A source calling from the courthouse in Orange County has just reported that the driver who killed 21-year old Jax Bicycle Center employee Joseph Robinson has pleaded guilty to hit-and-run and drug charges, and will face significant jail time.
Sommer Niclole Gonzales, just 18 at the time of the collision, was sentenced to spend the next 11 years of her life behind bars after she admitted responsibility and waived her right to appeal.
Robinson was taking the long way to work on a sunny February morning last year when he was run down from behind while riding in the bike lane on Santiago Canyon Road.
He was hit with enough force to knock him and his bike completely off the roadway; his body was only discovered because an off-duty fire captain spotted a car with a shattered windshield speeding in the opposite direction, then saw a single shoe lying on the side of the roadway.
Gonzales was arrested in a parking lot a short time later as a friend helped her transfer her belongings into another car, in an apparent attempt to cover up her responsibility for the crime. She was found in possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia at the time of her arrest.
No word on why her friend wasn’t charged for assisting in the attempted coverup.
The victim’s family was reportedly in tears following the sentencing.
According to the source, the judge’s final words to her were “What a tragedy. Just because you wanted to do meth.”
Update: I corrected the above quote from the judge, which was off slightly due to a bad phone connection.
Gonzales will get credit for 888 days served, reducing her sentence by nearly two-and-a-half years; she’ll also serve three years parole upon her release.
Felony vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence while intoxicated
Felony hit and run with death
Misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance
Misdemeanor use and under the influence of a controlled substance
Misdemeanor count of possession of a controlled substance paraphernalia
Along with a sentencing enhancement allegation for fleeing the scene of a vehicular manslaughter
Robinson’s family offered emotional impact statements, including this video from his mother showing him riding in happier days.
Then there’s this moving quote from his sister.
“My heart literally hurts when I think about my brother, I can’t think about him without crying. My drive to work takes me right past the accident site where his ghost bike is still hanging. Every morning and night as I pass that spot, I tell Joey aloud that I love him and cry.”
If you’ve ever wondered what harm driving under the influence can cause, that pretty much sums it up.
Thanks to Jeffrey Fylling for the press release.
Update 3: My News LA adds more details, including quotes from Robinson’s family members and his girlfriend.
The story also quotes Gonzales’ attorney explaining that she had first tried marijuana at age 12, and quickly moved on to meth, which she had been her drug of choice ever since.
According to the attorney, she knew she had hit something, and stopped to see what it was, but continued on when she didn’t see Robinson or his bike.
Twenty-two-year old Clinton Alford, Jr. fled from officers when they tried to stop him because he allegedly matched the description of a robbery suspect.
According to Alford, he ran when someone grabbed the back of his bike because the officers failed to identify themselves, and he only became aware of who they were when he was being held down and handcuffed with his hands behind his back.
After all, why would anyone look back to see who was chasing him as he fled for his life?
It was while he was face down trying to surrender that LAPD officer Richard Garcia allegedly kicked him in the head, repeatedly, in an attack that was captured on a nearby security camera. Police say they have no intention of releasing the video, despite the demands of Alford’s lawyer for it to be made public.
According to KTLA-5, he was kicked so hard he lost a filling from his teeth; other officers at the scene called the attack horrific, describing it as like someone kicking a field goal, with Alford’s head as the ball.
Garcia has entered a not guilty plea. He faces up to three years in jail if he’s convicted.
The LA Times reports three other officers and a sergeant have been relieved of duty and assigned to their homes while the investigation continues.
All charges against Alford, for possession and resisting arrest, have been dropped.
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Shameful.
Fifty years after Selma, people are still ticketed for Bicycling While Black, as eight out of ten of the 2,504 bike tickets written in Tampa FL in the last three years — more than Jacksonville, Miami, St. Petersburg and Orlando combined — went to African American residents.
Seriously, it’s long past time this country put this kind of crap behind us. No one should face fear for riding a bike, especially not from police.
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KCBS-2 offers a good report on Sunday’s Finish the Ride; for a change, someone in the media actually seems to get it.
Major Facebook drama, as an apparent cyclist fires back after Burbank racerTroy Templinposted a photo of a BMW that he says nearly ran him over because, as he claims the driver said, “you were in my way.”
Someone identifying himself as Peter Richardson professed to tell his version of what really happened, claiming Templin “committed multiple acts of violence” simply because the woman honked to let him know she was there, and he had to be run off by a security guard when he wouldn’t let her exit the car. He even includes stills from a security camera to support his claims.
However, the view in the photos is so distant it could show anyone, and it’s impossible to tell from them what may or may not be happening.
