Tag Archive for bicycling fatality

Update: Late night bike rider killed by two hit-and-run drivers in South El Monte

June 6, 2015 / / 3 comments

Bad enough when one heartless coward flees the scene.

Worse when two drivers smash into a man riding his bike, then leave him to die in the street.

That’s what happened in South El Monte early this morning, as a 47-year old cyclist was killed in a succession of collisions on Rosemead Blvd.

According to KABC-7, Heriberto Ruiz struck from behind by an unknown vehicle near the offramp to the southbound 60 Freeway about 2:53 am. The San Gabriel Valley Tribune places the collision in the 3000 block of Rosemead, which appears to be some distance from the offramp.

That driver fled the scene, leaving Ruiz lying in the roadway where he was struck by a white minivan and possibly one other vehicle; KNBC-4 reports the minivan collided with another vehicle that was stopping at the scene. The driver of the minivan then fled, as well.

Ruiz was pronounced dead at the scene.

A satellite view shows an extended, high-speed offramp leading from the freeway; if he was trying to ride south across that, he would have been a sitting duck as motorists sped onto Rosemead.

No word on whether he was using lights at that hour; however, police are usually quick to report if a victim didn’t have lights or reflectors on his bike.

This is the 24th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 10th in Los Angeles County. That compares with 44 and 17, respectively, this time last year.

Update: KNBC-4 reports Ruiz may have been riding home from visiting a friend when he was hit. 

A visitor to the scene found a broken Cateye taillight, suggesting that his bike should have been visible from behind. 

Anyone with information is urged to call CHP’s East LA office at 323/980-4600.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Heriberto Ruiz and all his friends and family. 

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

Update: 66-year old woman killed riding her bike in Laguna Hills

May 30, 2015 / / 7 comments

Sad news from Laguna Hills.

According to KTLA-5, a woman was killed when she was hit by a vehicle while riding her bike at Paseo De Valencia and Kennington Drive around 1:40 pm Saturday.

The victim was identified only as a woman in her 60s, pending notification of her family. No other information is available at this time.

A photo from the scene shows a Toyota minivan with its windshield smashed on the right side.

A satellite view shows what appears to be a bike lane on the southbound side of Paseo De Valencia, while the Aliso Creek Bikeway parallels the road on the northbound side, crossing Kennington in the crosswalk. There is a traffic signal at the intersection.

Paseo De Valencia marks the border between Laguna Woods to the west and Laguna Hills on the east. The OC Sheriff’s Department places the collision on the Laguna Hills side, suggesting the victim may have been riding on the bikeway and was struck when she attempted to cross Kennington; however, that is merely speculation at this point.

This is the 23rd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the third in Orange County; that compares to 44 in SoCal and nine in the county this time last year.

Update: The Orange County Register reports the 66-year old victim was riding south on the bike path when she rode out into the northbound traffic lane on Paseo De Valencia to avoid other cyclists coming in the opposite direction. As she did, she was hit, apparently head-on, by a minivan driven by a 59-year old man, who remained at the scene.

Bystanders performed CPR until the fire department arrived and took her to Saddleback Memorial Medical Center in Laguna Hills, where she died less than half an hour later.

She may be known in the local bicycling community, as friends described her as an avid cyclist who rode 30 to 40 miles a day.

Update 2: The Orange County Coroner’s office has identified the victim as 66-year old Michiko Day of Laguna Woods.

Bill Sellin forwards a graphic that clearly shows what happened to cause the collision. 

The red arrows represent the route Day took as she exited the bike path to cross Kennington Drive, then swerved into traffic to avoid other riders, indicated by the blue arrows. 

So she appears to have been a victim, not just of the car and driver that took her life, but an inadequate bikeway design that forces riders off a protected bike path and out into the street before coming back into the crosswalk.

Day-Collision-Site

 

Update 3: The Orange County Register reports that Michiko Day was just one block from home when she was killed while riding in Laguna Woods last month. Her riding partner confirms what we thought, that poor road and bike path design may have contributed to her death.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Michiko Day and her loved ones.

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

Update: Bike rider killed after swerving across traffic on Oceanside highway

May 28, 2015 / / One comment

An Oceanside bike rider is dead following an inexplicable swerve onto the wrong side of a roadway late Tuesday evening.

