The driver fled the scene, but police arrested 68-year old Elias Madriz Gutierrez shortly later. He was booked on suspicion of hit-and-run and driving under the influence causing great bodily injury, along with second-degree murder.
According to My News LA, Gutierrez was convicted of DUI twice before, in January 2009 and April 2018. Which means he would have been required to sign a Watson advisement, stating he could be charged with murder if he killed someone while driving under the influence any time in the future.
As a result, he could be looking at 15-to-life for the murder charge alone, as opposed to up to six years for vehicular manslaughter.
This is at least the 42nd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 10th that I’m aware of in Orange County.
Fifteen of those SoCal deaths have now been hit-and-runs.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Kristin Bellovich and her loved ones.
He was unresponsive when first responders arrived on the scene, and declared dead at the scene.
And yes, the driver stuck around this time.
Unfortunately, that’s all we know at this time. No word on how the crash happened or who the victim may have been — although CityWatch notes the crash occurred near Covina’s Northview High School, just 12 minutes away by bike.
This is at least the 41st bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 13th that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County. And it’s second in the county in just three days.
“We were deeply saddened to learn of the tragic passing of one of our high school students,” the Azusa Unified School District said in a statement. “Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences go out to his family and the entire community during this difficult time.”
According to the paper, Lopez was killed at 7:23 am, when he was rear-ended by a the driver of a white pickup while riding in the right lane. He died at the scene.
Actually, the paper didn’t mention that the truck actually had a driver until the final paragraph, when they mention that the driver wasn’t arrested yesterday, and the investigation is ongoing.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.
Newsom failed to sign SB 961, which would have required all new cars to give an audible alarm when drivers exceeded the speed limit by more than 10 mph; his action is the equivalent of a veto, but without actually have to wield his veto pen.
JUST IN: Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoes SB 961, which would have required all new cars in CA starting in 2030 to have speed-limiting technology to alert drivers when they're going too fast.
While groups like Calbike, Streets For All and Streets Are For Everyone (SAFE) fought to get him to sign it, SB 961 was much-watered down from the original bill, which would have required speed limiting technology to actively prevent drivers from speeding more than ten miles over the limit.
It also raised the question of why exceeding the limit by 10 mph was apparently acceptable, when exceeding it by any amount is against the law.
But maybe we can try again in a few years, with a different governor and a stronger bill.
This is who we share the road with. Former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer pled not guilty to misdemeanor manslaughter for killing a 47-year old man walking in an Alhambra crosswalk, while making an ill-advised left turn in his car. Yet somehow, we have to learn about it from a newspaper in the UK?
The New York Times tells a questioner that yes, a co-op building can ban their ebike, and no, that’s not housing discrimination, even if they use it to take their kid to the doctor.
In more bad news, the Dutch Cycling Association announced the death of 24-year old Bas van Belle, a rider for the Wielerploeg Groot Amsterdam cycling team, and the older brother of WorldTour pro Loe van Belle; no word on how he died.
It probably wasn’t just beginner’s luck. An 18-year old woman from my bike-friendly Colorado hometown won the collegiate national championship in the 500 meter time trial at the USA Cycling National Collegiate Track Championship earlier this month; it was Rita Fedewa’s first-ever college cycling race, in a discipline she’s only trained in for seven months after switching from BMX, making her the first-ever national champion for her tiny Catholic university.
September 27, 2024 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on It wasn’t ebikes that shut down San Pedro bridge, 80 mph hit-and-run driver pleads not guilty, and more ebike junk science
Just 94 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
Probably because he had two days to sober up before police found his truck and identified him as the driver, making it impossible to administer a valid alcohol test.
And both figures are presented in terms of percentages, making it impossible to compare the actual number of injuries to the total number of sales.
So until someone finally gets around to conducting a rigorous study that compares injury rates to ridership, alarming statistics like this aren’t worth the silicon they’re printed on.
Meanwhile, in not so junky science, a new five-year study from Lime and the Bike League shows micromobility users — ie, bike and scooter riders — prefer using painted bike lanes, and particularly protected bike lanes, over streets with no bike infrastructure.
And yes, the bike lanes do make them feel safer — and actually makes them safer, especially the protected lanes.
A British man was convicted of manslaughter for fatally punching a 78-year old widower, after the victim objected to the man riding his bicycle on the sidewalk; he tried to flee afterwards, but was detained by bystanders until police arrived.
That’s more like it. A San Francisco man is finally going to trial eight years after he allegedly killed a 41-year old woman riding a bicycle, after the judge vacated a deal that would have imposed a 15-year sentence on lesser charges; Nicky Garcia was allegedly blowing through stop signs at up to 60 mph, after breaking into a car and stealing a backpack, when he ran down Heather Miller. Garcia has already spent the last eight years behind bars, apparently unable to post bail.
A Milwaukee man was lucky to keep his head on his shoulders when a thin wire dangling from a light pole wrapped around his neck as he was riding downhill on a bike trail at 28 mph; no word yet on why the wire was there, or if was placed intentionally.
