There’s no further information about the victim, how the collision occurred, or the person who killed him. The only description of the suspect vehicle is that it should have front-end damage.
There’s also no word on whether someone saw or heard the victim get hit, or if the he was found in the roadway following the crash.
Anyone with information is urged to call the Ontario Police Department at 909/986-6711, or call Officer Eliseo Guerrero directly at 909/408-1739.
This is at least the 39th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the third that I’m aware of in San Bernardino County.
At least 15 of those deaths have been the result of hit-and-runs.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and all his loved ones.
Fifty-year old Jacob Paul Raffray faces charges for allegedly ramming his pickup into a family of five, breaking the grandmother’s hips and seriously burning a seven-year old boy who was trapped underneath the truck.
That came just four years after he was released for paralyzing a college baseball player in a drunken hit-and-run crash, following three previous DUI convictions.
And bizarrely, just two years after he was pardoned as a first-time offender, despite multiple parole violations.
Never mind his most recent arrest, for possessing meth and drug paraphernalia.
There’s no mention of his license being taken away, so presumably, he’s been allowed to continue to drive this whole time.
And we wonder why people keep dying on our streets.
The Friends of the Ballona Wetlands invite you to learn more about the planned restoration of the wetlands, and how it will affect the popular Ballona Creek Trail.
WEBINAR: RE-ENVISIONING THE BALLONA CREEK TRAIL IN THE WETLANDS
An online presentation hosted by the Friends of Ballona Wetlands and Q&A with CA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife.
The restoration plan for the Ballona Wetlands will create some significant modifications to the popular Ballona Creek Trail. The webinar will describe:
What is planned for the wetlands restoration
What is planned for the Ballona Creek trail in the project area
What trail design details in the plan can still be influenced
Presentation by Neysa Frechette, Manager of Scientific Programs, Friends of Ballona Wetlands
Q&A with Richard Brody, CA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife
A Twitter thread from Megan Lynch decries the failure to replace bollards on the UC Davis campus that are intended to keep drivers off sidewalks and pathways.
And evidently, it’s just a short trip from getting a slap on the wrist for killing a bike-riding tourist with your garbage truck to becoming a full-fledged enforcer for a Mexican drug cartel.
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Thanks again to Matthew R for his monthly donation to help keep this site coming your way every day; any donation, no matter how large or small, helps and is deeply appreciated.
Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
July 30, 2021 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on LA traffic deaths up while bike deaths spike, 19-year old San Pedro bike rider missing, and murder charge in AZ attack
And it’s not just the people in the big, dangerous machines paying the price.
According to the site, serious pedestrian injuries are up 45%, while serious bicycling injuries climbed 34%. And bicycling deaths are up a whopping 40%.
It should also come as no surprise that hit-and-run deaths are up 25%.
In other words, we’re not exactly on track to meet Indian Ambassador Eric Garcetti’s — oops, I mean Mayor Garcetti’s — goal of eliminating traffic deaths in the City of Angels in the next three years.
Never mind all those safer streets we were promised as part of the mayor’s Green New Deal, which will now be up to whoever takes his place — thanks to Garcetti’s remarkably consistent failure to follow through on those promises.
Chock was shot by police after standoff behind a hardware store, but has recovered from his injuries, and remains jailed on half a million dollars bail.
The Vulnerable Road Users Safety Act implements National Transportation Safety Board recommendations, while directing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Federal Highway Administration to —
Develop and update performance standards for visibility enhancement systems (i.e. for blindspot detection), connected vehicle technology, and vehicle headlamp systems
Establish standards for vehicle bumpers
Establish performance standards for automated pedestrian detection systems like automatic braking sensors
Include separated bike lanes and intersection safety treatments in the FHWA’s Every Day Counts initiatives and Proven Safety Countermeasures program
Improve and coordinate information collection to share, combine and publish detailed crash data allowing policy makers and governments to make data informed decisions
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
After suffering the embarrassment of a group of white cops filmed arresting a Black bike rider for not having a bicycle license, Perth Amboy, New Jersey is eliminating their bicycle registration requirement. But it’s still illegal to “practice any trick or fancy riding.” Because we all know how damaging “fancy riding” is to the fragile fabric of society.
A London man will spend the next two years behind bars for jumping a red light and slamming into a 72-year old man crossing in a crosswalk, who later died; the Albanian bike rider turned himself in after initially fleeing because he was in the UK illegally.
