is the second fatality in Southern California so far this year, and the first in San Bernardino County.

……..

The Ventura County Star reports that Shannon Richard was sentenced to 270 days in county jail and three years probation for the hit-and-run death of Jose Louis Carmona last year.

That’s significantly less than the two yeas the D.A. had asked for, or even the one year prison and five years probation the probation department had recommended.

Richard hit and killed Carmona as he was walking his bike along PCH near Faria Beach Road; she was arrested at her home after fleeing the scene, reportedly telling police she thought she hit an animal.

Of course, hitting an animal isn’t likely to explain why she felt the need immediately begin drinking again as soon as she returned home, muddying the results of the blood alcohol test after she had admitted drinking a few beers before driving home.

Pro tip: begin drinking as soon as possible following a collision so police won’t be able to establish what your BAC was at the time of the collision.

On the other hand, Carmona was wearing dark clothes with no lights on his bike, with a BAC of .20, and may — or may not — have been walking in the traffic lane at the time of the fatal collision.

……..

Our anonymous OC/South Bay court case reporter writes that the arraignment for Danae Miller in the death of world-class tri-athlete Amine Britel has been pushed back until February 27.

That’s almost exactly one year after Miller ran Britel down while he was riding in a Newport Beach bike lane in allegedly drunken/distracted collision.

……..

That same anonymous source also notes that the “private jail” where Adam Garrett has been allowed to serve his 180 day sentence for the hit-and-run death of Hung Khac Do — when he’s not out for work, school or church — is actually a halfway house in a converted apartment building.

And he’s not actually incarcerated yet, as the judge generously gave him until April 10th to begin his sentence, so he could wait until a spot opens up for him.

And that 180 days actually turns out to be just 90, since the judge generously stayed half of it. And if Garrett keeps his nose clean for just one full year, his felony conviction will be reduced to a misdemeanor.

Slap, meet wrist.

No wonder people continue to die on our streets, and drivers continue to ignore the legal requirement to stop at the scene of a collision, when we can’t even get the courts to take it seriously when an innocent person gets killed.

……..

She also notes that five of the 50 organ donors featured on the Donate Life float in the recent Rose Parade were killed while bicycling. That’s not to say cycling is dangerous; you could just as easily die sitting on your sofa as on your bike.

But no one gets out of this world alive.

And however I go, I want some good to come out of it.

……..

LAist reports that a driver has been arrested on hit-and-run charges after hitting a cyclist in Monrovia last night. Jason Travers allegedly fled after hitting the victim from behind at Violet Ave and Foothill Blvd around 6 pm.

Fortunately, the rider was not seriously injured.

……..

A Colorado driver has been sentenced to eight-years in prison for a fatal hit-and-run — despite beating a DUI charge for the same incident.

Maybe someday California courts will take hit-and-run cases that seriously.

……..

Finally, Bike lawyer Bob Mionske writes about when you need lights on your bike and why. And yet another anti-bike bigot broadcaster, this time a Brit, blathers about his hated of bikes.

Who knew we are responsible for global warming by forcing speeding drivers to actually slow down for a few seconds?

Category: Bicycle Safety, Bikes & the Law, Injuries and Fatalities, Legal Cases / Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Pomona hit-and-run killer arrested, OC Register’s Dan Whiting questioned, and a Westwood pothole fail

December 31, 2011 / / 5 comments

The driver who killed Rafael Perez in a Pomona hit-and-run on Wednesday has turned himself in to the police.

According to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, 67-year old Chino resident Rodger Allen Karcher walked into the Pomona Police Station around 8 pm Thursday. Police speculated that Karcher turned himself in after hearing media coverage of the collision, in which the victim was dragged half a block under Karcher’s SUV.

The Tribune reports that his SUV was also located, and matched the evidence found at the seen.

Karcher was booked on suspicion of hit-and-run causing death, and was being held on $50,000 bail; arraignment is scheduled for Tuesday in Pomona Superior Court.

Yes, that’s a lousy $50,000 for dragging a man half a city block to his death.

And of course, Karcher may — or may not — have been drunk as a skunk when the collision occurred. But if he was, he had plenty of time to sober up in the 26-and-a-half hours before he turned himself in.

Thanks to Opus the Poet for the heads-up.

……..

I’m still hearing from cyclists about David Whiting’s recent columns about bicycling in the Orange County Register.

As I’ve said before, Whiting seems to have his heart in the right place. I have no doubt that he genuinely cares about keeping riders safe, and ending the seemingly eternal conflict between riders and drivers behind the Orange Curtain — one that has contributed to a nearly one a month rate of biking fatalities in the county.

On the other hand, that’s a hell of a lot better than the 21 riders killed on OC streets in 2006, or even the 15 killed the following year.

