This news from this past weekend just keeps getting worse.
Longtime Orange County bike advocate Bill Sellin has forwarded news that a woman was killed while riding her bike in Lake Forest Sunday morning, apparently the victim of an out-of-control driver.
While the initial reports appeared on Nextdoor, which is not always the most reliable source, the Orange County Sheriff’s department confirms a crash occurred just before 8 am on El Toro Road at Normandale Drive.
Sellin confirmed with Lake Forest officials that the victim of the crash was killed.
Meanwhile, a woman identifying herself as the victim’s daughter reports that the crash occurred when a driver apparently lost control, jumping a curb and hitting a light pole on one side of the street, then ricocheting across the street to hit the victim before crashing into another light pole on the opposite side of the street.
All of which implies the driver may have been traveling at an extreme rate of speed, even given the irrational 55 mph speed limit on the roadway.
Photos from the scene taken from Nextdoor show the mangled bike resting on the sidewalk in front of the smashed pickup; Sellin reports the location of the victim’s body was marked in front of her bike.
There’s no word on the victim’s name or age, though we can surmise her last name from her daughter’s post.
A person identifying themselves as her neighbor reports the victim was a mother of three.
There has been nothing in the news yet, and no official confirmation from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, which patrols Lake Forest, or the Coroner’s office; unfortunately, the OC Coroner no longer posts death notices online.
This is at least the 19th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth that I’m aware of in Orange County.
Update: The victim’s daughter has identified her as Sara Wheaton; sadly, she turned 49 the day she died.
According to the daughter, Wheaton’s body was thrown 20 feet from her bike by the force of the impact. And neighbors who heard the crash don’t recall the sound of braking.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Sara Wheaton and all her family and loved ones.
Thanks to Bill Sellin for doing all the legwork and tracking down the information for this story.
George Pareta was riding his bike on his way to work at the Reseda Trader Joe’s when the driver made a sudden turn in front of him, sending him flying through the air.
There’s no word on whether it was a right hook or left cross crash, however.
Pareta was rushed to a local hospital once paramedics were able to revive him, after his heart had been stopped for nearly half an hour following the crash.
Compounding the tragedy, Pareto’s son came upon the crash scene as he rode his bike along the same route to visit his father at work, recognizing his dad’s bike even though he had already been taken away.
His family is now faced with a heartrending choice “…between keeping him the way he is in an unresponsive state or taking him off life support,” while still hoping for a miracle.
Although maybe not quite as long as they suggest, which, judging by the second date, would have been over 1,700 years before Westwood Village was even imagined.
Planning for the Broxton Street plaza dates to 2015, when the Westwood Village Improvement Association began circulating a petition seeking support for the project – which then called for the plaza to be built one block to the north between Weyburn and Le Conte Avenue. While the project was approved in 208 by the L.A. city Council, pandemic-induced staffing shortages and other setbacks within LADOT delayed implementation until now.
Metro, BikeLA — formerly the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition — and Metro Bike operator Bicycle Transit Systems have received a grant to conduct bikeshare training classes, complete with safety education and a firsthand demonstration on how to use bikeshare, along with a meal from a local business, a bike helmet, a 30-Day Metro Bike Share pass, and a group ride.
State
The Santa Barbara bike shop owner who gave a new kid’s Specialized bike as a birthday gift for four-year old British Prince Archie says she picked it for the bike’s gender neutral design, so he can pass it down to his sister.
National
A Streetsblog op-ed calls for dropping the term micromobility, arguing that SUVs, pickups and passenger cars should not be the benchmark for measuring other forms of transit, large or small.
Tragic news from Colorado, where a missing 16-year old boy who disappeared after setting out on his mountain bike over a month ago has been found dead in a secluded canyon.
NPR rides with Atlanta’s oddly plural Ampersand Bikes Club, discussing how bicycles can provide strength, joy, and a way to create a protected space for Asian bike riders, even if protecting that space isn’t always easy.
Unfortunately, that’s all we know at this time. There’s no word on how or why the crash happened, or whether the driver was held accountable in any way.