Organizers have called off a planned 124-mile Aussie charity ride, after concluding that the “appalling standard” of Tasmanian drivers, combined with “poor road infrastructure” and drivers’ “hatred towards cyclists” made it too dangerous for people on two wheels.
The victim, publicly identified only as a 67-year old woman, was riding north Cottonwood Ave between Yucca and Main around 12:05 pm when she suddenly turned left, and was broadsided by the driver of a box truck following directly behind her.
She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The 20-year old driver of the furniture delivery truck stayed at the scene, and was reportedly cooperating with police.
As always, the question is whether any independent witnesses saw the crash, other than the driver and his passenger.
It simply doesn’t make sense that she would have been unaware of a large truck traveling directly behind her, or would have turned without looking over her shoulder first — especially on a street with a 45 mph speed limit.
But people’s actions don’t always make sense. And sadly, she’s not around to explain her side of the story.
Anyone with information is urged to call San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Deputies D. Holland or F. Zavala at 760/403-8026.
This is at least the 38th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the second that I’m aware of in San Bernardino County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and all her family and loved ones.
July 28, 2021 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Canoga Park bike rider wanted for fatally shooting driver, and accused Oceanside hit-and-run driver pleads not guilty
The shooting took place around 2:18 pm, when the man on the bike shot into the driver’s car following some sort of dispute near the 6400 block of DeSoto Ave.
Forty-three-year old Glendale resident Mkher Alaverdian was pronounced dead after he was taken to a local hospital.
There’s no description of the shooter or his bicycle, and no word on whether this was a road rage dispute or some other kind of argument.
Anyone with information is urged to call LAPD Valley Bureau Homicide at 818/374-9550, or 1-877/LAPD-24-7 after business hours.
A New York man is planning to bike 8,000 miles through ten states to get more kids on bicycles, raising funds to donate new bikes to underprivileged children around the country; the Black bike rider who grew up in the city’s low-income Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood says if he can do it, most people can.
“Grief makes you angry,” San Diego Bicycle Coalition executive director Andy Hanshaw said. “If there’s not a dedicated path that’s seperate from the road, then we need a safer bike lane on the street, and your typical white stripe is not safe enough.”
Beloved bicyclist and San Diego State University administrator Laura Shinn was killed on Pershing Drive last Tuesday. Police said she was in the bike lane, wearing a helmet, when a driver hit her from behind.
Graphics by tomexploresla
“A lot of people are feeling hesitant,” bicyclist Elizabeth Mayer said. “They don’t want this freedom option of transportation taken from them because they’re afraid of cars.”
Although someone might want to tell NBC-7 that not everyone who rides a bicycle is an “athlete.”
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Sad news from Wyoming, where former US Senator Mike Enzi has died following some sort of bicycling crash.
The magazine reports he had suffered a broken neck and broken ribs; there’s no word on whether he fell off his bike, or may have been the victim of a hit-and-run.
Regardless of whether or not you agreed with his politics, he devoted his life to serving his state and his country.
The Los Angeles City Council was recently forced to raise speed limits on sections of Olympic and Overland boulevards in West L.A. — where a woman was killed this year by a recklessly speeding driver.
Why? Because an outdated and absurd law essentially requires cities to set street limits based on how fast people are already driving on a stretch of road — not whether that speed is safe.
This law is based on a flawed methodology, according to a report released last year. It relies on the overly optimistic assumption that most drivers will drive at a safe and reasonable speed, and that it’s safer to set speed limits that reflect the “natural” flow of traffic.
The paper calls for passage of AB 43, which would modify the deadly 85th Percentile Law to allow cities and counties to lower speed limits by a modest 5 mph on streets with injury high rates of injuries, or heavy bike and pedestrian use.
What we really need is to repeal the 85th Percentile Law entirely.
But until we can get there, this is a start.
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This is what it looks like to ride the new bike lane on New York’s iconic Brooklyn Bridge.
Former San Luis Obispo councilmember Robert “Red” Davis passed away peacefully in his home over the weekend. The 76-year old bike advocate had served as president of the SLO Bike Club, as well as chairing the Morro Bay Citizens Bike Committee and the County Bicycle Advisory Committee; a local bikeway is named in his honor.
Raleigh wants to replace your car, too, for the low, low price of just $6,000. Apparently, “replace your car” is code for a cargo bike that costs as much as a used car.
Hats off to Mohammad Ashraf, who is completing a 2,300-mile ride across India, despite having to ride with just one leg after the other was paralyzed in a 2017 bicycling crash, which also limited use of his right hand.
