12-year old cyclist dies after being hit by alleged drunk driver

May 5, 2011 / / 9 comments

On Friday, April 22nd, 12-year old Shantrel Kailyn Williams was riding her bike on the sidewalk in front of her home on west Arbutus Street in Compton when she rode out a few feet into the street to turn around.

A few seconds later, the honor student at Long Beach’s Tincher Preparatory Academy lay in a crumpled heap on street, the victim of an alleged drunk driver.

According to her mother, she wasn’t wearing her helmet — even though state law requires helmets for riders under 18 — because Kailyn thought it was ugly, and her mother believed riding on the sidewalk in front of the house would be safe.

Despite surviving emergency brain surgery, doctors made it clear from the beginning that she wasn’t survive long, and that a difficult decision would have to made.

Last Sunday, after over a week in a medically induced coma, Kailyn was taken off life support and died later that night.

According to KCBC-2, 60-year old Thomas Abraham Long was arrested at the scene for driving under the influence; at last report he was still being held on $100,000 bond.

Her mother offers advice for other parents — and all bike riders:

I would tell everyone you need a helmet because you may control what you do, but you can’t control what someone else do.

This marks the 27th cycling death in Southern California this year, and ninth in L.A. County since the first of the year.

My heartfelt prayers and sympathy to Kailyn’s family and friends. Thanks to Allan Alessio for the heads-up.

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

Long Beach fire captain John Hines arraigned for drunken hit-and-run

May 4, 2011 / / 7 comments

An anonymous reader sent me the following email this morning.

In case it slipped under your radar, yesterday Fire Captain John D. Hines entered a preliminary plea of not guilty to three of his felony charges in the hit-and-run of of Jeffrey Gordon.  A judge then inexplicably denied the prosecutor’s request to increase the bail amount fivefold to $250,000, which incidentally was the amount of the arrest warrant issued on April 26th.  Hines has retained a bulldog of an attorney with a great deal of experience in keeping dangerous drivers on the streets.

Hines’ EMT certificate, #E030577, has not been revoked, and probably is not under review.

The writer goes on to note that Hines is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on June 17th.

And yes, it did slide under my radar, even though I’ve been following this case and scan the news for anything bike-related several times a day. So a big thanks for forwarding this information.

When I went back to look again after receiving the email, I found a number of stories like this one in the Contra Costa Times, each containing the same news release, virtually word for word, about Hines arraignment for running down a cyclist, then hitting the gas and fleeing the scene. And adding little to the story beyond what you see above.

Credit then, to the Los Alamitos-Seal Beach Patch, which took the time to dig a little deeper into the story — including noting, as we speculated, that Hines reportedly had checked himself into rehab following his initial arrest.

No doubt at the suggestion of the afore mentioned bulldog attorney, Vince Tucci, in the hopes of getting leniency from the court.

Hines faces a maximum of six years and eight months if convicted on the felony DUi and hit-and-run charges; two hours after the collision, his blood alcohol level was .24, three times the legal limit of .08.

“Instead of staying to render aid, he left the victim like common road kill in a pool of blood, and fled the scene…it is egregious,” Deputy District Attorney Andrew Katz said last week. “It’s 1 in the afternoon, he’s three times the legal limit. He’s a firefighter, no less, someone whose job it is to aid people in medical distress. It’s not some 18-year-old kid who had too much to drink. He knows better. He should know better.”

He’s released on just $50,000 bail, after the request to increase bail to the same $250,000 amount in the arrest warrant was denied.

Category: Bikes & the Law, Legal Cases / Tags: , , , ,

Roraff apologizes for killing Jorge Alvarado; cyclists disagree with city on environmental review

May 3, 2011 / / 11 comments

According to the Highland Community News, Patrick Roraff is sorry he killed pro cyclist Jorge Alvarado last April.

In a brief story about the case going forward against Roraff and co-defendant Brett Morin for the alleged street racing collision that killed Alvarado, the paper mentions that Roraff wrote a letter apologizing to Alvarado’s family — as well as telling investigators how much he regretted his actions.