According to multiple sources, the 54-year old victim, who has not been publicly identified, was riding his bike on the westbound side of State Route 76 near Frazee Road when he veered onto the wrong side of the road around 8:50 pm; another source places the collision east of the Towne Center mall, some distance from Frazee.

One driver reportedly swerved onto the shoulder to avoid the rider, but a second driver didn’t have time to react and hit the victim’s bike, apparently at high speed given the 55 mph speed limit. He was pinned under the SUV as several people rushed to help.

A satellite view shows that SR-76 is a divided highway, though there’s no barrier separating the two sides east of Frazee Rd.

Police report alcohol was suspected to be a factor, implying that the bike rider may have been drinking.

However, drunk or not, it’s hard to understand how someone would unintentionally swerve such a great distance, from the right shoulder across two lanes of traffic and a wide median, and onto the other side of the road. Which suggests he may have been trying to turn around or cross the roadway for some reason.

This is the 22nd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fifth in San Diego County. That compares with 43 in SoCal last year, and four in the county this time last year.

Update: The Union-Tribune reports the victim is a local homeless man; he reportedly smelled of alcohol. The driver who hit him had also been drinking, but passed a breath test.

Update 2: the victim has been identified as Mark Jacoby; the San Diego Medical Examiner’s office describes him as a 54-year old transient.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Mark Jacoby and his loved ones.

 

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

Update: 58-year old Joshua Tree cyclist killed in high speed rear-end collision

May 25, 2015 / / 2 comments

Memorial Day weekend is historically one of the most dangerous periods for bike riders.

Sadly, that proved true for a 58-year old man from Joshua Tree on Sunday.

According to the Hi-Desert Star, the victim, whose name has been withheld, was riding a mountain bike north on Sunburst Ave, south of Jericho Way, when he was struck by a car around 8:15 pm; he died at the scene.

The Joshua tree resident was riding without lights in the gathering darkness, half an hour after sunset, when he was hit from behind by a driver traveling around 50 mph. However, he should have still been visible in the driver’s headlights on the straight and unobstructed roadway.

A street view shows a two-lane road with a dirt shoulder, and no visible speed limit sign.

The paper also notes that the victim was not wearing a helmet, although a collision at that speed was unlikely to be survivable, with or without one.

The driver, a 26-year old man from Yucca Valley, stayed at the scene and was guided in performing CPR by emergency dispatchers after calling 911. He was taken into custody on outstanding warrants while the investigation continues.

This is the 21st bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the third in San Bernardino County. That compares with 41 in SoCal and four in the county this time last year.

Update: The victim has been identified as Tim Kelly, a musician who often played violin at the local farmer’s market.

This is a case of a someone who shouldn’t have been riding without lights being hit by someone who shouldn’t even have been on the road. According to Z107.7 News, the driver was wanted on numerous warrants for driving without a license and a lack of registration for his car.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Tim Kelly and his loved ones.

Thanks to Michael of Center Line Rule for the update.

Category: Injuries and Fatalities, Update / Tags: , , ,

Update: 31-year old bike rider killed by train in Riverside

May 21, 2015 / / 7 comments

Always wait for the barriers to lift at a railroad crossing.

A Riverside bike rider didn’t, and sadly, paid the price.

According to the Press-Enterprise, the woman was riding her bike east on Mission Inn Ave in downtown Riverside when she stopped to wait for a southbound train around 11:10 this morning.

As soon as the train passed, she continued across the tracks while the crossing arms were reportedly still down and the warning lights flashing. She was then hit and killed by a train traveling north on the tracks, whose approach would have been hidden from sight by the other train.

The victim is identified only as an apparent transient in her 30s.

This is the 20th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the third in Riverside County. That compares to 41 in SoCal this time last year, and six in the county.

She is also the first bike rider to be killed in a collision with a train anywhere in Southern California since August of last year.

Update: The Press-Enterprise has identified the victim as 31-year old Virginia Gadberry of Riverside.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Virginia Gadberry and her loved ones.

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

Bike rider killed in Hollywood collision

May 14, 2015 / / 13 comments

This is not the news anyone wants for Bike Week.

Or any other time for that matter.

Reports started coming in yesterday evening that a bike rider had been killed at the intersection of Hollywood Blvd and Hobart Blvd in Los Angeles.

