Police seek hit-and-run driver who killed 90-year old bike rider in April

July 23, 2013 / / 11 comments

A bad news day just got that much worse.

The LAPD has just released a dash cam video showing the hit-and-run death of a 90-year old bike rider in graphic detail.

Three months after the fact.

According to a video posted on the department’s YouTube page, Los Angeles resident Joo Yoon was riding in a marked crosswalk on Virgil at 6th Street around 5:10 pm on Saturday, April 27th; judging from the video, he appears to be headed west on 6th.

The light apparently turns green while he’s crossing the street. The bus driver recording the video waits for Yoon to finish crossing, while a driver in the right lane, whose view is apparently obstructed by the bus, blows through and hits the rider, who doesn’t move after the collision. Police report he died at a local hospital shortly afterwards.

The only thing harder to watch than the collision itself are the drivers who casually go around as a man lies dying in the street.

Police are looking for a a newer model Nissan GT-R, gun metal or dark grey, with 3″ white racing strip from front fender to tail light section, possibly on both sides, and damage to the front bumper area and hood — although that was likely fixed some time ago. They are also interested in a second vehicle, possibly a newer model black or dark colored Audi.

The suspect is described as an Asian man about 25-years old, with black hair and brown eyes, about 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighing around 180 to 190 pounds.

Anyone with information is urged to call LAPD West Traffic Detectives Willmon at (213) 473-0222.

This is the 50th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and 23rd in Los Angeles County, equalling the total for all of last year. It’s also the 8th bicycling death in the City of Los Angeles, which compares with 5 for each of the last two years.

My prayers and sympathy for Joo Yoon and all his loved ones.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Bikes & the Law, Hit-and-Run, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

62-year old bike rider killed in Fontana collision

July 23, 2013 / / One comment

Once again, a bike rider has been killed in San Bernardino County.

And once again, we have virtually no information on the tragedy.

According to the Press-Enterprise, 62-year old Hershel Trueblood of Fontana was killed when he “rode his bike into traffic,” whatever that means.

The San Bernardino County Coroner reports he was riding on Sierra Avenue at Fontana Circle — an address that doesn’t seem to exist — at 8:18 am Monday when he rode in front of a vehicle, and was hit by a car headed south on Sierra; he died at Arrowhead Medical Center at 1:51 pm.

No word from any source on which direction Trueblood was riding.

From the limited description, it sounds like he may have swerved into the traffic lane, for whatever reason, and been hit from behind in a classic SWSS — single witness suicide swerve. If there were no witnesses other than the driver who hit him who can verify that he rode into traffic, it’s just as possible that he may have been riding straight and hit from behind by an inattentive driver.

As the Urban Country points out, there are incentives for drivers, police and society at large to blame the victim for his own death when he is unable to defend himself.

Then again, for all we know, he could have been riding against traffic, or either he or the driver may have somehow strayed onto the wrong side of the road, resulting in head-on collision. Or he could have been riding on the sidewalk and come out into the street.

Unless someone bothers to do a follow-upthat goes beyond retyping the coroner’s cryptic report — which too often, doesn’t happen in the Inland Empire — we may never know.

This is the 49th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the sixth in San Bernardino County. Trueblood is the third rider killed in Fontana in the last three years, and the second in the last two months; the others died in collisions with trains.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Hershel Trueblood and his family and friends.

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

Killer SF cyclist Chris Bucchere gets slap on wrist — should we be angry?

July 23, 2013 / / 33 comments

If you’ve read this blog for awhile, you know I can get almost apoplectic when a killer driver walks with a relative slap on the wrist.

So how should we respond when it’s a bike rider who gets the benefit of the court’s low valuation of a human life?

San Francisco cyclist Chris Bucchere faced a felony manslaughter charge for running into 71-year old pedestrian Sutchi Hui in a crosswalk while — allegedly — trying to beat his Strava time. Witnesses and security camera footage were unclear on whether he ran the red light, or entered on the yellow as Bucchere claimed.

Bucchere posted online shortly after the incident, defending his actions by saying the crosswalk filled before he could clear the intersection, and, unable to find a clear line, laid down his bike at the least populated area. At least some witnesses said he simply plowed through the crowded crosswalk, killing Hui.

Other witnesses reported that he had been riding recklessly prior to the collision, running at least three red lights prior to arriving at the deadly intersection.

Now the SF Gate reports that he’s accepted a plea deal that will avoid jail time, agreeing to perform 1,000 hours of community service.

Don’t get me wrong.

One thousand hours is a long time, and it gives him an opportunity to benefit society while serving as a warning to other riders.

But if a killer driver got off with just community service, we would be livid. At least, I would be.