According to the accident report, Roraff wrote a letter to Alvarado’s family apologizing for the crash and told investigators, “I feel so stupid for even doing that, like trying to show off … I wish I could go back and just change everything, but I can’t … I can’t believe I took away a life.”

Unfortunately, no amount of remorse will bring the rising pro rider back to life.

Then again, no amount of punishment will either, no matter how much jail time the two teenage drivers receive.

Thanks to Dj Wheels for the heads-up.

Update: I received an email from an L.A. cyclist named Bret Morin, who pointed out that I had misspelled the name of the driver charged in Alvarado’s death as Bret, rather than Brett. My sincere apologies to the other Bret Morin for any inconvenience this may have caused.

.………

Surely no one is really surprised by this. Damien Newton reports that cyclists are in conflict with L.A.’s notoriously risk-averse agencies over plans for environmental review of projects in the new bike plan.

You didn’t think the fight was over once the plan was unanimously passed by the city council, did you?

.………

Jessica Simpson and Eric Johnson ride a tandem in Venice, which brings up one of my pet peeves.

For those unclear on the subject, the world-famous Venice Boardwalk is that crowded sidewalk between the stores and the beach where bikes are banned. That narrow strip of asphalt where Simpson and Johnson rode last weekend is the world-famous Marvin Braude, formerly Venice/Santa Monica, Bike Path, where bikes are actually allowed and pedestrians banned.

In theory, at least.

.………

LACBC calls for volunteers for this weekend’s Culver City bike count. The West Hollywood Bicycle Task Force meets this Wednesday at 6:30 pm. Bikerowave is hosting a bike swap meet this Sunday. Source readers overwhelmingly approve of removing bike restrictions on Metro trains. Fourth District Councilmember Tom LaBonge rides next to the L.A. River; public television station KCET offers a field guide to biking it yourself. Harry Dougherty offers great photos from last weekend’s Sunday Funday ride, as well as the L.A. River clean-up. Santa Monica Spoke will host a bike exhibition at the 20th Annual Santa Monica Festival. Gary Kavanagh says Santa Monica could be the envy of the bicycling nation. Hermosa Beach invites you to an all ages bike playdate on Saturday the 14th. SoCal’s bike-friendliest city celebrates Bike Month. The Claremont Cyclist offers local bike news, including the new Citrus Regional Bikeway. The Amgen Tour of California will bypass the scenic central coast due to a massive landslide.

Astronaut Grover says wear your helmet. It’s Bike Month, so get out there and don’t proselytize. What to consider when you get new tires. Then again, maybe you’re overinflating your tires; based on this, I may try dropping my front tire a little. What’s your motivation to ride to work? The League of American Bicyclists shifts their focus from educating cyclists to educating the drivers who threaten us, and wants your help to do it; they also release the latest list of bike-friendly cities. No surprise cycle tracks save lives. Touting the environmental benefits of cycling could do more harm than good. People for Bikes says 2011 could be the year of the bike. The perfect accessory for your designer handbag could be the new Kate Spade bike.

Lovely Bicycle ponders why some towns aren’t cycling towns. Participants in New York’s popular Five Boro Bike Ride seem to spend more time walking than riding. The Washington Post implies cyclists are the only ones who need to obey the law, while Wash Cycle deftly dismantles their arguments. DC cyclists are threatened by drivers, as well as the roads they ride on. Maryland adds tougher penalties for negligent drivers who kill cyclists. A cyclist is killed by a hit-and-run driver in North Carolina after falling in the street, even though his friends tried frantically to stop the oncoming driver; thanks to Zeke for the heads-up. Florida cyclists may get a chance to ride a local causeway legally. The legal deadline has passed for Lance Armstrong to sue Floyd Landis over doping allegations.

