Police investigators say Wendy Cendejas apparently fell making a left turn into traffic while riding east on Warner Ave, west of Sceptre Lane, around 6:30 pm on Saturday, October 17th.
She was found by police lying in the roadway, with her bicycle nearby.
Cendejas was taken to UCI Medical Center, where she died the following Monday.
It’s unclear from the description if anyone actually saw her fall. And there’s no information on what may have caused the fall, which could have been anything from simply losing her balance to striking some sort of obstacle in the roadway.
Or her fall could have been caused by a driver in some way.
Anyone with information is urged to call Traffic Investigator D. Demetre of the Huntington Beach Police Department at 714/536-5670.
This is at least the 54th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 13th that I’m aware of in Orange County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Wendy Cendejas and her loved ones.
The victim, who has not been publicly identified, was riding on westbound Highway 126 east of Main Street in Piru when he was struck by a driver just after 5:45 am.
After an on-scene investigation took place, CHP officials determined the bicyclist may have been riding in the traffic lanes and the driver of a Nissan Sentra was unable to avoid colliding with the bicyclist, according to a CHP news release. The driver sustained minor injuries.
Never mind that bicyclists have as much right to be in the roadway as motorists do. Or that the traffic lane is exactly where they’re supposed to ride.
According to California law, while bike riders are allowed to ride on the shoulder, they’re neither required or expected to. And nothing to the right of the fog line is legally considered part of the roadway.
In addition, CVC 21202(a)(4) clearly states if the traffic lane is too narrow safely share — which includes most right hand lanes in Southern California — the rider may use the full lane.
(3) When reasonably necessary to avoid conditions (including, but not limited to, fixed or moving objects, vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, animals, surface hazards, or substandard width lanes) that make it unsafe to continue along the right-hand curb or edge, subject to the provisions of Section 21656. For purposes of this section, a “substandard width lane” is a lane that is too narrow for a bicycle and a vehicle to travel safely side by side within the lane.
Then there’s statement from the CHP that the driver was unable to avoid the collision.
So let’s be clear.
Unless the victim was riding without lights or reflectors in the early morning darkness, the driver should have been able to see him. But if he wasn’t, the CHP would undoubtedly have mentioned that.
And if the driver had his headlights on, which would be legally required at that hour, he would have been able to see him anyway — unless he was driving too fast for his headlights, which is a violation of California’s Basic Speed Law.
“No person shall drive a vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable or prudent having due regard for weather, visibility, the traffic on, and the surface and width of, the highway, and in no event at a speed which endangers the safety of persons or property.”
The key word there in this case is visibility, which includes darkness.
So unless the victim was riding against traffic — which again, the CHP would have mentioned — the question remains why the driver couldn’t see a grown man on a bicycle directly in front of his or her car?
And why is the CHP once again blaming a victim for his own death?
Because we all deserve to know.
Anyone with information is urged to call the CHP at 805/553-0800.
This is at least the 52nd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth that I’m aware of in Ventura County.
According to the LA Daily News, two people were struck by the driver of an SUV while riding their bikes in LA’s Valley Glen neighborhood Sunday evening.
One victim, identified only as a woman, died at the scene. Her riding companion, who I’m told was a man, was hospitalized with what was described only as a non-life threatening injury.
The 35-year old driver remained at the scene; she was not arrested.
There’s no official word on how the crash happened. However, I’m told the victim was run over by the SUV, while the other rider was knocked to the curb.
This is at least the 50th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 13th that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.
Update: A ghost bike was installed for the victim on Wednesday, October 14th. I’m told she was named Ana, from Sun Valley, and the mother of four young children aged six months to 12 years.
All of whom will now have to now up without her.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Ana and her loved ones.
Sadly, I’ve received an unconfirmed report that a woman was killed in a collision while riding her bike in the Valley Glen neighborhood of LA’s San Fernando Valley.
Unfortunately, while this comes from a reliable source, there was nothing in the news to confirm it before this was posted.
I’ll have more later if I’m able to get more information.
You can ask the LAPD’s Valley Traffic Division about the above crash, as well as other San Fernando Valley bike safety issues, in a Zoom meeting on Wednesday.
Please join us for a discussion on traffic safety in the San Fernando Valley
Topic: LAPD Valley Traffic Division (VTD) Traffic Safety Meeting Oct 14, 2020 06:30 PM
This is how Raleigh marketed itself in the last days of the British Empire.
Again, for better or worse.
Raleigh was the all steel bike that defined a generation of cyclists: for many it was their first introduction to the joys – and perils – of cycling! pic.twitter.com/A885Un4rK3
Great video from the son of British bike scribe and historian Carlton Reid about his solo bike tour home after visiting the Giant bike factory Shanghai.
An Indian website says bicycling has become the country’s greatest Covid lockdown love affair, whether to ward off loneliness and claustrophobia, or to take advantage of the cleaner air. Enjoy it while they can; as we’ve seen in Los Angeles, the clean air won’t last once people get back in their cars.
The driver was apparently headed west on Rosecrans when she slammed into the victim, then crashed into a pair of parked cars, telling police she lost control after hitting “an unknown item in the roadway.”
An unknown item that turned out to be a man on a bicycle.
The driver suffered some sort of unspecified injury; police planned to arrest her once she was released from the hospital.
Unfortunately, there’s no other information available at this time.
This is at least the 49th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 12th that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.
The Press-Enterprise is reporting that an 82-year old Murrieta man died late Sunday afternoon, a little over 32 hours after he was struck by a driver while riding in Temecula.
And Riverside County Sheriff’s Deputies didn’t hesitate to blame the victim for his own death, when he’s not around to share his side of the story.
Skinner was taken to Wildomar’s Inland Valley Medical Center, where he died around 4 pm Sunday.
The driver remained at the scene and called 911.
A street view shows four lane roadway, with bike lanes and a left turn bay in each direction on Margarita, the intersection controlled only by a single stop sign on southbound Paseo Brillante.
It strains credibility to believe that an 82-year old man would somehow violate the right-of-way by riding out into oncoming traffic, as investigators suggest.
The paper doesn’t say which direction Skinner was traveling, but it’s easy to imagine that the broadly curving roadway may have appeared clear before he started crossing.
He may have struggled to get across the wide roadway before drivers caught up to him — especially if they were traveling at a high rate of speed, which seems likely given the early hour and the wide open roadway design.
Which means a better question isn’t why was he was in the roadway, but why did the driver fail to see a man on a bicycle directly in front of him?
If sheriff’s investigators can answer that, they’ll know why this tragic crash happened.
The victim, who was publicly identified only as a 68-year old man, was riding on the 2900 block of Harbor Blvd when he was struck by a tow truck driver around 11:30 pm.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver stayed after the crash, and was not suspected of being under the influence.
Unfortunately, no other information is available at this time.
A street view shows a six lane divided roadway with a wide sidewalk, lined with a number of car dealerships; it’s possible the driver was entering or leaving a car lot at the time of the crash.
Anyone with information is urged to contact to contact Costa Mesa PD Traffic Investigator Darren Wood at 714/754-5264.
This is at least the 47th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 12th that I’m aware of in Orange County, continuing a very bad year for bike riders in the county.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his family and loved ones.
He was transferred to the intensive care unit at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, where he remained in critical condition until passing away on this past Wednesday.
Unfortunately, no information is available about the crash. A street view simply shows what appears to be a pair of relatively quiet two-lane streets in a residential neighborhood.
Police say the driver, who remained at the scene, did not appear to be impaired at the time of the crash.
Anyone with information is urged to call the Santa Paula Police Department at 805/525-4474.
This is at least the 46th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth that I’m aware of in Ventura County.