Should we be any less so when the killer is one of us?

My first reaction was relief that Bucchere had been held accountable without suffering the heavy handed sentence that had been threatened. After all, he’s one of us, and it’s easy to imagine ourselves in that position.

Or not, on second though.

I never run red lights. As in, never.

I always ride within my capabilities; as thrilling as it can be to push beyond your limits, I’ve learned the hard way that the risks far outweigh the benefits.

And I never, ever ride recklessly around pedestrians. They have the right-of-way when crossing the street. And even when in the wrong, they are the only people on the roadway more vulnerable than we are.

They need, and deserve, our respect and consideration as much as we need that of the motorists we’re forced to share the road with.

So I find myself conflicted.

I’m angry that yet another killer has been let off the hook with a sentence that once again devalues the life of his victim and the consequences of his actions.

And relieved that one of us wasn’t held to a stricter accountability than similarly reckless drivers.

It’s just another slap on the wrist. And a sentence that is only fair in the uniformity of its unfairness.

Thanks to Al Williams for the heads-up.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Bikes & the Law, Injuries and Fatalities, Legal Cases, Roadway Courtesy / Tags: , , ,

Update: Bike rider mugged on Ballona Creek bike path; Redlands driver attempts to run down cyclists

July 23, 2013 / / 17 comments

Are the Ballona badlands back?

In a crime reminiscent of the bad old days of five years ago, when bike riders were attacked in two separate assaults on the Ballona Creek Bike Path, a cyclist was mugged on the popular bikeway Friday evening.

According to a comment from Mark Neumann, a friend of his was assaulted by three men in an attempt to steal his bike.

On Friday night about 6 pm while riding home from work, a friend of mine got assaulted on his bike riding the Ballona Creek bike path in Culver City on Friday. His words: “He threw his bike into my front wheel as I was about to pass him going about 20 mph. So that dumped me straight onto my shoulder and ribs. I hopped up and the guy was starting to pull my bike away. I told him no and grabbed it back. Wasn’t thinking straight with all the adrenaline cause he pulled it back and started reaching in his pocket. But then he let go and ran off. That’s when I started to feel the injuries and that I couldn’t breathe from the ribs and punctured lung. Feeling better today but the ribs hurt like a mother. Hope to get the chest tube out tomorrow and then get home.” Three guys caused him to crash and tried to steal his bike. He has 5 broken ribs, a broken clavicle, collapsed lung and some good road rash. He is doing well at UCLA but in lots of pain and unable to move.  Be careful on this path.

Unfortunately, things like this are nothing new.

And not restricted to the Ballona bikeway.

An August, 1990 article in the LA Times reports that the Automobile Club of Southern California had warned its bike riding members to avoid Ballona Creek due to dangerous conditions there — a risk made evident when a rider was shot to death on the bike path near Marina del Rey that July.

And it was just two years ago that riders were attacked in at least four separate incidents on the Greenway Trail in Wittier, including a woman who was severely beaten before her attackers ran off without taking anything. Or, thankfully, doing anything other than beating the crap out of her.

It’s a fear that leads many riders, especially women, to avoid off-road bikeways, particularly after dark or when other riders aren’t likely to be present. And may have contributed to the hit-and-run death of Erin Galligan in Santa Monica last year, as she chose to ride through a dangerous construction area on PCH rather than take her chances on the dark, secluded beachfront bike path just a few feet away.

It’s not that bike paths are inherently dangerous. It’s the fact that assaults like this are relatively rare that makes them so shocking.

But it’s an inherent problem with virtually any off-road pathway that while they offer protection from motor vehicles, large sections of the paths are likely to be out of public view and rarely, if ever, patrolled by the police, providing a secluded location for anyone with evil intent.

In fact, in the 2008 assaults, it became clear that the LAPD didn’t even know there was a Ballona Creek bike path, let alone where it was. A problem compounded by the three separate police agencies — LAPD, Culver City PD and LA Sheriff’s Department — responsible for various sections of the bikeway.

None of whom I have ever seen patrol the pathway while riding there myself.

That lack of police protection means it’s up to you keep an eye out for dangerous situations and people or circumstances that just don’t look right. Just as it would be if you were walking or riding through a secluded alley or parking garage, or any other place where an assault could be hidden from public view.

Though how you avoid someone throwing a bike at you is beyond me.

Update: Neumann forwards another report from a friend showing the long history of violence on the bikeway, this one dating back more than 20 years.

