What happens when you kill a beloved community icon with your car?
Probably nothing.
The Whittier Daily News reports that 61-year old Whittier resident Danny Martin, well known for waving at strangers from the seat of his three-wheeled bike, was killed in a collision early Monday morning.
According to the paper, Martin was riding to a Bible study class when he was struck by a driver while crossing the 16500 block of Whittier Boulevard.
Although Martin’s mangled bike would seem to belie that. It’s hard to imagine how that kind of damage could occur without excessive speed.
He also left his usual bike helmet at home, wearing a Christmas hat in its place.
A former motocross racer, Danny Martin was severely injured testing a new motorbike at Dumont Dunes in the Mojave Desert in 1981, spending a full year in a coma. When he finally awoke, he was paralyzed and told he would never walk again.
Yet after a year of physical therapy, he regained the ability to get around on his own, and learned how to ride an adult tricycle.
He never quit, spending the better part of the past four decades riding around Whittier with an American Flag flying high above his trike, and signs praising God attached to it after becoming deeply religious during his recovery.
A ride will be held in his honor this Sunday. Let’s hope it gets a big turnout, with lots of flags flying high over the bikes, and friendly waves for everyone around.
Because Whittier is going to be a much poorer place going forward.
New York officials say macho men in SUVs and pickups are killing people on bikes and foot, so they’re introducing a new ad campaign to shame them.
Although most drivers probably won’t be.
Not to mention when I look at the ad, his expression and dress doesn’t exactly say “macho” to me.
Meanwhile, the SUV reference is so subtle, it’s barely there. And could be literally any other type of vehicle without changing anything.
………
In what looks like a case of out-of-control cops, Seattle bike cops appear to ram pedestrians on a sidewalk from behind with their bikes, apparently without warning, then bust them for obstruction and resisting arrest.
Although remember, we’re not seeing what came before this, which may or may not be relevant.
Inexcusable. The chair of the Oakland Bicyclist and Pedestrian Commission was held at gunpoint by private security guards for the crime of taking pictures of yarn-bombed bike racks on a public sidewalk. But it couldn’t have anything to do with him being black, right?
DHL has been ordered to pay over $9 million to a Canadian couple who were run down while riding single file on on the shoulder an Oregon highway. The driver said it wasn’t his fault, claiming they were actually in the traffic lane and he couldn’t avoid them; one victim nearly lost his leg as a result of the crash.
File this one under you’ve got to be kidding. An off-duty Michigan cop could walk with probation for the hit-and-run that left a bike rider with a broken elbow. Then coming back and directing traffic — without telling anyone he was the one who hit him.
A Calgary letter writer says scofflaw bicyclists are getting with murder — and the editor of the local paper evidently agrees with him. Never mind that its the people on four wheels who are actually killing people, and disproportionately the ones on two wheels or feet getting killed.
Apparently, some drivers really can’t see us. After an English driver critically injured a woman on a bicycle, she failed an eye test the next day.
I’ve received reports about a possible bicycling fatality on Barrington Ave in West LA Monday night.
According to a post on Nextdoor, a bike rider was hit by a driver around 10 pm, between Olympic and Pico Blvds.
Meanwhile, a report on the Citizen app showed police investigating a fatal collision at Barrington and Exposition around the same time.
So far, I haven’t been able to find any confirmation of the crash, or that someone was killed. The county medical examiner’s website shows just two people killed on the streets somewhere in LA County, but doesn’t indicate where or how they were traveling.
I’ll keep looking, and tell you if I learn more. Or if you have any information about this, please let me know.
And in the meantime, let’s just hope it turns out to be a mistake. Which isn’t uncommon where Nextdoor is concerned.
Thanks to Howard Valai and Nick Hooper for the tips.
Somehow, my frozen Colorado hometown manages to have a Winter Bike to Work Day, even if it is a week early. But Los Angeles, where it sometimes gets all the way down to the 60s, can’t manage to pull it off.
A New Jersey op-ed says the state has the money to improve safety on the streets, but what’s lacking is the political will. Which Los Angeles can certainly relate to.
This hasn’t been a joyful holiday season on the streets of Southern California this year.
And it got even worse on Thursday, when the Orange County Coroner revealed a man was killed riding his bike in Buena Park on Monday.
Unfortunately, that’s virtually all we know about the crash that took his life.
The coroner identifies the victim as 45-year old La Mirada resident Carlos Bravo, who was injured in a collision at 10:21 pm, at an undisclosed location in Buena Park.
He died at UC Irvine Medical Center less than an hour later.
There’s no word on how the crash occurred or who was responsible, or if the driver was cited or detained.
This is at least the 72nd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 12th that I’m aware of in Orange County.
It’s also the fifth SoCal bike death in as many days.
Note: I mistakenly wrote yesterday that the death of Mario Gomez in Huntington Beach was the 12th OC bicycling death this year, but that appears to have been just the 11th.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Carlos Bravo and all his loved ones.
I’m committed to bringing you the news no one wants, even though it’s by far the hardest thing I have to do.
And probably the hardest things you have to read.
I write about the victims of these crashes both to remember and honor them, and provide a bike rider’s perspective that the police and press too often don’t — and the victims can’t.
Because if we don’t know what’s really going on out there, it’s impossible to fix it.
And that’s something you won’t find anywhere else in Southern California.
It’s up to you to decide what that’s worth to you, if anything.
No amount is too small — or too large, for that matter. All I ask is that you give if you want, and if you can.
And if you already have, thank you, sincerely, from the bottom of my heart.
Either way, I’ll be back tomorrow to catch up on anything we missed today.
Because the most important thing you can do to support this site is to simply keep coming back every day.
The driver continued a short distance to a nearby strip mall, where he pulled over to call 911 and wait for the CHP to arrive, telling them he never saw the man he killed until after the impact.
A CHP spokesperson says he was not under the influence.
No mention is made of whether he was driving distracted, however, or if there was some other reason why he couldn’t see a grown man on a bicycle right in front of his car.
Investigators are unsure where the victim was riding prior to the crash, although it’s likely he was riding in the painted bike lane on the right shoulder. Which raises the question of whether he left the lane for some reason, or if the driver somehow drifted into it.
No word on whether the victim was visiting from Colorado, or living in the area.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the CHP’s Vista office at 760/643-3400.
This is at least the 71st bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, but just the fourth that I’m aware of in San Diego County.
Update: The victim’s hometown newspaper has identified him as 63-year old William Tyson, an experienced bike rider who lived part-time in the San Diego area.
According to the paper, police suspect Tyson swerved into the traffic lane in order to make a left turn at the upcoming intersection, and that the driver was unlikely to be charged as a result.
However, that doesn’t explain why an experienced bicyclist would swerve into the traffic lane without apparently looking on a highway with a 55 mph speed limit. Or why the driver failed to see him until the moment of impact, when he should have at least been aware of someone riding in the bike lane in front of him.
There are still far too many questions out there to accept such a simplistic answer. Especially coming from the CHP.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for William Tyson and his loved ones.