Unfortunately, it took until this afternoon to get official confirmation.

According to the police report, the victim, who has not been publicly identified, was riding north in the west crosswalk on Hobart at approximately 3:07 pm Wednesday when he was struck by a car headed west on Hollywood.

The impact apparently knocked him into a parked car on the north curb, before falling back into the street. He died at the scene.

LAist reports that the crosswalk has a blinking yellow light to warn drivers that someone is crossing. However, it’s unclear if it was working at the time, or if the rider had activated it.

They also quote a comment from a Reddit thread indicating that the driver was taking an 84-year old grandmother to the hospital; however, while there are several hospitals nearby, they are all in the opposite direction from which the car was headed.

It’s unclear from the description who might have been at fault.

It’s legal to ride on the sidewalk in Los Angeles, which means it is also legal to ride in the crosswalk.

However, the LAPD interprets the law as requiring cyclists to ride in the direction of traffic when they enter a crosswalk. In this case, that would have required the victim to cross on the east side of Hobart, but the only crosswalk is on the west side.

On the other hand, unless the victim was traveling at a high rate of speed, the driver should have had time to see him and react before he reached the opposite side of the road.

If there’s a lesson to learn from this, it’s that you should never count on drivers seeing you and stopping in time, in a crosswalk or anywhere else; always wait until they actually stop before trying to cross in front of them.

This is the 19th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the ninth in Los Angeles County; it’s also the fifth in the City of Los Angeles.

That compares with 41 in the seven county SoCal region this time last year, and 17 in the county. However, it’s one more than in the City of LA on this date in 2014.

Update: The victim’s granddaughter has identified him as Thomas Galvan Munoz, a resident of the area for 30 years who rode his bike through the streets of LA every day. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Thomas Galvan Munoz and his loved ones.

Thanks to Michael MacDonald for the heads-up.

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

23-year old bike rider killed last week in Granada Hills truck collision

May 5, 2015 / / 24 comments

Today is turning into a very sad day.

Last Thursday, I received a secondhand report that a bicyclist had been killed in Granada Hills earlier in the week. Since then, I’ve been working with Asher M to confirm the report, without success

Sadly, that came today, when the LAPD’s bike liaison for the Valley Traffic Division confirmed that that a rider was killed last week.

According to his email, the victim was crossing Nordhoff Street while riding north on Petit Ave when multiple witnesses report he went through the red light while riding against traffic, and was struck by a vehicle.

No time was given for the collision.

Asher was able to track down Facebook and Instagram pages identifying the victim as 23-year old Andrew Fang. A memorial post indicates he was on his way home from school when he was hit by a truck, and died in the hospital the following day.

A fund has been established to help his family cover the unexpected costs relating to his death. As of today, it has raised a little over $3,800 of the $10,000 goal.

This is the 18th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the eighth in Los Angeles County; it’s also the third in the City of Los Angeles. That compares with 16 in the county and four in the city this time last year.

Update: The wreck occurred at 7:50 pm, so visibility may have been an issue, as well.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Andrew Fang and all his loved ones.

Thanks to Asher M, whose assistance was invaluable.

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

62-year old crosswalk rider killed in Santa Ana left cross collision

May 5, 2015 / / 3 comments

Bad news from Santa Ana.

I learned late last night from a source in Orange County that a bike rider was killed in a left cross while riding in a crosswalk Monday evening.

The victim, identified by the Orange County Coroner as 62-year old Robert Horton, was riding in a crosswalk along 17th Street when he hit by a car turning left onto the northbound I-5 Freeway onramp around 5:20 pm.

He was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange, where he was pronounced dead at 6:06 pm.

Presumably, Horton was riding on the sidewalk when he rode into the crosswalk; no word on which side of the street he was on or which direction he was riding.

Riding on the sidewalk is banned in the downtown area in Santa Ana; whether that would apply along the freeway is unclear. Depending on how the local police apply the confusing laws on riding in a crosswalk, he could be blamed for the collision if he was riding against traffic.

However, looking at Google Earth, it’s unclear how the driver could have made a legal left turn onto either onramp, since they appear to be designed for right turns only, with left turns blocked by the median.

And while the Orange County Register identifies the make and model of the car, there’s no word on the driver. Or even if the car had one.