Flashback to: Wed Nov 27, 1991 Ballona Creek bike path. Back then there was no fence between the projects and the bike path. I was attacked by a gang while riding home from my office in Beverly Hills. They pulled me off the bike. One of them cold cocked me. I took off running. They caught me. Struck me on the side of the head (with a bike helmet on – no less) with either a gun or a pipe. While on the ground that night I thoroughly believed it was going to be my last day on this planet. But, they grabbed my backpack and ran away. (They got my wallet and a Rolex.) I was in shock. I had a fractured zygomatic (temple) arch. They never caught the culprits. My doctor failed to diagnose my fracture. It healed broken. I had to have corrective surgery which resulted in an infection/abscess. More surgery. A week in Torrance Memorial on 24 hour IV antibiotics. Lost 20 pounds. Necrosis to my jaw bone. Followed up with corrective surgery and bone removal. I have permanent limited opening of my jaw. I never thought anything could rattle me but I could not walk down a street without looking over my shoulder for over a year. I refused to ride that stretch of Ballona Creek for over 15 years. I will only ride it now if I am with others. A couple of weeks after I was assaulted a guy was shot and killed on his bike in the same stretch. I knew him. He worked at that corner mini-mart up from the MB Pier (where Skechers is now). Anyhow, I hope your friend is OK. Truly.

Update 2: The victim of the assault has been identified as Manhattan Beach school board member Bill Fournell; he was released from the hospital after five days with a broken collarbone, broken ribs and punctured lungs. 

Manhattan Beach Patch places the assault at around 6 pm on July 19th, between the Higuera and Dusquesne bridges.

………

Maybe they really are out to get us.

According to multiple reports, a Redlands man is under arrest for deliberately aiming his car at number of bike riders in a string of attacks this past weekend.

Redlands police arrested 26-year old John McDonald on charges of assault with a deadly weapon after he repeatedly attempted to ram bicyclists along Sunset Drive with his Honda Civic. In at least one case, he swerved across the roadway in an effort to hit a cyclist riding in the opposite direction, forcing the rider off the road.

More frightening, police responded to similar calls throughout the weekend, including two on Sunday, suggesting that the attacks continued over at least a two-day period.

Under the circumstances, it seems like a miracle that no one was seriously injured.

Or worse.

And yet, when they finally did arrest him, McDonald was held on just a $50,000 bond. I guess trying to kill someone with your car isn’t considered all that serious unless you succeed.

Anyone with information is urged to call Redlands police at (909) 798-7681.

………

Finally, police are looking for the hit-and-run driver who plowed into a group of cyclists at the monthly San Jose Bike Party, injuring two riders and leaving one with a broken hip and skull.

Clearly, hit-and-runs are not just an LA problem.

They seem to occur with frequency wherever motor vehicles come in contact with soft and breakable flesh.

Category: Bikes & the Law, Violence & Crime / Tags: , , , , ,

Catching up: Bike art, a real Summer of Cycling rider, and driving on meth without a license

July 22, 2013 / / 4 comments

Let’s catch up with the weekend’s news.

………

The 5th Edition of the Santa Monica Museum of Art’s popular Tour de Arts is back on August 18th, as art museums in Portland and around the nation embrace bike culture.

Thanks to Robin Cembelest of ARTNews for the second link.

………

The Los Angeles Newspaper Group, home to the Daily News, Daily Breeze, Star-News, et al, finally finds a real bike rider to comment for their so-far far disappointing Summer of Cycling.

………

A Palo Alto driver who ran down and gravely injured a 12-year boy riding in a bike lane will face only a single misdemeanor count despite driving with a suspended license and meth in his system.

If you ever wondered why people continue to die on our streets, that’s a damn good place to start.

………

Police stop an anti-racism protest run in Westwood, but only the bicyclist accompanying the runners gets arrested, for reasons that remain undisclosed; thanks to Dylan for the heads-up. Then again, it was the cyclists riding for peace who got arrested in Inglewood, too; evidently, activism and pedals don’t go together as far as police are concerned. LADOT Bike Blog reports on the department’s progress to the BAC. Outside Magazine rides with Wolfpack Hustle’s Marathon Crash race. Bike lawyer Joshua Cohen will host a workshop on legal and practical issues for bicyclists on Tuesday at Red 5 Yellow 7. After surviving a helmetless fall, a Santa Monica lawyer wants everyone to wear one. Yes, there will be a second annual Clitoral Mass ride on August 24th. New bike racks are coming to downtown El Segundo; thanks to Margaret for the heads-up. Hermosa Cyclery helps provide a special-needs bike for an 11-year old double stroke victim. Long Beach will host a bike-in movie screening of The Triplets of Belleville on Saturday, August 10th. A new coffee and bike shop opens in Agoura Hills. The first of 30 “Need to Know” bike classes in East LA County kicked off in El Monte Saturday.