The problem is that Whiting seems to blame the victims, placing more than our share of responsibility firmly on the helmets and wheels of riders. And interpreting bike laws in an overly conservative manner, including a common misconception that riding two or more abreast is against the law — even though that isn’t mentioned anywhere in the California Vehicle Code.

Mark Loftus, author of the insightful riding website The C-Blog — I particularly like his explanation of why we roadies wear such ridiculous clothes — copied me on an email he sent to Whiting in response to his latest column on bicycling.

I have a quick observation that I was hoping you might see fit to print in the future…

There are several comments from readers included in your piece (referenced above) that go something like this:

  • I saw cyclists doing this (breaking a perceived law).
  • I saw cyclists run this light.
  • I saw a cyclist run that stop sign.
  • I saw cyclists do that.

And then these comments conclude with something akin to:

  • Cyclists should not be allowed on the road.
  • Cyclists should ride on bike paths.

I will not debate the validity of these observations except to say that many comments, on many different websites (not just your article) put out a cyclist “infraction” and it’s not really against the law anyway because the writer apparently doesn’t know/understand the law.

At any rate, why is it, in articles that draw out comments such as these, we don’t see comments also saying:

  • I saw a car driver not stop at a stop sign.
  • I saw a car driver texting while driving.
  • I saw a car driver blocking the whole lane and they wouldn’t let me pass. I had to pass on the shoulder or into oncoming traffic.
  • I saw a car driver run that red light.

And then, these comments could conclude with:

  • Car drivers should not be allowed on the road.

Food for thought, I should think.

Whiting responded positively, indicating that he’s written critically about drivers in the past. And may do so again soon.

Now that’s something I’ll look forward to reading.

……..

Finally, a major Streets Services fail in Westwood.

In the roughly 18 years I’ve lived in this neighborhood, I’ve noticed a repeated problem at the corner of Manning and Ohio Avenues.

A near constant flow of water through the gutter on the west side of the intersection results in a massive recurring pothole undermining the eastbound lane — in fact, you can even see it in this Google satellite photo.

For nearly two decades, I’ve watched as the city would send out a crew to patch the pavement, without ever doing anything about the root cause of the problem. And every time, the patch would only hold for a few months — or in some cases, weeks — before washing out again under the continual barrage of water and traffic.

Never mind that if they figured out where the water was coming from, they might be able to actually solve the problem, and save a fortune in perennial pothole repair.

Maybe they’re finally catching on.

Instead of patching the pothole once again, after doing it yet again just a few months earlier, the city responded by placing warning signs directly over the potholes.

In the middle of the traffic lane.

So instead of investing a few bucks worth of asphalt for yet another temporary fix, they’ve decided to avoid the issue entirely.

And hope drivers manage to avoid the signs placed directly in their path, forcing them to go around by either cutting into the heavily trafficked pedestrian crosswalk on the right. Or cut around the signs on the left by entering the oncoming traffic lane.

Neither of which is a reasonable — or even rational — expectation.

And never mind that the second option places motorists directly in the path of vehicles coming over a blind hill, at an intersection where drivers frequently roll through the stop in all four directions.

And of course, when the inevitable collision occurs, if it hasn’t already, it will be your tax dollars that will pay the city’s share of the damages.

All because some rocket scientist thought putting a warning sign in a traffic lane was a better idea than patching the damn pothole one more time. Let alone finding the problem causing the posthole to keep coming back.

And fixing it.

Best wishes to all for a very healthy, happy and prosperous new year!

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Bikes & the Law, Injuries and Fatalities, Legal Cases, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Dahab arraigned, CA cops under no obligation to investigate or report, and Santa left a bunch of links

December 28, 2011 / / Comments Off on Dahab arraigned, CA cops under no obligation to investigate or report, and Santa left a bunch of links

Catching up on lots of bike and semi-bike related stuff left over from the pre- and post holiday madness.

……..

Cyclist and attorney Dj Wheels attended the arraignment hearing for Christine Dahab, the driver accused in the allegedly drunken/distracted collision that injured 11 or more riders in Culver City last June.

At the arraignment, Dahab’s attorney entered a not guilty plea on her behalf and set a date of January 13, 2012 for a preliminary setting at 8:30am in Dept. 142.

When the issue of setting bail came up the defense attorney suggested the bail NOT be set at the scheduled guideline amount of over 300k and that the court use its discretion in setting bail at an amount between 50-60k, which would be fair considering a number of factors that he says showed that Dahab was not a danger to society nor a flight risk, such as: she has a 7 yr old daughter to care for, she has lived and worked on the Westside of LA her whole life, currently works as a server at a restaurant in Marina Del Rey, the fact that the collision was the result of carelessness and not purposeful intent to harm, she has no prior convictions whatsoever, only had a .07 BAC, police reports indicate that perhaps cyclists were also at fault for being in the roadway and standing under a streetlight that was out.

