Tag Archive for bicycling fatality

Another drunken hit-and-run, another bike rider left to die in the street

January 26, 2014 / / 2 comments

We should all be sick of this by now.

Another drunk driver. Another hit-and-run. Another bike rider left to die in a crumpled heap on our streets.

This time, it happened in Oxnard, at 2:09 this morning, when 43-year old Gerald Garcia of Oxnard was riding south with a friend in the bike lane on Rose Avenue, just below Raider’s Way.

A 2000 Volkswagon GTI driven by 29-year old Oxnard resident Policarpio Diaz was traveling in the bike lane and rear-ended Garcia’s bike. Garcia was thrown off, while Diaz fled the scene with the bicycle still trapped beneath his car.

It’s entirely possible the wide bike lane may have looked like a travel lane in the early morning hour. To a drunk, anyway.

Witnesses aided police in locating Diaz’ car — apparently with the bike still trapped underneath — and they took him into custody a short distance away. Diaz was booked into Ventura County Jail on felony counts of DUI, Hit and Run and Vehicular Manslaughter, as well as two outstanding misdemeanor DUI warrants.

That’s right.

Diaz had two outstanding warrants for DUI, yet he was still allowed to remain on the streets to kill another human being.

Tragedies like this will keep happening as long as our legal system refuses to take drunk driving, hit-and-run and other traffic crimes seriously. Garcia is just the latest in a long string of traffic victims, with no end in sight.

And if that doesn’t piss you off, maybe it should.

This is the 11th confirmed bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the first in Ventura County. It’s also at least the fifth bicycling fatality in Oxnard in the last 38 months.

My deepest sympathy to Gerald Garcia and all his family and friends.

Thanks to Danny Gamboa and Kelly for the heads-up.

And no thanks to the California DMV and a legal system that continues to value the rights of drunk drivers over the right of the rest of us to simply stay alive.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Hit-and-Run, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , ,

78-year old Glendora bike rider dies after being taken off life support

January 25, 2014 / / 5 comments

One of my policies on this site is not to report a bicycling fatality without some sort of confirmation.

Which means you many never hear about some of the tragedies that pass through my inbox. But I’d rather keep some bad news under wraps than risk injuring friends and family of a reported victim by reporting a story that may not turn out to be true.

So when I received a report on Thursday that a Glendora rider had died of injuries he suffered earlier this week, I reached out to various sources who might be able to verify the facts.

Sadly, that confirmation came today, in a news story from the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

The paper had reported earlier this week that a 79-year old rider was critically injured in a left cross collision in Glendora on Monday.

He was riding west on Foothill Blvd at Elwood Ave around 2:30 pm Monday when a driver headed in the opposite direction turned across his path, forcing him into the passenger side of the vehicle. He was revived by police officers, who found him with no pulse and not breathing when they arrived.

He was stabilized by LA County firefighters, and taken to the ICU unit at Foothill Presbyterian Hospital.

Then on Thursday, a comment from Trish said he had been disconnected from life support and died on Wednesday.

That 79 yr old cyclist in Glendora was my son-in-law’s father. He cycled every day and then would come home and walk his dog. He was in excellent health and very fit. Sadly, he was removed from life support yesterday, and passed away shortly thereafter. Sure with drivers would look before they make left hand turns….really look, not just for cars!

Today’s story in the Tribune identified the victim as 78-year old Francisco Alvarez of Glendora.

The 86-year old driver who hit him stayed on the scene and cooperated with investigators. While the case is still under investigation, the paper reports no criminal behavior was suspected — despite the obvious failure to observe right of way and make a safe turn, resulting in the death of an innocent person.

Maybe this will go down as just another “oops,” excused by the age and, presumably, declining skills of the driver.

This is the 10th confirmed bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the sixth in Los Angeles County.

My deepest prayers and sympathy for Francisco Alvarez and all his family.

Thanks to Trish for the bad news.

 

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

Update: Driver faces charge for August death of Debra Deem in Newport Beach

January 25, 2014 / / 2 comments

Maybe there will be justice for Debra Deem after all.

According to CdM Today, a misdemeanor charge of vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence has been filed against 84-year old Irvine resident Robert James Anderson, the driver who took her life in a Newport Beach collision last August.

The site reports the case was filed last Friday, and he’s expected to be arraigned on February 3rd.

Deem was riding west on East Coast Highway just east of Newport Coast Drive at 4:28 pm on August 28th when she was struck by a white minivan driven by Anderson.

The van as traveling in the same direction as Deem; however, it’s not clear if her bike was struck from behind or if he turned into her. Police merely say Anderson made an unsafe lane change that resulted in the collision.

