Good news and bad news: LAPD makes hit-and-run arrest; bike rider killed in Compton

January 15, 2014 / / 4 comments
Ghost bike for Compton victim Pete; photo by Danny Gamboa

Ghost bike for Compton victim Pete; photo by Danny Gamboa

Let’s start with the bad news.

No details yet, but I’ve received confirmation that a bike rider was killed in Compton Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.

As if the photo that’s circulating online wasn’t confirmation enough. And no, I’m not going to share it here.

According to the reports, he was killed while riding his bike at Compton Blvd and North Dwight Ave. Friends of the victim, who identified him only as Pete, confirm that he was hit by a car sometime before 5 am Wednesday morning and died at the scene; the driver remained at the scene following the collision.

Judging by the photo of the victim, he appears to be a bearded white male with grey hair, possibly in his 50s or 60s.

No other information is available at this time.

This is the 7th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, as we maintain the horrific every-other-day pace since the first of the year. And it is the third cycling death in LA County this year, which suffered an intolerable 39 bike-related deaths in 2013.

My prayers and sympathy for the victim and his loved ones.

Thanks to Danny Gamboa for the heads-up.

Update: I didn’t recognize the corner, but Gamboa points out it’s the same intersection where Ovidio Morales was killed in a still-unsoved hit-and-run in 2010; his ghost bike is still there across the intersection. 

He reports one of the victim’s friends said he was a good man who struggled with alcohol, and was in and out of treatment programs.

As the photo suggests, neighbors have placed candles in his memory.

………

Gamboa also forwards word that an arrest has been made in the hit-and-run death of a Panarama City man, who has not been publicly identified at the request of the man’s family.

According to a press release from the LAPD,

Fatal Hit And Run Driver taken into custody

On January 13, 2014 at 6 PM Valley Traffic Division Detectives arrested a 46-year old male, Rene Amaya of Panarama City on suspicion of the felony hit and run (20001(a)VC) death of a bicyclist, which occurred on December 23, 2013, at the intersection of Burnet Ave and Lanark St in the Community of Panarama City, California. Bail was set at $50,000.

Maybe someone can explain to me why we continue to grant such a low bail to someone who has already demonstrated a willingness to flee after taking a life.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Hit-and-Run, Injuries and Fatalities, Legal Cases / Tags: , , , , , ,

Transportation rock star Gabe Klein comes to City Hall; HBPD hits a cyclist and Milton Olin investigation drags on

January 15, 2014 / / Comments Off on Transportation rock star Gabe Klein comes to City Hall; HBPD hits a cyclist and Milton Olin investigation drags on

A little this, a little that. And not much bad news, for a change.

So let’s dig right in.

………

A real transportation rock star visits the city as former DC and Chicago DOT chief Gabe Klein will talk bike share at City Hall Friday afternoon. Maybe our esteemed mayor can convince him to stick around for a job interview afterwards.

Or even before. Or during, for that matter.

………

I’ve gotten a report that a Huntington Beach patrol car struck a bicyclist around 11 pm last Tuesday; no word on how the collision occurred, the officer involved or the condition of the rider.

Not that they’re being tight lipped about it or anything.

………

The investigation into the death of former Napster exec Milt Olin continues over a month after his death, while the Times notes that the slow pace raises questions of a cover-up.

You think?

I’ve only heard fears of that from, lets see, everyone I’ve heard from about this tragedy.

………

Nine ways LA is ditching its auto-centric reputation, while Salon says the City of Angeles is experiencing a renaissance for biking and walking. But maybe not so fast, as Metro decides cyclists and pedestrians deserve only one lousy vote on their Technical Advisory Committee; God forbid they should let the hoi polloi have a say. Another meeting added to discuss the reconstruction of Santa Monica Blvd — and possible bike lanes — in Beverly Hills; Better Bike recaps the last meeting. Join Stan’s Bike Shop and the Eastside Bike Club on Saturday, the 25th to kick off April’s Tour de Cure. Manhattan Beach approves new bike lanes on Rosecrans and Manhattan Avenues. Long Beach gets to keep its green sharrows even though the Feds have pulled the plug on the popular super sharrows and green-backed sharrows. Bike Long Beach invites you to hear the Bike League’s Steve Clark talk about what we can learn from the best bike infrastructure from around the world this Thursday. Share your thoughts about the proposed San Gabriel Valley bike master plan before the end of the month. Hopefully, bicycling at Cal Poly Pomona is now a little safer, as the campus gets its first bike path; they still need to fix the streets leading to campus, though.