Canadian parents are charged with letting their nine-year old son ride without a helmet after he’s hit by a car. Maybe if you rode with a halo around your head, you might not end up with one. A nurse saves the life of a man who collapsed during a triathlon, then finishes the race herself. Town Mouse wonders if we’re teaching our children the right lessons. An 81-year old UK man dies after a collision with a cyclist. Great mostly bike-related artwork. Good road design makes peace break out between cyclists and drivers. Sydney homeowners discover living near a bike path is good for property values.

Finally, if you’ve already jumped bail after being ordered not to drink, don’t get drunk and ride your bike into a parked patrol car.

Category: General, Legal Cases / Tags: , , , , ,

Don’t get me wrong…

May 2, 2011 / / 10 comments

Seriously, I’m glad Osama bin Laden is dead.

Even though this may be the first time the death of another human being has made me truly and unapologetically happy.

But let’s keep things in perspective.

Just under 3,000 people died on 9/11/2001.

That same year, over 14 times that many people died in traffic collisions; 42,109 to be exact.

And in the years that followed, from 2001 to 2009, 369,629 people died on American streets. Roughly 100 times the total number of deaths that can be attributed to al Qaeda in all the attacks before and after 9/11.

Bin Laden’s actions led to wars, a massive world-wide man hunt, draconian security procedures and a near-constant state of fear, here and around the world.

Yet hundreds of millions of people in the U.S. get behind the wheel every day without a moment’s thought. And almost nothing is done to ensure that they return home safely.

Based on the latest statistics, 96 people will die on American streets today. They could be your neighbors, your co-workers, your family, your friends. They could be total strangers.

It could be you.

Or me.

The attacks on 9/11 were devastating. I’m happy that bin Laden has finally been brought to justice. And I thank the men and women who sacrificed, and in some cases gave their lives, to make this possible.

But now maybe we can refocus on the carnage that takes place on our roads every day.

96 today.

672 this week.

2976 this month. Just one less than the number of victims killed on 9/11.

This month. And every month.

That’s the terror we need to fight now.

Category: Bicycle Safety / Tags: ,

Questions in the Silver Lake shooting death of Manuel Santizo, and lots of weekend links

April 30, 2011 / / 2 comments

Questions are being raised in the death of Manuel Santizo, the cyclist who was fatally shot in Silver Lake after being bumped by a car.

According to the Eastsider LA, Northeast Division homicide detectives say that while the suspects are believed to be gang members, there is no evidence that Santizo was involved in a gang.

“There is no indication that Manuel was a gang member. Nothing, nothing at all,” (homicide detective P.J.) Morris said.

The Eastsider LA adds that police are questioning something that had sounded odd to me in the original reports.

Also, Morris is puzzled by the fact that the shooters took the time to run down Santizo’s bike before opening fire. In most drive-by shootings, the suspects waste no time in firing their weapons and then fleeing from the scene. “It’s not indicative of a [typical] gang, drive-by shooting,” Morris said.

.………

The rider killed in a solo bike collision in Coachella last week had been identified as 63-year old Nemesio Herrera of Coachella.

.………

Witch on a Bicycle switches from confirmed vehicular cyclist to segregated infrastructure supporter, but warns that bad bike infrastructure is worse than no bike infrastructure.

.………

Bikeside’s Mihai Peteu looks at the Grand Opening of Long Beach’s protected bike lanes. LADOT Bike Blog looks forward to Bike Week. New lights come to the L.A. River Bike Path. Metro bike maps are making their appearance at local train stations. An Indian cyclist passes through the Valley on his way around the world to call attention to the environment. SoCal AAA offers their advice to motorists and cyclists on how to share the road together. A 10-year old Altadena boy is okay after being hit by a car in a SWSS.* When a horse is killed by an out-of-control car, no one says it shouldn’t have been on the road. Long Beach is hosting a meeting on the city’s proposed new bike plan on Tuesday.

Sometimes, bike safety progress comes in baby steps. A Newbury Park woman has ridden over 4,000 miles for charity. Best of luck for two UC Santa Barbara cyclists who have qualified for the National Championships. Bakersfield’s Bike Festival takes place in two weeks; and yes, I have walked those very streets. The latest nuptial trend is bike weddings, including this one at L.A.’s Mormon Temple. A 12-year old Modesto girl is in grave condition after being hit by a car. A Redwood City cyclist is beaten up in a 7-Eleven parking lot in a road rage dispute. Once you’ve downed a pint or two down, your risk of a bike crash goes up — as a Tulare rider just learned.