Several people who ride through the area suggest that the design of the intersection, with a dangerous transition from the shoulder bike lane through the freeway-style interchange, may have contributed to the collision.

Deem was the wife of local cycling legend Paul Deem, a former Olympic cyclist and the owner of the Cycle Werx bike shops in Costa Mesa and San Clemente.

According to the Daily Pilot, the charge carries a maximum sentence of one year in county jail.

To be honest, though, as much as I believe in justice for all cyclists, I’m not sure what good there is in sending an 84-year old man to jail. The real benefit may simply be getting a driver who may be too old to drive safely off the roads.

Then again, that probably should have been done long before the collision that took Debra Deem’s life.

Thanks to Amy Senk and Jeffrey for the heads-up.

Update: More information from the Orange County Register; for a change, the story isn’t locked up behind their paywall. 

The paper reports neither speed or alcohol appeared to be a factor in the collision. In an interview, Anderson says he has only received on traffic citation in his life, oddly, for another improper lane change in 1966.

According to his lawyer, witnesses to the collision said Deem left the bike lane when she was cut off by another driver, placing her bike in the path of Anderson’s van. The lawyer says he never saw her. Or rather, never had a chance to see her.

Reading between the lines, it sounds like prosecutors will argue that if Anderson hadn’t made the illegal lane change, Deem’s bike wouldn’t have been in front of him. Or at the very least, he would have had a chance to see her and react.

Then again, her bike should have been clearly visible in the bike lane before any of this unfolded.

And the tragedy is compounded by the heartbreaking effect it’s had on her husband.

“My initial thought was ‘accidents happen,’ “ he said. “People get in a hurry. I’ve been in a hurry. Fortunately I’ve never killed anybody.”

But he keeps thinking about the unfairness of the situation. He lost his wife and later, he said, his house.

“I’m not quite sure what Mr. Anderson’s losing in this thing,” Deem said. “He doesn’t lose his house. If I sue him for wrongful death, he files for bankruptcy and keeps his house and life goes on. I’ve lost my life. … From a justice standpoint, I’ve lost everything.”

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

Update: Pomona cyclist killed in collision with Foothill Transit bus

January 23, 2014 / / 3 comments

Word is just coming in that a bike rider was killed in Pomona this morning.

According to an announcement from the Pomona Police Department, the victim, identified only as an adult in his 40s, was hit by a Foothill Transit bus on White Ave between Orange Grove and Holt Avenues. The bus line serves cities in the San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys.

No other information is available at this time.

This is the eighth confirmed bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth in Los Angeles County. It’s also the fourth bike-related fatality in Pomona in the last 12 months.

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

Update: A report from KABC-7 places the time of the collision at 5:45 am, and the location as the intersection of White Ave and Alvarado Street. The victim was pronounced dead at Pomona Valley Medical Center.

Update 2: The San Bernardino Sun and Inland Valley Daily Bulletin report the victim, who has not been publicly identified, was a 42-year old man. They also place the location two blocks south of Alvarado, near the intersection of White Ave and Chester Place.

The papers report the bus was traveling north on White at the time of the collision; no information was available on which direction the victim was riding or how the collision occurred.

The incident is still under investigation; a nearby resident reports that someone moved the bike closer to the victim from where it originally landed to a location closer to the victim, where it was run over by a passing vehicle, which will undoubtedly complicate the investigation. 

Anyone with information is urged to call the Pomona Police Department’s Traffic Services Unit at 909-620-2081.

Thanks to Erik Griswold for the link.

Update 3: According to a blog post from the Seegmiller Law Firm, the victim has been identified as 42-year old Villa Park resident Steven Slater. The site also reports some passengers on the bus suffered soft tissue injuries in the collision. Thanks to West Seegmiller for the heads-up.

It’s a very sad commentary on today’s media when an attorney scoops every press outlet in identifying the victim of a collision.

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

Good news and bad news: LAPD makes hit-and-run arrest; bike rider killed in Compton

January 15, 2014 / / 4 comments
Ghost bike for Compton victim Pete; photo by Danny Gamboa

Ghost bike for Compton victim Pete; photo by Danny Gamboa

Let’s start with the bad news.

No details yet, but I’ve received confirmation that a bike rider was killed in Compton Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.

As if the photo that’s circulating online wasn’t confirmation enough. And no, I’m not going to share it here.

According to the reports, he was killed while riding his bike at Compton Blvd and North Dwight Ave. Friends of the victim, who identified him only as Pete, confirm that he was hit by a car sometime before 5 am Wednesday morning and died at the scene; the driver remained at the scene following the collision.

Judging by the photo of the victim, he appears to be a bearded white male with grey hair, possibly in his 50s or 60s.