After a sidebar with the Judge and attorneys, the prosecutor objected citing the numerous serious injuries, the fact that the .07 was recorded hours after the incident occurred and most likely was above the legal limit at the time.  The DA also noted that there were open containers of alcohol in the vehicle as well as empty prescription bottles for medical marijuana and even an empty Yoshinoya cup that also had traces of alcohol in it.  He insisted that the bail be set at the suggested scheduled amount per the guidelines.

Ultimately the judge agreed that bail needed to be set, but not at the amount suggested by defense counsel. So she set it at 100,000. Dahab was taken into custody at the end of the hearing. She had a group of five or six people there with her including what appeared to be a mother and a boyfriend.

Christine Dahab was released after posting a bond on her 100k bail sometime in the early afternoon, according to the Sheriff’s inmate locator page.

Wheels suggests it could take some time for Dahab’s attorney to dig through all the various — and possibly conflicting — reports from the LAPD and CCPD in this case.

So I wouldn’t count on an early resolution.

……..

Meanwhile, Century City bankruptcy attorney and cyclist Stanley E. Goldich sends word that a California court has ruled that police officers are under no obligation to gather information or file a report on a collision — even if they promise the victim they will.

A California Court of appeal ruling relating to a collision between a car and motorcycle on Encinal where the police officer covered up and destroyed the information on the driver of the car who hit the motorcyclist.  The Court held there was no liability because (1) there was no duty to file a report – the CHP Accident Manual requiring filing of a report did not have the force of law, (2) the fact that policeman promised to get the information on the driver and the injured motorcyclist relied on this did not create a special relationship and (3) there was no tort claim for spoliation of evidence because of the immunity of the government.

As Goldich points out, it’s worth knowing that you can’t always rely on the police to get the necessary information following a collision, even if there’s a serious injury.

Actually, it’s kind of scary.

He adds that he stopped at the scene of a recent collision on Ocean Ave in Santa Monica in which a rider in the bike lane was right-hooked by a driver attempting to pull into a parking space.

Since the rider was not seriously injured, the police told Goldich they wouldn’t be filing a report — leaving the cyclist on his own to gather information. And a little too late, since the only witness had already left the scene, and the driver was refusing to admit anything.

Fortunately, the victim had a working GPS which should provide evidence of how the collision occurred. But it’s just another example of how you can’t always count on the police to provide the information you need following a collision.

And it’s up to you to get the driver’s license and insurance information, as well as contact information for any witnesses — even if you’re still confused or in pain following the impact.

……..

A couple of interesting looks at becoming a bike commuter, as L.A. expat Amanda Lipsey relates her journey to a car-free lifestyle and Development Director for Adventure Cycling. And a DC writer says it takes a village.

……..

Writing for the Wall Street Journal, sportswriter Jason Gay says everyone should get lit this New Years. At least when it comes to biking.

Don’t let anyone tell you that lights aren’t cool. Here’s what’s not cool: ambulance rides.

This easy resolution may save your life, without you even realizing it.

I’ve kind of avoided the Journal since Rupert took over. But as long as Mr. Gay sticks around, I may want to take another look.

……..

Great feature in the new Los Angeles Magazine on UCLA professor and parking rock star Donald Shoup and the high toll automobile parking takes on cities — especially right here in Los Angeles, with more parking per acre Downtown than any other city on earth.

……..

L.A. bike advocate and recent candidate for city council Stephen Box celebrates the holidays as a proud new papa. Cyclists aren’t always the good guys, as a bike rider shoots and kills a man in South L.A. Richard Risemberg criticizes the same crumbling Imperial Highway bike lanes I wrote about last March. A Santa Monica columnist criticizes “arrogant creeps” and “clowns” on “multi-speed bikes” after a bad experience with a jerk on the beachfront bike path. Warner Center envisions new bike and walking paths to connect with the L.A. River. Canoga Park gets more bike racks. Claremont forms a new community bike group, with an inaugural ride Sunday, January 8th; link courtesy of the Claremont Cyclist. Claremont’s Safe Routes to School program will be sponsoring a League of American Bicyclists-approved bike safety training program for adult riders at the end of next month.

An Orange County cyclist was critically injured in a Santa Ana collision Christmas evening. A 12-year old San Diego boy suffers a broken leg when his bike is struck by a hit-and-run driver. San Diego’s Brown Girl in the Lane strikes a chord with readers around the world as she takes Vehicular Cyclists to task, and more than once. Cyclocross comes to Cal State San Marcos next month. Cyclelicious looks at the conflicts between cyclists and the Santa Cruz Sierra Club. San Jose firemen fix up a tricycle to give to a disabled friend.