Anyone with information is urged to call Riverside County Sheriff’s Deputy Petersen at 951/245-3000.
This follows news that a Reseda father is on life support after he was struck by a driver while riding his bike to work Thursday morning.
This is at least the 18th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth that I’m aware of in Riverside County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Kennan Ruiz and all his loved ones.
June 12, 2023 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Juneteenth celebration at CicLAvia, settlement reached in Kizzee shooting, and 16-to-life for killer DUI bike path driver
The upcoming CicLAvia, arguably the nation’s largest and most popular open streets event, will run directly down Vermont Ave from Exposition to Century Blvd, before taking a three-block dogleg to the left along Century.
The Father’s Day event will undoubtedly see multiple celebrations of dads along the route, officially or otherwise.
It will also celebrate Monday’s Juneteenth legal holiday, which marks the day enslaved Americans in south Texas finally heard the long-delayed news of their freedom — marking the last of the southern slaves to be freed following the Civil War.
Settlement terms for the $35 million lawsuit were not announced.
Kizzee was shot 15 times as he tried to flee from the deputies over what began as a traffic stop for riding on the wrong side of the street.
Kizzee allegedly struggled with one of the deputies, striking him in the face and dropping a gun he was carrying; he was shot after he picked it up, even though he was running away from the deputies and didn’t point the gun in their direction.
His shooting came amid the protests over the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, leading many to argue he was killed for biking while Black.
Michael Dodson was riding his bike on the American River bike path when he was run down by 27-year old Armando Moreno-Rodriguez, who had somehow driven onto the ostensibly carfree pathway.
After crashing into Dodson, Moreno-Rodriguez drove another four miles on the path at speeds up to 35 mph before his car shut down, officials said.
Moreno-Rodriguez was convicted on charges of second-degree murder, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, hit-and-run involving death, and driving with a suspended license.
He had signed a Watson advisement after three previous due convictions, which states that he could be charged with murder if he killed someone while driving under the influence anytime in the future.
Which he did.
Moreno-Rodriguez had blood alcohol level of .27, over three times the legal limit.
Councilmember Phil Brock is has placed an item on the agenda for this Tuesday’s city council meeting tasking staff with looking into significantly undermining the new 17th St protected bike lane.
The Ballona Creek bike path will be closed from 8 am to 3 pm on Wednesday and Thursday between Duquesne and Jackson Aves in Culver City.
As a result, last Saturday’s volunteer bush clearing effort was cancelled.
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Good question.
Will LA’s largely apathetic bike community ever stage a large-scale protest ride on Wilshire Blvd?
Or anywhere else, for that matter?
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on rolling.
No bias here. An Arizona letter writer complains about scofflaw bike riders blatantly disregarding traffic laws, arguing they make other bicyclists look bad and should all appear in court. Apparently failing to notice the people in the big, dangerous machines speeding, failing to signal lane changes and turns, and watching their phones instead of the street in front of them.
Horrible news from the Baltimore area, where a man is accused of intentionally running down a bike rider with his pickup, then getting out and physically attacking the victim until police arrived to halt the assault; the victim was lucky to escape without life-threatening injuries.
The LA Daily Newsnotes the passage of AB 645 last month, which would establish a speed cam pilot program in California, with just seven dissenting votes in the state Assembly; the bill must pass out of the Senate Transportation Committee by July 14 to stay alive.
June 9, 2023 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Metro considers Alameda mobility options, 10th Anniversary of Finish The Ride this weekend, and writers bike the strike
Anyone who has tried to walk or bike Alameda Street south of Union Station in DTLA knows it’s just this side of a traffic choked living hell.
The options range from closing or moving offramps and widening sidewalks, to converting Arcadia Street to a pedestrian walkway and capping the 101 Freeway to create a new park.
Let’s hope our officials have the courage and foresight to make the choice that will most dramatically remake Downtown Los Angeles.
This weekend marks the tenth anniversary of Finish The Ride, which began when Damian Kevitt invited the public to join him in finishing the Griffith Park ride that was interrupted by a hit-and-run driver, who has never been caught.