The Times belatedly catches up with the news that the proposed California helmet law has been converted to a study of helmet use by the CHP and the state Office of Traffic Safety; BikinginLA sponsor Michael Rubinstein offers his take on it.
Alhambra police bust a thief who tried to escape with one of their own bikes on Sunday; the apparently remorseful man wrote of letter of apology from his jail cell.
State
A 24-year old San Jose woman is under arrest for slamming into a Miltipas bike rider who was standing on the sidewalk, then crashing into a mini-golf course before fleeing in another car.
An elderly Palo Alto woman was seriously injured in a collision with a cyclist; the rider was coming around a blind curve at speed when he ran into the woman as she crossed the street.
A new study shows drivers are more likely to ignore crosswalks at speeds over 30 mph. I wonder what a similar study would have to say about bike lanes and sharrows.
An Anchorage cyclist says ride defensively, because your life may depend on it; good advice anywhere.
If cops in my hometown are reluctant to ticket cyclists because they feel bad about writing tickets that can reach $170 including fees, imagine how the riders feel about getting them.
Minnesota researchers determine that bike lane density — the measure of bike lanes within a given area — matters more than connectivity when it comes to encouraging ridership.
Just like countless bicyclists everywhere, Shreveport bike riders says motorists need to be more aware of cyclists and the laws governing bikes. Especially the requirement to ride in the street where sidewalk riding is illegal — and the right to do so everywhere else.
International
Vancouver’s Van City Buzz gets it right, saying the media’s focus on shiny new safety gadgets is no substitute for proven safety measures like traffic calming and an effective bicycle infrastructure network.
A soccer player is killed when a train smashes into on of those pedal-powered multi-passenger beer bikes in The Netherlands.
Turkey’s president rides through Istanbul to kick off the country’s 51st Presidential Tour of Turkey; he promised to make the city more bike friendly, while saying they “couldn’t manage to make people love the bicycle.”
A road raging Aussie driver hits a woman participating in a charity ride, then drives off with the mangled bike still trapped under her car.
Taking ciclovía to the next level, as one neighborhood in a Korean city bans cars from the streets for a full month.
April 19, 2015 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Hundreds turn out in Hollywood for Sunday’s Finish the Ride
Sometimes it’s better to let the pictures tell the story.
So here are a few images and random thoughts from the start of Sunday’s Finish the Ride.
Despite the early morning start, hundreds of people turned out in Hollywood to join the fight against the epidemic of hit-and-run.
People of every description came together to ride, roll, walk or run; two LAPD officers even ran the 10k route in full uniform.
State Assemblymember Richard Bloom: “You have a right to feel safe on the road.”
Nice to see new LADOT General Manager Seleta Reynolds and Executive Officer Bruce Gillman front row center, a sign that the city is finally taking hit-and-run seriously.
Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell: “Damien, you’re changing the world.”
Councilmembers Joe Buscaino and Mitch Englander worked together to pass a standing reward program for hit-and-runs, saying hit-and-run “is a huge moral problem.”
LADOT GM Seleta Reynolds: “We should not accept hit-and-run as a natural consequence of just trying to get around.”
Surrounded by a sea of bikes, two women waited for their chance to skate the route.
Not all the participants were human. Even a dog knows leaving someone lying injured and bleeding in the street — or worse — is inhuman.
The ride marshals gathered before the start to discuss the routes and how to keep the participants safe on streets that were shared with cars.
Finish the Ride founder Damian Kevitt joins the assembled riders for the start of the 50-mile ride; it was only two years ago that he lost his leg in a horrific hit-and-run.
Kevitt sets off to lead the ride, just as he has lead the fight against hit-and-run since recovering from his life-threatening injuries; the driver who fled the scene after dragging him onto a freeway onramp has never been found.
Sad news today, as a woman lost her life in an early morning collision.
According to the Press-Telegram, a woman was hit by a car while riding her bike on the 11700 block of Del Amo Blvd in Lakewood around 2 am Sunday morning.
The driver went on to hit a telephone pole, and was later arrested on suspicion of drunk driving.
No word on the identity of the victim or how the collision occurred, though a satellite view shows a bike lane on the street.
This is the 14th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the sixth in Los Angeles County. That compares to 33 in SoCal this time last year and 14 in LA County.
She died at the scene. The driver was also injured, and taken to Long Beach Memorial Hospital for treatment.
Update 2: The suspect has been identified by KABC-7 as 24-year old Emmanuel Camacho. The station reports that he hit a telephone pole two blocks away from the collision that killed the bike rider, yet for some reason, sheriff’s deputies were not calling it a hit-and-run.