Bob Mionske takes Californian Governor Jerry Brown to task for endangering cyclists by joining Texas Governor Rick Perry as the only state leaders to veto the three-foot passing law. Apparently, American youth have fallen out of love with the automobile. Bicycling (upper case) offers 101 things they love about bicycling (lower case). Bicycling’s Neil Bedzek says maybe it’s time to hang up his headphones for good. How to straighten steel bike forks. A Minnesota cyclist gets left hooked, then ticketed for improper crossing of a roadway. A New York Councilmember promises a continued crackdown on cyclists next year. Next on your reading table, a new collection of short fiction centered around bikes.

A secret Canadian base trained bicycling spies in WWII. The BBC names reigning world champ Mark Cavendish as their sports personality of the year. Fascinating views of an empty London on Christmas morning. London fails — by a wide margin — to meet their target goals for reducing bike fatalities and serious injuries by half over 1990’s levels. UK stats suggest bike fatalities increase during economic downturns; SoCal figures for this year certainly support that thesis. A new Aussie study suggests Sydney cycling rates could double if mandatory helmet laws were repealed. A Chinese ebike rider survives a direct hit by a speeding truck in a graphic video.

Finally, great advice on what to do if you’re the victim of a collision.

When the police ask if you’re injured, the correct answer is always yes; as the article notes, injuries that aren’t apparent at the scene often show up later. The right response could protect both your health and your legal rights.

The weather promises to be great here in L.A. the next few days; get out on your bike and enjoy it.

Category: Bikes & the Law, General, Legal Cases / Tags: , , , , , ,

Stephanie Segal pleads No Contest in last year’s Agoura Hills death of cyclist James Laing

December 22, 2011 / / 3 comments

Jim Laing, photo courtesy of his sister Peggy Laing-Krause

It looks like the Laing family may get closure for Christmas.

I heard from a reliable source Wednesday afternoon that Stephanie Segal has entered a plea of No Contest to both counts in the drunken hit-and-run death of cyclist James Laing in Agoura Hills last year.

That means she is not admitting guilt in the case, but won’t fight the charges, and will accept the court’s judgment in the case.

The judge has already indicated that he intends to impose a sentence of at least nine years in state prison, with formal sentencing to take place in late January of next year.

Laing was riding on in the bike lane on Agoura Hills Road on the afternoon of Saturday, October 23rd of last year, when he was run down from behind by Segal’s car and died at the scene. She fled the scene, and was followed by witnesses to a nearby parking lot, where she was arrested with a blood alcohol content of .26 — over three times the legal limit.

She almost immediately entered a rehab facility, where she spent much of the past year, whether in a genuine attempt to get help, or a callous — and failed — attempt to get leniency from the court.

By all accounts, Segal has refused to take any responsibility for getting drunk and climbing behind the wheel, let alone needlessly taking the life of an innocent human being.

I’m told that her testimony — against the advice of both the court and her own attorney — in the preliminary hearing was contradictory and confusing, backpedalling repeatedly as she attempted to shift the blame and explain away her actions.

Her attorney seemed to be making the case that she hadn’t attempted to flee, but merely continued driving until reaching a safe place to stop.

Right.

Laing’s sister Carolyn also reports that she tried to blame Laing for kicking her Mercedes Benz, which appears to have been a last-ditch effort to push away from her car in a failed attempt to save his own life.

In other words, he saw it coming. And there was nothing he could do.

Somehow, kicking a car in self defense seems to pale when compared to the drunken murder of another person. But Segal still doesn’t seem to get that.

By all accounts, she came off as arrogant and argumentative during her ill-advised testimony; I suspect her attorney strongly advised her to plead guilty to the charges to avoid digging herself in any deeper.

As one person put it to me, failure to do so after her dramatic failure on the stand probably would have been legal malpractice.

Of course, she’s not likely to spend the full term behind bars. The current prison overcrowding problems mean she’s likely to be released long before the nine years are up. And as a non-violent offender, she may even do her time in county jail.

But I wouldn’t count on getting time off for good behavior, either.

We can only hope that she’ll finally grasp the consequences of her actions as she sits in her cell, for however long that may end up being.

But at least the loved ones Jim Laing left behind can finally end this year with the light of a very long and tragic tunnel firmly in sight.

Update: An anonymous comment below indicates that Segal will be required to spend at least 85% of her sentence behind bars due to the nature and severity of her crime, and that the sentencing will take place on January 26th in the Malibu courthouse.

Category: Bikes & the Law, Injuries and Fatalities, Legal Cases / Tags: , , , , ,
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