More than 2,000 “cyclists, runners, walkers, challenged athletes, veterans, first responders, civic and community leaders, and safe streets advocates from across Southern California” are expected to turn out to demand safer streets for everyone.
This year’s event has been divided into two parts, with Finish The Run on Saturday, and Finish The Ride on Sunday.
You’ll also have a chance to meet two highly qualified candidates to replace Adam Schiff in California’s 30th Congressional District, in Laura Friedman and Anthony Portantino.
I’ll let the folks at Finish The Ride take it from here.
Finish The Ride (www.FinishTheRide.org) was founded in the aftermath of a vicious hit-and-run crime in 2013 that saw cyclist Damian Kevitt lose his leg after being dragged under a car from the streets of Griffith Park onto and down Interstate 5 for nearly a quarter mile. A year later, Kevitt was accompanied by hundreds of cyclists, street safety advocates, and community leaders as part of a campaign to raise awareness of an epidemic of hit-and-run crimes in Los Angeles.
Last year participants in Finish The Ride and Finish The Run demanded that Griffith Park be made safer for the tens of thousands who use it weekly for recreation and exercise. As a result, only a couple of months later, a section of Griffith Park Drive was transformed from a road into a closed pedestrian, bicycle, and equestrian path, and 4 million dollars of funding was approved for additional safety renovations across the park.
According to a report by the non-profit Streets Are For Everyone (known as SAFE), the City of Los Angeles saw a record 312 fatalities last year, most of them pedestrians, and tens of thousands more seriously injured. The primary factor in all these collisions was reckless speeding. SAFE has been involved in a massive state-wide campaign to educate about and advocate for the need to reign in reckless speeding to save lives. Part of this campaign has demanded that legislators pass AB 645, a pilot program that would allow the limited use of speed safety cameras in school zones and on the most dangerous roads in 6 cities across the state. Over 1800 have signed a petition to demand that legislators support AB 645. As a result of this campaign, AB 645 just passed the Assembly with overwhelming support (58 to 7).
This year’s Finish The Ride and Finish The Run event brings together people from all walks to continue the call to demand that roads be made safer and reckless speeding be addressed as the public health crisis that it is.
Finish The Ride and Finish The Run is now in its 10th year and will be held over two days – runners and walkers on Saturday and cyclists on Sunday. On Saturday, there will be the usual 5K/10K run/walk and half-marathon run. On Sunday will be the usual 15-mile, 25-mile, 35-mile, and 50 miles rides. New additions to this year’s event are the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council 1K Kids Run and a Puppy Run on Saturday and the Bahati Foundation Metric Century on Sunday.
Saturday, 10 June 2023 – Finish The Run
(1200 runners and walkers expected)
Time: 7:30 AM Griffith Park Half-Marathon starts
8 AM Finish the Run Opening Ceremony with Civic Leaders and other Victims of Traffic Violence speaking (All other events depart following the opening ceremony)
Where: Griffith Park, Crystal Springs Area
4663 Crystal Springs Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Who: Asm Laura Friedman
Councilmember Nithya Raman
Damian Kevitt, Founder of Finish The Ride/Finish The Run and Streets Are For Everyone
Cindi Enamorado, sister of Raymond Olivares, who lost his life in February 2023 at the hands of a driver engaged in street racing.
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Sunday, 11 June 2023 – Finish The Ride
(800 cyclists expected)
Time: 7 AM Olympic Silver Medalist Nelson Nails leads the Bahati Foundation Metric Century and Andrew Jelmert Half Century Ride
8 AM Finish the Ride Opening Ceremony with Civic Leaders and other Victims of Traffic Violence speaking (All other events depart following the opening ceremony)
Where: Griffith Park, Crystal Springs Area
4663 Crystal Springs Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Who: Senator Anthony Portantino
Damian Kevitt, Founder of Finish The Ride and Streets Are For Everyone
Curtis Townsend Sr., who lost his wife, Trina Newman-Townsend, in a hit-and-run on Christmas Eve in 2022.