Update 3: The Press-Telegram has identified the victim as 33-year old Lakewood resident Crista Contreras; her Facebook page has turned into an online memorial.
The paper also reports Camacho has been released on $100,000 bond, and is due in court on Tuesday, April 21st.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Crista Contreras and her loved ones.
Thanks to Danny Gamboa for the link to her Facebook page.
April 18, 2015 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Weekend Links: Guilty in plea hit-and-run death of Anaheim mother, San Clemente rider 6th in Paris-Roubaix
That was after Junior Rigoberto Lopez received a promise from the judge that his sentence will not exceed three years. Because, evidently, leaving a mother to die in the street isn’t really that big a deal in the OC.
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Hats off to San Clemente resident Daniel Willett for his sixth-place finish in last weekend’s juniors’ Paris-Roubaix classic; he finished just 33 seconds off the winner’s time.
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My formerly sled-dog racing and now fat-tire riding brother sends word from the Great White North that biking and running the famed Iditarod Trail is no picnic, either. Especially this year.
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Local
Your new and improved Crenshaw Blvd could have protected bike lanes for a stretch before bikes are shunted off onto alternate streets, apparently to make more room for cars.
KCET looks at the Rio Hondo Confluence, one of the few places in the LA area where you have your choice of bike paths; a long promised park and bike rest stop is still in the works.
A former Intel exec broke his hip and dislocated his shoulder in a solo fall while descending at 32 mph east of San Diego; he and his teammates were just 700 miles into a planned 5,000 mile ride for heart disease and stroke awareness.
NIMBY-ism rears its ugly head in Rancho Mirage, as residents rise up against a planned 50-mile bike and pedestrian path because it might be bad for landscaping, and could make it harder for vehicles to turn on or off the highway. Seriously, where is a tiny violin when you need one?
A Salinas truck driver walks away without charges in a fatal bike collision despite right-hooking the victim, because the rider was high on meth and riding brakeless. Neither of which had anything to do with the driver’s illegal turn, of course.
Santa Clara County officials reject a proposal for an LA-style cyclist anti-harassment ordinance because they’re worried about foul-mouthed bike riders harassing motorists in their multi-ton, hermetically sealed vehicles.
So much for 41-year old two-time Olympic champ Kristin Armstrong’s comeback, as she’s bounced from the US team for the Pan Am Championships just days after she was named to the roster.
Caught on video: A Portland school bus driver gets a summons from the cops after buzzing a bike rider, then slamming the bus door on the rider’s hand when he confronts him.
Both the newly reborn Chicago Streetsblog and a local columnist explain what’s really going on with a proposal to permanently remove the city’s first protected bike lane. But with radically different perspectives.
Not only was the driver in a fatal Vermont cycling collision arrested for being under the influence, his drunken passenger was, too; the driver was also charged with driving with a suspended license — for the fifth time.
A 16-year old South Carolina driver has been charged with attempted murder for trying to run members of a local bike club off the road not once, not twice, but on seven separate occasions, because he blamed them for the collision that killed two of his friends; police say the cyclists weren’t responsible for the earlier wreck. You’ve got to be a pretty crappy driver if you can hit a bunch of bike riders in seven tries.
The truck driver who killed South African Olympic mountain biker Burry Stander has been found guilty of culpable homicide and running a stop sign.
After a nine-year old Philippine boy’s bike is commandeered by a police commando fleeing rebels, the regional governor gets him a new one.
Finally…
A San Francisco man volunteers himself to referee a popular cycling route, complete with yellow flags; no word on whether his call can be overturned upon further review. An amateur cyclist plans to ride the entire Tour de France route on a 1970’s kid’s chopper bike; no wait, maybe he’s a pro.
And here’s a great series of videos produced by high school students to raise awareness of distracted driving. And don’t feel any obligation to vote for the one titled The Distraction Game, even though it was produced by my nephew and his partners.
No, seriously. It’s okay.
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I’ll see you all bright and early Sunday morning at Finish the Right to help end the epidemic of hit-and-run once and for all.
Right?
If you haven’t registered yet, there’s still time to save $10 with discount code FTR10.
Security camera footage shows the April 6th assault, as five men beat and stabbed the 36-year old South El Monte man for a full 45 seconds before getting back in their car; one of the men can’t resist the temptation to turn back for one last kick.
Most disturbingly, there appears to be no reason for the attack.
Police report the victim, who remains hospitalized, was an innocent bystander who was simply riding his bike on Elliot Ave at 12:15 am when a car passed him in the opposite direction, and one of the passengers shouted at him. The driver then made a U-turn, following the rider before stopping alongside his bike to confront him.
He tried to run away, but his attackers caught up and repeatedly hit, kicked and stabbed him.