CLR Effect reports on the Ontario Grand Prix, including some outstanding racing photos. Bike lanes and sharrows are making life easier for Palm Springs bike riders. It really takes some sort of incredible heartless jerk to steal the ghost bike installed for 12-year old Simi Valley bike victim Jacob Sellers; a ride was held Sunday to re-install it. A 25-year old Santa Cruz cyclist is right hooked by a 95-year old driver, who responds by stepping on the gas instead of the brakes. A bike rider is found dead in a Los Banos canal, and may be the cyclist who was reported missing by his family. A San Francisco musician makes his living playing and pedaling a 325 pound piano bike. Another DUI hit-and-run in San Francisco, but this time, it was the cyclist who was allegedly drunk.

Why are BMW drivers such jerks when it comes to cyclists? A Seattle cyclist loses a thumb in a left cross collision with a drunk driver, who was still on the road despite a prior DUI. A Salt Lake City cop says bike riding is only healthy if you don’t have an SUV parked on top of you; no, seriously, thanks for that astounding insight. The Times says my bike-friendly hometown may be the happiest place on earth; hopefully not just because I don’t live there anymore. Evidently, LA isn’t the only city with a hit-and-run problem, as fleeing killer drivers are common in New Orleans. New York police ticket a cyclist for not running a red light, and add two more for not shutting up; best advice, shut up and take the ticket, then fight it later. Police use a Taser and projectile launcher to take down a Delaware driver following a hit, run, bike and swim. A suspected North Carolina drunk driver plows into a building, then hits a cyclist head-on on an off-road bike path.

The comparison between seat belts and bike helmets doesn’t work, but that doesn’t mean you can’t rock a $960 Gucci bike helmet with built-in sun shield. A British celebrity lawyer calls for making helmets and hi-viz clothing mandatory. No, really, that pub owner was just making a really funny joke to his friends when he threatened to kill bike riders, so lighten up already. An Edinburgh surgeon rides 3,415 miles from LA to Boston. It’s been a very good year for UK cycling. Ireland plans on-the-spot fines for scofflaw cyclists, but don’t plan to punish drunk riders; insert mildly offensive drunken Irish joke here. Tour de France champ Chris Froome gives a backhand to an interfering fan, while Garmin-Sharp rider Jack Bauer suffers severe facial injuries falling into barbed wire. A retiring Jens Voigt attacks for the last time in the Tour de France. On the other hand, women riders could do that, too. Meanwhile, 27 more cyclists face doping charges; good thing the sport has been cleaned up, right?

Finally, at best, bicycling is slowing your rate of decay compared to your former classmates. And a UK man doesn’t remember killing his friend and dismembering his body, although that’s the sort of thing you’d think would stick with you. But at least he used a bike to get rid of the body parts.

Category: General / Tags: , ,

A simple thought

July 20, 2013 / / 13 comments

My apologies for not having a new post for the last couple days.

Yesterday was my wife’s XXth anniversary of her 29th birthday, so that took priority over updating this site, as much as I might have wanted to.

Today, though, I woke to the news that this is the 44th anniversary of the moon landing.

Those of you who grew up in an age of space flight, where putting a man on the moon was old news, probably can’t comprehend just how momentous that moment was.

To this day, I clearly remember exactly where I was and what I was doing.

My father’s Knights of Columbus group had a picnic, scheduled long in advance, at the local park; a few members brought along their portable black & white TVs so they wouldn’t miss it. And at the appointed hour, everyone stopped what they were doing and gathered around their TVs to watch.

And by everyone, I mean the entire world.

America had done the impossible.

Again.

As teenagers and men and women in their 20s, my parent’s generation, possibly your grandparents or even great grandparents, defeated the greatest war machine the world has ever known. And quite literally, saved the world in the process.

They split the atom. They landed on the moon, using 1960s technology. They fought, and won, the battle for civil rights. They built the massive Interstate highway system that connects our cities and makes our much-vaunted mobility a reality.

They did the impossible. Not once, but over and over again.

A generation that believed it could achieve anything, did. Today’s America believes it can’t, and doesn’t.

That’s not to say they got everything right.

We’re still fighting the battle for equal rights for all Americans. And dealing with the nuclear legacy they left behind, and the needless deaths on our streets.

But it was a generation that thought big, and found solutions when challenges to those ideas inevitably arose. And refused to let a single roadblock, or a thousand, derail them from reaching their destination as a nation.

Unlike ours.

It’s long past time to end the era of small thinking and lowered expectations, and once again envision America as it can and should be, with limitless horizons and compassion for all.

We have proven over and again that we can accomplish anything we truly commit to, and solve any problem if we set our minds and hearts to the task.

So lets do it. Again.

Now.

Category: General / Tags: , , , ,
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