Common sense prevailed for once, as a judge ruled that a former Pittsburgh cop who was fired for repeatedly tasing a nonviolent Black man mistakenly suspected of stealing a bicycle can’t get his job back, after an arbitrator had ordered him reinstated with back pay.
A Massachusetts state representative is demanding answers from the state police on why they didn’t charge the driver who jumped the curb and killed 62-year old man riding his bike on the sidewalk in a head-on collision. And no, I can’t recall any California legislator demanding to know why a driver who killed someone on a bicycle wasn’t charged.
Proving that it is possible, bicycling fatalities in the UK have dropped to the lowest level ever recorded, although that’s also accompanied by a jump in injuries and a drop in bicycling rates. But it took a significant investment in safe bike infrastructure to do it, which we’ve yet to see on this side of the Atlantic.
A British driver was “spoken to” but not charged after apparently passing out at the wheel, jumping the curb and plowing into a row of bikes, throwing a woman through the air and snapping her bike in two. Fortunately, the bike rider’s injuries were not life-threatening; no word on the condition of the driver.
Add this one to your bike bucket list. A new Turkish bike tour — excuse me, Türkiye — promises to take you back in time 3,700 years.
Wednesday was a slow news day in the world of bikes, with barely enough to fill out the most meagre of posts.
And since I’m still dealing with a balky and badly banged up arm, I’ll take this as a sign to take the night off and ice up, before I make things any worse.
I’ll see you back here bright and early on Friday.
September 25, 2024 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on San Diego TV station almost gets why no one’s using bike lane, and man turns himself in for San Marcos hit-and-run
Just 96 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
What they found were white car-tickler plastic posts that were already broken and bent, commercial trucks parked in the bike lanes, and shopping carts and other debris blocking them.
Then they wondered why they only saw five people using them in the two midday, mid-week hours they happened to be watching.
Of course, they also heard the usual complaints from drivers who couldn’t figure out the new streetscape, or where they could possibly park if they can’t store their cars on the street directly in front of their destination.
Never mind that the bike lanes were built in anticipation of new apartment buildings currently under construction, which will add hundreds of housing units and the people who will live in them, and who will have to get around somehow.
Preferably not by driving.
Hence the bike lanes.
But it’s true that few people will bother to use them if they’re not safe, or safely rideable. Which is pretty much what the station saw.
Now maybe they can come back at rush hour or on the weekend, after they’re cleaned up and the trucks are gone.
Then they could do a far better story about why flimsy plastic bollards don’t protect anyone.
Not to mention that the nearly one-week delay in turning himself in gave him plenty of time to sober up after hitting the boy’s ebike.
If he’d been under the influence at the time of the crash, of course.
The driver, Alan Edmundo Reyes, is being held on $80,000 bond on suspicion of felony hit-and-run and reckless driving resulting in injury.
He’s likely looking at a maximum of 30 months behind bars for the two counts, though that will probably be bargained down to a slap on the wrist if he accepts a plea.
………
Unlike the foot-dragging we’ve seen from the City of Los Angeles, LA County passed a new Measure HLA-type law to speed up building the county bike plan as streets get resurfaced.
We’re putting LA County on a path to move faster & smarter when it comes to building the bike infrastructure our communities deserve.
Focusing on communities disproportionately impacted by traffic violence, we’re supporting Vision Zero’s goal of no roadway fatalities by 2035.
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
A Conservative member of the British Parliament proposes re-introducing legislation to let bicyclists know they’re not above the law, and let the “small minority” of dangerous bike riders know there are responsibilities they can be prosecuted for. At least he recognizes that it’s just a few people who need to be held accountable.
We’re still waiting for Gavin Newsom to sign SB 961, which would require all passenger vehicles to give an audible warning if the drivers go more than 10 mph over the speed limit. Or not.
A Colorado woman wonders about a strange “very short” mile-long bike lane. Even if that’s a lot longer than a lot of the bike lanes here in Los Angeles, and just as disconnected.
The New York Timestalks with the city’s Blue Angels who found a way to game the bikeshare system to score thousands of dollars a month.
International
It turns out that Matt Damon, Matthew McConaughey, Hugh Jackman, Pink, Sheryl Crow, Reggie Miller, Rush drummer Neil Peart, Zac Efron, J-Lo and Arnold are all one of us, too.
The co-founder of All Bodies on Bikes and co-host of the All Bodies on Bikes podcast shares her non-racing bike heroes, including a Paralympian physical therapist and the founder of Black Girl Joy Ride.
Just 97 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
Photo of protected bike lane in Redondo Beach by Ted Faber.
……..
Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill that will make building bike lanes near the coast faster and easier by removing a requirement for a Coastal Commission study.