After getting hit by a car, a Kingman AZ teenager is cited for riding on the wrong side of the road and not having brakes on his bike. In a case that doesn’t quite add up, a 78-year old Missouri cyclist is killed when he runs into a Highway Patrol car parked on the side of the road; aside from the question of why he couldn’t see it, it would seem to require traveling at a surprising rate of speed. A Portland, Maine paper reports that a five-year old boy was injured when he collided a dump truck; no hint of press bias there. A New Hampshire woman moves to San Jose by bike. After the NY Post’s latest anti-bike diatribe, the paper publishes some voices of reason. New bike lanes are about to bloom in Philadelphia. Delaware tells cyclists they’re riding the wrong way. The Maryland Department of Transportation says cyclists are just being safe, not arrogant. A Georgia cyclist faces a charge of vehicular homicide a year after his alleged failure to yield causes the death of a motorcyclist; I wonder how many drivers have faced similar charges after cutting off bike riders? A Florida pastor plans to bike 1500 miles to New York to raise funds for Haiti.

Tips on how to bike commute safely. Large trucks continue to take their deadly toll on UK cyclists. A UK man is arrested for a drunken bike ride through the local supermarket in a chicken suit. The Dutch didn’t always ride like the Dutch, which gives hope to Dubliners, as well as the rest of us. Taylor Phinney’s hard-luck freshman year on the pro tour continues, as he crashes in the Tour de Romandie, shattering his bike but finishing on a spare. Bangalore University works to become bike-friendly through the country’s first university bike share program. A 10-day bike race wraps up in Ho Chi Minh City.

Finally, in an absolutely astounding case, after a Lancaster driver is stopped at a DUI check point, police notice his state of intoxication, as well as the fresh blood on the bumper of his car — and trace his route back to find a dead pedestrian lying on the side of the road.

*Single Witness Suicide Swerve

Category: Injuries and Fatalities, Violence & Crime / Tags: , , , , ,

San Diego cyclist shot and killed in National City area (updated)

April 30, 2011 / / Comments Off on San Diego cyclist shot and killed in National City area (updated)

It’s happened once again.

Early Friday morning, 21-year old Jordan Hickey was shot and killed while riding his bike in the Lincoln Acres neighborhood of National City, just southeast of downtown San Diego.

The shooting occurred at 12:30 am on the 2800 block of Grove Street. When police arrived, they found Hickey lying on top of his bike, fatally shot at least once in the upper body. No explanation yet on the motive for the shooting.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the sheriff’s department at (858) 565-5200, or the homicide detail at (858) 974- 2321.

Remarkably, this is the third fatal shooting of a cyclist in Southern California this year, and the fourth since December.

Update: According to the Union-Tribune’s Sign On San Diego website, Hickey did not drive due to developmental disabilities, and rode his bike everywhere. He was returning home from visiting his girlfriend, and was just minutes from the apartment he shared with his mother and brother when he was shot. 

“He was just at the bottom of the hill,” his mother said. “He was almost home….”

She said her son “lived in his own world,” and was kind and caring. “He did not believe me when I told him that there are people in the world who would hurt you,” said Hickey, a single mom who has raised her sons on her own.

The story quotes his uncle, John Hickey, describing Jordan as artistic and gentle, someone who “wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

John Hickey said he was angry that this could happen to his nephew, who “never smoked, never did drugs, never drank” and who had “no malice toward anybody.”

Authorities still haven’t identified a motive; it doesn’t appear that he was robbed, and unlike the other recent bike-related shootings, there doesn’t appear to be any suspicion of gang violence.

Category: Injuries and Fatalities, Violence & Crime / Tags: , , ,
« Older Entries   Recent Entries »
Wordpress Theme by ThemeZee