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Seen on the street: A WGA writer bikes the strike.
David Drexler shares video showing the full length of the new Mark Bixby bike/ped path on the International Gateway Bridge, taken on last month’s opening day.
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Gravel Bike California accepts the challenge of biking the Desert X biennial art installation across the “vast & sandy” Coachella Valley in a single day.
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A UC Davis bike rider is on the hunt for a hit-and-run e-cart driver.
And yes, it’s legally hit-and-run if you just cause someone to fall, even without making contact.
Ocean City, New Jersey tabled plans to ban ebikes from the city’s boardwalk, instead creating a committee to study the issue. If they’re anything like Los Angeles, having a committee study something means no one will ever hear about it again.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Pasadena is launching its own ebike rebate program on July 1st, with rebates up to $1,000 for city residents. Meanwhile, Los Angeles hasn’t even discussed any program to get motor vehicles off the streets, with ebikes or otherwise.
Laguna Beach is requiring students to complete an ebike safety course in exchange for a permit to park their bike on campus. Which is a great way to discourage bike commuting, and force people without permits back into cars.
Colorado officially announced their new program to provide ebike rebates for residents earning less than 80% to 100% of their county’s median income. Just the latest city, state or province to provide ebike rebates before California’s vastly underfunded, fomerly-first-in-the-nation program gets off the ground — which should finally happen soon.
Huh? A Columbus, Ohio TV station says many people are priced out of bicycling by the high cost of bikes, even while mentioning a nonprofit shop that sells refurbished bikes for around a hundred bucks. Seriously, cost should never be a barrier to bicycling, when there are countless options for low cost bikes. Or even free ones like the one above.
June 8, 2023 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Former BMX champ Pat Casey killed in motocross crash, and driver charged for killing ebike-riding Carlsbad mom
The victim was riding at an offramp to the 905 Freeway near Airway Road and Britannia Blvd in Otay Mesa when he was run down by the driver around 4:33 am Tuesday.
There’s no word on how the crash occurred, or the identity or condition of the victim.
SB 50, which would halt police stops for minor traffic violations to stop pretextual policing
SB 712 requires landlords to allow at least one micromobility device — bicycles, scooters, etc — per unit.
AB 6 would give Gov. Gavin Newsom another chance to sign a bill putting his climate money where his mouth is by requiring regional transportation agencies to prioritize and fund transportation projects that significantly contribute to meeting regional and state climate goals.
AB 7 mandates climate-first transportation planning.
AB 73 would give Newsom yet another opportunity to sign a bicycle safety stop bill, aka stop as yield or Idaho Stop.
AB 361 allows public agencies to enforce parking violations by taking photographs of vehicles blocking bike lanes, although it would not allow individuals to submit photos.
AB 413 would require daylighting at intersections by prohibiting parking, standing or stopping within 20 feet of a marked or unmarked crosswalk.
AB 645 creates a speed cam pilot program for three cities each in Northern and Southern California, including Los Angeles, Long Beach and Glendale.
AB 825 legalizes sidewalk riding on any street without a marked bikeway, while requiring bike riders to share the space responsibly and limiting speeds to 10 mph.
AB 1266 eliminates bench warrants for minor traffic violations, including for bicyclists and pedestrians.
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Nice to see more progress being made in the San Gabriel Valley.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on rolling.
Actor, humorist, author and woodworker Nick Offerman is one of us, as he talks with The War on Cars podcast about riding a bike in Los Angeles and New York, and “why the best way to explore an unfamiliar city is at the speed of a good walk.”
A Michigan TV station marks yesterday’s 7th anniversary of the Kalamazoo massacre, when a stoned driver plowed into nine members of a local bike club, killing five people and seriously injuring the others; Charles Pickett Jr, was convicted on 14 charges, and will be 90 years old before he’s eligible for parole. Which is still too damn soon.
The New York Times says make way for the bike bus, as more families are commuting to school on two wheels.
This is who we share the road with. A 26-year old New York man faces charges for killing a pedestrian and injuring four other people, including an 18-year old ebike rider, after allegedly drinking all day, and getting behind the wheel with a BAC nearly twice the legal limit.