Here’s a bill to keep an eye on, as AB 1193 encouraging the use of cycle tracks in California passes its first committee test with flying colors. Newport Beach plans a community bike ride on Saturday. No surprise, as the accused road raging San Diego driver who seriously injured a cyclist pleads not guilty. A 71-year old cyclist is critically injured after allegedly riding into the path of a Riverside bus. Mark your calendar for the Thousand Oaks Ride 2 Recovery ride on May 3rd. Bay Area bike riders reject the idea of licensing fees. Is San Francisco America’s most bike-friendly city? Maybe so, as SF supervisors call for the city to adopt a Vision Zero, two words I have never heard escape the lips of an LA politician. The Bay Area Bike Share hits 100,000 trips in less than four months.

Should doctors do more to prevent traffic fatalities? Seven predictions that could drive the bike industry in 2014; is the youth bike boom going bust already? More curb-protected bike lanes are coming to America. A case before the Supreme Court could affect the viability of the Rails to Trails movement. Bicycling offers advice on how to break wind; a couple burritos usually do the trick for me. The incomparable Katie Compton wins her 10th national cyclocross title; VeloNews looks at the highlights of this year’s championships. A new Portland housing project will have nearly two long-term bike parking spaces for every unit, the most in the US. Arizona driver gets a whopping seven days — seven whole days! — in jail for first harassing, then crashing into, a group of pro cyclists before fleeing the scene; clearly, any expectation of justice for cyclists in the Grand Canyon State is just an illusion. Three Houston cyclists have been killed in hit-and-runs in the last 45 days. Walkers and runners are invading Austin TX bike lanes. The most impressive vehicles at the Detroit Auto Show have just two wheels. Drunken Michigan man busted for driving on a bike path. Someone is tossing tacks on a Tampa bike path; if anyone put something on a roadway that could cause drivers to crash, they’d call it a terrorist attack. Oddly, the solution to drunk drivers hitting cyclists on a Miami-area causeway isn’t banning bikes.

A London rider says drivers are out to kill him, perhaps literally; another responds — reasonably — that we shouldn’t exaggerate the risks of bike riding. Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson clearly doesn’t get the need to take the lane. A UK rider says few people are injured by bikes, and motorists who disagree should try riding one, while another says there is no we in bicycling. A Brit cyclist rides 1,350 miles to visit Auschwitz. Eighty-three-year old British man flees the scene after killing a bike rider in Spain; hit-and-run is clearly not just an American problem as another driver drives off after killing a Romanian rider in Cyprus. A UK paper says Spain’s Majorca is a bike rider’s paradise. Touring India by bike. A New Zealand cyclist denies he fled the scene after striking a 12-year old bike rider. New Zealand drivers don’t see cyclists because they aren’t looking for us; so would I be out of line suggesting that maybe they should start? Kiwi cyclists account for 60% of red light runners at four key intersections. The British woman who survived brutal conditions to set a record riding her bike to the South Pole tells her story.

Finally, the effects of texting and driving caught on camera; thanks to John McBrearty for the heads-up. You don’t want this on video, as an Irish mountain biker suffers a seven week erection after crash landing on the top bar.

And talk about taking the high road, as Calexico border guards stop a bike rider with nine pounds of marijuana stuffed in his rear tire.

Thanks to John Hall for the generous donation!

Category: General / Tags: , , , ,

Bike rider killed in San Bernardino collision; sixth SoCal cycling fatality in last two weeks

January 14, 2014 / / 5 comments

At this point, I have to assume you’re as sick of reading about people killed while riding their bikes as I am of writing about it.

Yet the tragedies keep piling up in this bloody new year, as yet another cyclist lost his life last night, this time in San Bernardino.

According to the Press Enterprise, the victim was riding with his girlfriend on their way to a friend’s house around 6 pm last night when they attempted to cross East Orange Show Road at Lena Road. They saw an eastbound car approaching, but thought they had enough time to cross get across safely.

However, the car, a 2001 Chevy Monte Carlo, began to swerve to the right as it got closer, leaving them unsure which way they should go to get out of the way. In the resulting confusion, the car hit the male rider, throwing him onto the hood and passenger-side windshield.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The San Bernardino County Coroner identifies the victim as 39-year old Emmitt Palmer of San Bernardino. Though oddly, it says he was a pedestrian rather than riding bike; however, all the other details, including time and location, match up, except for identifying the car as a 2001 Impala.

The San Bernardino Sun reports the driver, 58-year old Esther Guardado, was taken to a local hospital for wrist pain.

This is the 6th bicycling fatality in Southern California so far this year — an average of nearly one every two days. And it is the first in San Bernardino County since the first of the year; there were 11 bicycling deaths in the county last year.

