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.
The victim, who has not been publicly identified, was taken to a local hospital where he died from his injuries.
According to the police, he was apparently riding in the bike lane when he hit some unidentified object, and was thrown from his bike.
The article stresses that no other vehicle was involved.
However, without identifying the object he allegedly struck, it’s also possible that the victim could have been sideswiped by a passing driver, or fallen in an attempt to avoid one.
There’s also no word on whether the victim was wearing a helmet, which might have helped in this situation, depending on the speed he was riding. Or it might have been of no use, since they don’t specify what injuries he suffered.
Hopefully we’ll learn more later.
Anyone with information is urged contact Traffic Investigator Keith Phan at 562/799-4100 ext. 1625, or email kphan@sealbeachca.gov.
This is at least the 45th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the eleventh that I’m aware of in Orange County, which is having a very bad year.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.
The victim, who was not publicly identified or described in any way, apparently died at the scene. Meanwhile, the driver fled the scene; no word on whether the police have any information to go on.
There’s also no word on how the collision occurred.
In other words, pretty much all we know is that it happened, and someone died.
Which is pretty damn shameful.
The TV story reports investigators are looking for witnesses, but once again, they don’t tell anyone how they can come forward if they know anything.
This is at least the 44th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the third that I’m aware of in Ventura County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his or her loved ones.
A bad weekend for SoCal bike riders continued to get worse Saturday morning.
Just one day after people were killed riding their bikes in Lancaster and San Diego, a woman apparently lost her life while riding in Carson, thanks to a heartless hit-and-run driver.
She was not publicly identified; the only description was an initial call of a female down.
There’s no word on how the crash happened, and no description of the suspect or the vehicle used to commit the crime.
As we’ve noted far too many times before, there is simply no excuse, ever, to flee the scene following a crash. The driver should face a murder charge for making a conscious decision to leave the victim bleeding in the street if an autopsy shows she might have survived if she’d gotten help sooner.
But probably won’t.
This is at least the 43rd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the eleventh that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and her loved ones.