Anyone with information is urged to call the El Monte Police watch commander at 626/580-2109.
Witnesses providing information that leads to a conviction in a hit-and-run case will now be eligible for rewards ranging from $1,000 for a property damage collision up to $50,000 for a hit-and-run resulting in death.
However, as with the city’s anti-harassment ordinance, the new law only applies with the Los Angeles city limits.
So if a driver leaves you lying broken and bleeding on the street in Beverly Hills, East LA or Compton, or anywhere else outside the LA city limits, you’re on your own.
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If you’ve ever wondered why I think most sharrows aren’t worth the paint they’re made from, Michael Schinderling, aka Mykee Steen, provides graphic proof.
The video was taken on Fountain and Avenues in Hollywood and Los Feliz, which is my new bicycling territory. And clearly demonstrates the lack of comfortable riding routes in the area.
Schinderling notes that Hollywood Councilmember that Mitch O’Farrell told him that the sharrows were low-flow and safe, and that bike lanes are unnecessary.
Right.
Actually, I think the real purpose of those arrows with a bike symbol on such busy streets is just to help drivers improve their aim.
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Streetsblog’s Damien Newton offers a great interview with new LACBC Executive Director Tamika Butler, who explains her focus on equity and social justice.
Nice to see a growing commitment to the whole community from SoCal’s leading bike advocacy group.
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Great ad from Cycling Canada shows bikes riding themselves to urge potential riders to just hop on. An accompanying video explains how it was done.
The three-year old Kings County boy who was seriously injured when the bike trailer he was riding in was rear-ended by a driver doing at least 50 mph has died; no word on the condition of his father, who was riding the bike.
And a Humboldt County bridge has been renamed as a memorial for a cyclist who was killed in a February collision.
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Local
Bicycling offers a great interview with LA cycling legend Road Block, aka Don Ward. If you ask me what riders and bike advocates I admire most, local or otherwise, he’d be pretty near the top of the list.
Long Beach police bust two bike thieves after they fall for a bait bike; the suspects already had two other suspected stolen bicycles in their possession at the time of their arrest. And yes, LBPD recommends using a U-lock and registering your bike.
State
Cyclelicious discovers Calbike has lost sponsors as a result of its successful fight against the proposed mandatory helmet bill. Anyone would pull their support from the state’s leading advocacy group over that needs to seriously rethink their commitment to bicycling.
That triangle curb protruding into a new San Diego protected bike lane is being removed, after a new paint job failed to pass muster.
Caltrans installs barbed wire next to a San Mateo County bike path in an apparent effort to keep people and deer off a freeway — or possibly ensure painful injuries to anyone who falls or rides off the path.
A Sausalito councilwoman continues to push for a limit on rental bikes, evidently preferring that all those people drive and take up even more space instead. I guess creating space for those tourists to safely ride and park their bikes is out of the question.
National
The Federal Highway Administration finally gets serious about helping local transportation planners count bikes and pedestrians; needless to say, LA is left out of the first round of the pilot program.
Nice to have bike lawyer Bob Mionske back online; today’s advice is to stay out of the door zone. But you knew that already, right?
A Portland paper explains why cyclists are attempting to get the bike-friendly ranking for the former-bicycling paradise downgraded.
A Chicago alderman tries to force the city to move a protected bike lane from a busy street. Unlike LA, he apparently doesn’t have the near-dictatorial power to kill it all by himself.
Once again, a Florida-based gym co-opts the ghost bike movement by placing orange copies around Ann Arbor MI to promote their new location. Maybe they should place orange tombstones, instead; the message to cyclists would be about the same.
A suspected drunk driver is charged with the head-on collision that killed a popular Vermont cyclist after the driver drifted onto the wrong side of the road; in addition to the fatality, he’s charged with his fifth offense for driving with a suspended license. Once again, the system allowed a dangerous driver to remain on the road, legally or not, until he killed someone.
Writing for the Washington Post, New York’s Bike Snob says they’re trying to turn us into cars. And that mandatory helmet laws and glow-in-the-dark spray paint show who really owns the roads.
The Atlanta Braves encourage bike riding instead of driving to their new stadium, due to open in 2017. Maybe the Dodgers should demand safer cycling routes to encourage more people to leave their cars at home.
International
British cyclist Sir Bradley Wiggins lines up to be the next in a long string of riders to attempt the hour record.
Two Arizona teenagers are arrested for trying to smuggle 3.5 pounds of marijuana across the border hidden in their bike tires; but how was the ride? Mazda is the latest car maker to design a bike, which appears to be a disc-wheeled single speed; I look forward to the day when the Cannibal introduces a new car model.