This is the 17th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the second in Orange County. That compares with 38 and eight, respectively, this time last year.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Robert Horton and his family. 

Thanks to James Johnson of Johnson Attorneys Group for the heads-up.

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

Unidentified bike rider killed in Bloomington collision

April 23, 2015 / / 4 comments

Bad news from San Bernardino County.

According to the county coroners office, a bike rider was killed when he rode out into the path of a car in Bloomington yesterday evening.

The collision occurred about 6:48 pm near 11100 Cedar Ave when the rider reportedly darted out of a driveway into the path of an oncoming car. No word on why he exited the drive or didn’t appear to see the car coming.

The San Bernardino Sun reports the victim, identified only as a 34-year old Hispanic man, was transported to Kaiser Permanente in Fontana with severe injuries to his head and torso. He died at 7:26 pm, about 45 minutes after the collision.

According to the Sun, the victim was not carrying ID, and would have to be identified by the coroner.

Let this be a reminder to always carry some form of identification whenever you ride. Your loved ones deserve to know if anything happens, and your survival could depend on emergency care providers learning who you are and what medical conditions you may have.

I now ride with a Road ID that lists emergency contact numbers, as well as information about my diabetes. Just in case.

This is the 15th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the second in San Bernardino County. That compares with 34 in SoCal and three in the county this time last year.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.

Thanks to James Johnson of Johnson Attorneys Group for the heads-up.

 

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

Update: Guilty plea in case of fallen OC cyclist Joseph Robinson

April 21, 2015 / / 5 comments

A source calling from the courthouse in Orange County has just reported that the driver who killed 21-year old Jax Bicycle Center employee Joseph Robinson has pleaded guilty to hit-and-run and drug charges, and will face significant jail time.

Sommer Niclole Gonzales, just 18 at the time of the collision, was sentenced to spend the next 11 years of her life behind bars after she admitted responsibility and waived her right to appeal.

Robinson was taking the long way to work on a sunny February morning last year when he was run down from behind while riding in the bike lane on Santiago Canyon Road.

He was hit with enough force to knock him and his bike completely off the roadway; his body was only discovered because an off-duty fire captain spotted a car with a shattered windshield speeding in the opposite direction, then saw a single shoe lying on the side of the roadway.

Gonzales was arrested in a parking lot a short time later as a friend helped her transfer her belongings into another car, in an apparent attempt to cover up her responsibility for the crime. She was found in possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia at the time of her arrest.

No word on why her friend wasn’t charged for assisting in the attempted coverup.

The victim’s family was reportedly in tears following the sentencing.

According to the source, the judge’s final words to her were “What a tragedy. Just because you wanted to do meth.”

Update: I corrected the above quote from the judge, which was off slightly due to a bad phone connection.

Gonzales will get credit for 888 days served, reducing her sentence by nearly two-and-a-half years; she’ll also serve three years parole upon her release.

Update 2: According to a press release from the Orange County DA’s office, Gonzales was found guilty of:

  • Felony vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence while intoxicated
  • Felony hit and run with death
  • Misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance
  • Misdemeanor use and under the influence of a controlled substance
  • Misdemeanor count of possession of a controlled substance paraphernalia
  • Along with a sentencing enhancement allegation for fleeing the scene of a vehicular manslaughter

Robinson’s family offered emotional impact statements, including this video from his mother showing him riding in happier days.

Then there’s this moving quote from his sister.

“My heart literally hurts when I think about my brother, I can’t think about him without crying. My drive to work takes me right past the accident site where his ghost bike is still hanging. Every morning and night as I pass that spot, I tell Joey aloud that I love him and cry.”

If you’ve ever wondered what harm driving under the influence can cause, that pretty much sums it up.

Thanks to Jeffrey Fylling for the press release.

Update 3: My News LA adds more details, including quotes from Robinson’s family members and his girlfriend. 

The story also quotes Gonzales’ attorney explaining that she had first tried marijuana at age 12, and quickly moved on to meth, which she had been her drug of choice ever since.

According to the attorney, she knew she had hit something, and stopped to see what it was, but continued on when she didn’t see Robinson or his bike. 

Category: Bikes & the Law, Injuries and Fatalities, Legal Cases, Update / Tags: , , , , , ,
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