Bike Radar has advice on how to make your components last longer to prolong the lifespan of your bike. Take good care of your frame and it can last longer than you do, because everything else is replaceable.
Life is cheap in England, where a woman calls for drivers to pay attention after the driver who her down from behind while she rode her bike, leaving her with life-changing injuries, wasn’t even charged.
My apologies if you received an incomplete, premature version of this post, after I inadvertently hit the Post button.
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Two month’s later, the driver who killed Master’s cycling champ and world record holder Ethan Boyes in San Francisco’s Presidio National Park has still not been identified.
And federal officials are being unusually tight-lipped about the case.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, a medical examiner’s report obtained through a public records request shows officials suspected his killer was under the influence at the time of the crash.
But there’s no word on whether the driver was tested, or whether he or she has been or will be charged with a crime.
The story also confirms that Boyes was wearing a helmet, which was shattered by the force of the impact, and that he died of multiple head and body injuries, suggesting he was hit at a high rate of speed.
Yet the ongoing secrecy raises inevitable questions of just who the driver was, and why the government is taking so long to release any information.
The local police went so far as to allow officials with the DEA to review a press release before it was given to the media, and secretly forwarded photographic evidence to the DEA.
Yet officials kept information about the crash from the public, despite appearing to be an open book to the feds, even though it was their own employee who was under investigation.
While there’s a case to be made for allowing the DEA to keep the identity of an agent under wraps, any further involvement in the investigation would in inappropriate under any circumstances.
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Mitchell Guzik writes to warn bike riders of dangerous conditions on Ocean Ave in Santa Monica, after he took a bad fall when he struck a newly installed curb, saying construction work that closed the bike lane means there’s no safe place to ride.
The street recently received a new curb protecting the two-way bike lane, but it doesn’t do any good if the bike lane is closed.
Although Guzik reports some people were riding in the closed bike lane anyway.
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The West Hollywood Bike Coalition will hold its monthly meeting tomorrow.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on rolling.
Australian bicyclists aren’t the least bike surprised by new research showing drivers see people wearing bike helmets and spandex as less than human. Thanks to Geri for the heads-up.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A London bike rider needed extensive surgery for a broken jaw after he crashed into a young girl walking in a crosswalk — not because he was injured in the crash, but because someone walked up to him afterwards and punched him in the face.
This is who we share the road with. A Bay Area man faces multiple charges for a South Bay crime rampage that included a series of carjackings, stabbings and deadly collisions across several cities and neighborhoods, leaving three people dead and five others injured.
It turns out it was kindhearted Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Terron Armstead who donated a $5,500 ebike to a 14-year old St. Louis boy who walked two hours to attend his middle school graduation; the boy’s grandfather, who is raising the boy and his five siblings after their mother died, also received a new minivan from a local car dealer.
Unbelievable. Life is cheap in New Brunswick, Canada, where a 25-year old woman was sentenced to one year home vacation detention for the hit-and-run death of a 62-year old man — but she can leave home for work or school, to care for her daughter or go to medical appointments, or just run errands for four hours every Saturday. Meanwhile, her victim received the death penalty for the crime of riding a bicycle.
Life is cheap in the UK, where a 26-year old driver won’t spend a day behind bars for the hit-and-run crash that left a 10-year old girl with serious injuries when he jumped a red light, and slammed into her as she rode her bike home — and faced the equivalent of just over $1,100 in restitution.
A Danish triathlete relates what happened in the crash that killed a race moto driver during a German Ironman last weekend, explaining the victim hit a triathlete head-on in a section where competitors where riding in both directions on the roadway at speeds up to 30 mph.
The victim, described only as a possible minor, died at the scene. The station reports a bicycle was lying on the sidewalk afterwards, next to a tent in the street covering the victim’s body.
Unfortunately, that’s about all we know.
There’s no word on how he may have been killed, or any description of a possible suspect.
Assuming this was a hit-and-run, there is a standing $50,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of the driver for any hit-and-run in the City of Los Angeles.