Happy to report that @CAgovernor has signed #SB689, which will cut unnecessary red tape in the development of bike lanes, dedicated transit lanes and pedestrian walkways along California’s coastline. We want to encourage projects in coastal areas that make non-driving options… pic.twitter.com/W0Tepj54In
The state also stepped in where Los Angeles tried and failed, as Newsom signed a bill banning cities from requiring automatic road widening with new building projects.
The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is launching a new campaign to “demand a visionary Biking and Rolling Plan from our city officials, that helps us achieve our transportation, climate, and congestion goals — and makes our streets safer and more joyful. ”
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A group of bike-riding Stockton, California teens caused a couple thousand dollars damage by throwing terracotta pots at passing cars. Although it’s questionable what their bicycles had to do with it.
Streets For All endorsed Santa Monica’s Measure K increasing the city’s Parking Facility Tax to improve traffic safety and safe routes to schools, while rejecting Measure PSK to divert half of that new revenue to the cops and other public safety departments.
State
Residents of San Diego’s Pacific Beach neighborhood are just the latest to complain about teenaged kids recklessly riding ebikes, although the ones shown are better classified as low-powered electric motorcycles.
A handful of New York bicyclists found a way to game the Citi Bike bikeshare algorithm, earning thousands of dollars a month by bike flipping — moving bikes from one station to another, then moving them back 15 minutes late. Thanks again to Megan Lynch.
A Chinese website looks back to consider how Shanghai became the country’s city of bicycles, producing China’s first bicycle in the 19th Century, before becoming home to the Phoenix and Forever brands after the communist revolution.
The victim was walking down a Koreatown sidewalk with his wife around 4:50 this past Thursday when the woman came barreling down the sidewalk, along with a man on a second scooter, knocking him down.
Sixty-five-year old Donny Kim fell backwards, striking his head. He refused treatment, but his condition worsened after going home; two days later, he was dead.
After stopping briefly, the woman rode off on her scooter, despite the efforts of Kim’s wife to get her to stay.
And yes, it’s illegal to ride an electric scooter on the sidewalk in Los Angeles — just like the sticker on every e-scooter in the city says.
And e-scooter riders are legally required to stick around and exchange personal information following a crash, just like bike riders, drivers or anyone else.
And the city could lower the speed limit on a number of streets, while WeHo Online whines it could make driving in the city even slower. Which someone should tell them is actually a good thing.
………
North OC Bikes will host their monthly family friendly bike ride in Fullerton this Friday.
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
They’re onto us, comrades. A Washington state letter writer argues that the area’s new bike lanes are nothing more than a commie plot. “Bicycles are tools of commies and socialists. These paths and lanes are for only one thing: to usher in their left wing, ‘green energy,’ fossil fuel-hating, automobile-loathing, bird-killing wind farm, solar power loving agenda.”
No bias here. A Colorado woman confronted a pair of hungry bike riders who made the mistake of stopping for a snack while riding on a path near her home in Summit County, eventually shoving one of their bikes to the ground; she later told police she doesn’t like tourists.
A Gloucestershire, England police official is deservedly under fire after arguing that a lot of people who ride bikes “don’t realize that…a close pass itself isn’t an offense,” despite reminding drivers that they’re required to give bicyclists at least a 1.5 meter passing distance, the equivalent of nearly five feet.
No bias here, either. A 24-year old man in Northern Ireland walked with the equivalent of a lousy $465 fine for riding a bike at twice the legal alcohol limit, while carrying coke and failing to stop until the cops knocked him off his bike; meanwhile, his defense attorney joked that riding a bicycle or wearing Lycra while overweight should be a crime.
About damn time. Caltrans also proposed plans to improve safety on PCH through Malibu include bike lanes and wider sidewalks, with 90% of commenters calling for better protecting bicyclists and pedestrians, as well as landscaping the center median, and adding more parking on the beach side of the highway so people won’t have to cross it.
Fountain Valley followed the lead of other Orange County cities by tightening regulations for ebike riders; however, it’s questionable whether any changes that conflict with the California vehicle code will withstand judicial review.
After a DC driver was sentenced to eight years behind bars for killing a 45-year old man riding a bicycle, his survivors complain that his sentence was just a slap on the wrist. Just wait until they learn what most drivers get for killing one of us.
September 21, 2024 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on 70-year old man riding bicycle killed by 92-year old driver in San Diego collision, 10th San Diego County bike death this year
Enough, already.
For the third time in just the last five days, someone has been killed riding a bicycle in Southern California.
And this time, it’s clear there was nothing victim could have done to avoid it.
The victim, who has not been publicly identified, was riding east on Evergreen Street at Cañon Street around 2:38 pm, when the woman turned left into his path. He hit her right rear door, and died after being taken to a local hospital.
The driver remained at the scene and was not injured.
A crash like this should raise the issue of how old is too old to drive. But sadly, it probably won’t.
Anyone with more information is urged to call the San Diego Police Department at 888/580-8477.
This is at least the 39th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the tenth that I’m aware of in San Diego County.