My deepest sympathy for Emmitt Palmer and all his loved ones. 

Category: Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , ,

Palm Springs bike rider dies in solo fall

January 12, 2014 / / One comment

A bad weekend just keeps getting worse, as a bike rider was killed in a solo fall in Palm Springs this morning.

According to Palm Springs Patch, the victim, who has not been publicly identified, was riding on a bike path on the 3100 block of East Palm Canyon Drive around 8:38 am when he somehow lost control of his bike. He veered down an embankment, and landed head-first on the pavement at the bottom.

He was pronounced dead at Desert Regional Medical Center.

A satellite view shows a separated bike path on the east side of the street, with a drop off leading to the parking lot next to it.

No word on whether the victim was wearing a helmet. However, relatively slow speed falls, like this appears to be, are exactly what bike helmets are designed to protect against.

This is the fifth bicycling fatality this year; remarkably, it is already the third death in Riverside County — or four if you count Phil Richards, who died yesterday of injuries he suffered in a Calimesa hit-and-run December 29th.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones. 

 

 

Category: Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

More bad news — Calimesa hit-and-run victim dies two weeks after collision; 89th cycling fatality of 2013

January 11, 2014 / / Comments Off on More bad news — Calimesa hit-and-run victim dies two weeks after collision; 89th cycling fatality of 2013

More bad news.

According to a report on Don Davidson’s Facebook page, Phil Richards has died of the injuries he suffered in a Calimesa hit-and-run just before New Years.

I’m deeply saddened to share the news that my very dear friend Phil Richards passed away at 5 p.m. today. I send my sincerest thanks to everyone who offered prayers, love and support to Phil, his wife Annette and their family during the difficult days since his accident Dec. 29. Words cannot express what he meant to me and how he shaped my life. … He will be deeply missed.

As you may recall, Richards was riding south on Calimesa Blvd just north of Singleton Rd around 12:25 pm on Sunday, December 29th, when a car allegedly driven by 42-year old Calimesa resident William Donald Johnson crossed the centerline and hit Richards head-on at an estimated 50 mph. Johnson fled the scene, leaving his victim critically injured in the roadway.

The experienced 55/60+ racer underwent a number of surgeries over the past few weeks, but ultimately, his medical team was unable to save him.

Hopefully, the felony hit-and-run charge against Johnson will be upgraded to a homicide charge.

This is the 89th bicycling fatality in Southern California resulting from injuries suffered in 2013, and the 12th in Riverside County.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Phil Richards and all his family and loved ones.

Update: The San Bernardino Sun says Richards was a 64-year old resident of Beaumont. 

 

Category: Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , ,

Woman killed by tour bus in South LA; bike stolen as she lay dying

January 11, 2014 / / 3 comments

There’s a special place in hell for someone who’d steal a bike from a dying woman.

That’s apparently what happened after a woman was fatally struck by an empty tour bus in South LA this morning.

In what turned out to be a very confusing story, KABC-7 initially reported that a 56-year old woman on her way to a local clinic was hit by a private tour bus at 8:30 am Saturday as she was crossing Slauson on northbound Figueroa. The station reported she was in the crosswalk when she was hit by the bus, which was turning left onto Slauson from southbound Figueroa.

She was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to the report, investigators say the driver did not see the woman in the crosswalk, while witnesses reported he appeared to be in a hurry to make the light.

“She had the right of way and the bus came and just took her out, ran her over,” said Johnathon Pineda.

And yet, police appear to be excusing the driver’s actions, saying it appears to be “nothing more than a tragic accident” despite the ongoing investigation.

And that’s where things really get confusing.

KTLA-5 says the bus had a green light, and the woman, who they say was 54, was walking outside the crosswalk when she was hit.

Meanwhile, according to KCBS-2, the victim was either carrying or riding a bicycle, which they say was taken from her before police arrived; they also give the victim’s age as 54.

Finally, KNBC-4 says the victim, who they identify as a 50-year old resident of the area, was riding her bike when she was hit, and that her bike was stolen after the crash.

The bus driver remained at the scene and was cooperating with the police.

And as if to complicate the matter further, two paramedics were injured — fortunately not seriously — when their ambulance overturned following a three-car collision as they rushed to the scene.

This is the fourth bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the second in Los Angeles County. It’s also the first in the City of Los Angeles, which suffered at least 18 bicycling fatalities last year.

Update: The victim has been identified as Ena Villalobos.

 My deepest sympathy and prayers for Ena Villalobos and her loved ones.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , ,
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