This is at least the 19th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the eighth that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County; four of those have been in the City of Los Angeles.
It’s also the eighth fatal hit-and-run involving a SoCal bike rider this year.
June 5, 2023 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on No Chatsworth COLT ride this year, a mea culpa on Friday’s SB 50 post, and Los Angeles Times goes gravel grinding
Let’s start with something that’s not happening.
For the last several years, the Chatsworth Neighborhood Council has held a community ride celebrating the Orange Line Bike Path, called Ride the COLT — aka Chatsworth Orange Line Tour.
It usually happens right around now; last year, on June 12th.
But this year, not so much.
In response to a question from J. Barrios, I reached out to the Chatsworth NC to ask about this year’s ride, and was told there was nothing planned at this time.
I was also told that could change, so there may be hope.
That may have been the case Friday when I wrote about SB 50, which would ban police from stopping motorists and bike riders for minor offenses, in an effort to prevent pretext stops.
Your presumption that SB 50, if enacted, would prohibit “stops for failing to register a bicycle, or rolling through a stop sign or riding salmon” isn’t correct.
The former is already prohibited; Cal. Veh. Code § 39002, as amended by last year’s AB 1909, says that cities or counties “shall not prohibit the operation of an unlicensed bicycle.”
The latter two wouldn’t be affected by SB 50, in which the definition of “low-level infraction” is limited by reference to two sections of the Vehicle Code relating to bicycle equipment and helmets; it wouldn’t cover violations related to bicycle operation in general:
“(E) A violation related to bicycle equipment or operation in Sections 21201 and 21212.”
Peace officers would still be allowed to stop bicyclists for other violations, including Cal. Veh. Code § 22450 (stop signs), § 21202 (right-hand curb or edge), or for that matter, §§ 22107–22111 (hand signals for turning and stopping).
So it may offer much less protection to bike riders, particularly people of color, than I thought.
And they talk with our old friend Zachary Rynew, the voice behind the Gravel Bike California videos we frequently share on here.
Zachary Rynew is a longtime Los Angeles cycling advocate who runs the website Gravel Bike California, which details numerous gravel rides in the region. He has been pedaling two-wheelers since he was in grade school and says riding on gravel roads takes him back to when he was a kid. It also makes navigating L.A. more efficient. “I was commuting from the San Fernando Valley to UCLA and cut my driving time in half by doing gravel and going through Fryman Canyon Park, then Franklin Canyon,” he said.
Southern California, Rynew believes, has a ton of off-road opportunities. “You can make your own adventure on gravel in the Santa Monica Mountains to the San Gabriels and in the hills above Redlands and Chino,” he said. “I love the versatility around here.”
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The East Side Riders are hosting a community meeting in Watts tonight.
A San Diego bike rider was hospitalized with a head injury after they were run down by a hit-and-run driver; fortunately, the injuries weren’t considered serious, and police located the driver shortly after the crash. No word on whether the driver was arrested, however.
A Palo Alto editor says adding protected bike lanes to El Camino Real is a bad idea, questioning whether they would protect school kids from getting hit by motor vehicles, and whether removing parking spaces would hurt small businesses. Studies have repeatedly shown that protected bike lanes improve safety for everyone on the street, including pedestrians. And that bike lanes, particularly protected bike lanes, are good for businesses, large or small.
Nice story from St. Louis, where a 14-year old boy with sickle cell anemia was given a new ebike after he walked six miles to attend his 8th grade graduation, while his grandfather, who takes care of him and his six brothers and sisters after their mother died, was given a new $40,000 minivan by a local car dealer.
Vancouver bike riders held a funeral procession, complete with hearse and coffin, to mourn the recently removed bike lane through the city’s Stanley Park.
A bicycle played a key role in the first 24-Hours of Le Mans when a Bentley suffered a punctured gas tank; after the driver ran three miles to the pits, his co-driver borrowed a bike from a gendarme, rode salmon back to the stalled car and plugged the hole with a wooden bung, before eventually finishing fourth.