No other information is available at this time.

This is the 7th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, as we maintain the horrific every-other-day pace since the first of the year. And it is the third cycling death in LA County this year, which suffered an intolerable 39 bike-related deaths in 2013.

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

Thanks to Danny Gamboa for the heads-up.

Update: I didn’t recognize the corner, but Gamboa points out it’s the same intersection where Ovidio Morales was killed in a still-unsoved hit-and-run in 2010; his ghost bike is still there across the intersection. 

He reports one of the victim’s friends said he was a good man who struggled with alcohol, and was in and out of treatment programs.

As the photo suggests, neighbors have placed candles in his memory.

………

Gamboa also forwards word that an arrest has been made in the hit-and-run death of a Panarama City man, who has not been publicly identified at the request of the man’s family.

According to a press release from the LAPD,

Fatal Hit And Run Driver taken into custody

On January 13, 2014 at 6 PM Valley Traffic Division Detectives arrested a 46-year old male, Rene Amaya of Panarama City on suspicion of the felony hit and run (20001(a)VC) death of a bicyclist, which occurred on December 23, 2013, at the intersection of Burnet Ave and Lanark St in the Community of Panarama City, California. Bail was set at $50,000.

Maybe someone can explain to me why we continue to grant such a low bail to someone who has already demonstrated a willingness to flee after taking a life.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Hit-and-Run, Injuries and Fatalities, Legal Cases / Tags: , , , , , ,

Bike rider killed in San Bernardino collision; sixth SoCal cycling fatality in last two weeks

January 14, 2014 / / 5 comments

At this point, I have to assume you’re as sick of reading about people killed while riding their bikes as I am of writing about it.

Yet the tragedies keep piling up in this bloody new year, as yet another cyclist lost his life last night, this time in San Bernardino.

According to the Press Enterprise, the victim was riding with his girlfriend on their way to a friend’s house around 6 pm last night when they attempted to cross East Orange Show Road at Lena Road. They saw an eastbound car approaching, but thought they had enough time to cross get across safely.

However, the car, a 2001 Chevy Monte Carlo, began to swerve to the right as it got closer, leaving them unsure which way they should go to get out of the way. In the resulting confusion, the car hit the male rider, throwing him onto the hood and passenger-side windshield.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The San Bernardino County Coroner identifies the victim as 39-year old Emmitt Palmer of San Bernardino. Though oddly, it says he was a pedestrian rather than riding bike; however, all the other details, including time and location, match up, except for identifying the car as a 2001 Impala.

The San Bernardino Sun reports the driver, 58-year old Esther Guardado, was taken to a local hospital for wrist pain.

This is the 6th bicycling fatality in Southern California so far this year — an average of nearly one every two days. And it is the first in San Bernardino County since the first of the year; there were 11 bicycling deaths in the county last year.

My deepest sympathy for Emmitt Palmer and all his loved ones. 

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

Palm Springs bike rider dies in solo fall

January 12, 2014 / / One comment

A bad weekend just keeps getting worse, as a bike rider was killed in a solo fall in Palm Springs this morning.

According to Palm Springs Patch, the victim, who has not been publicly identified, was riding on a bike path on the 3100 block of East Palm Canyon Drive around 8:38 am when he somehow lost control of his bike. He veered down an embankment, and landed head-first on the pavement at the bottom.

He was pronounced dead at Desert Regional Medical Center.

A satellite view shows a separated bike path on the east side of the street, with a drop off leading to the parking lot next to it.

No word on whether the victim was wearing a helmet. However, relatively slow speed falls, like this appears to be, are exactly what bike helmets are designed to protect against.

This is the fifth bicycling fatality this year; remarkably, it is already the third death in Riverside County — or four if you count Phil Richards, who died yesterday of injuries he suffered in a Calimesa hit-and-run December 29th.

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

 

 

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

More bad news — Calimesa hit-and-run victim dies two weeks after collision; 89th cycling fatality of 2013

January 11, 2014 / / Comments Off on More bad news — Calimesa hit-and-run victim dies two weeks after collision; 89th cycling fatality of 2013

More bad news.

According to a report on Don Davidson’s Facebook page, Phil Richards has died of the injuries he suffered in a Calimesa hit-and-run just before New Years.

I’m deeply saddened to share the news that my very dear friend Phil Richards passed away at 5 p.m. today. I send my sincerest thanks to everyone who offered prayers, love and support to Phil, his wife Annette and their family during the difficult days since his accident Dec. 29. Words cannot express what he meant to me and how he shaped my life. … He will be deeply missed.

As you may recall, Richards was riding south on Calimesa Blvd just north of Singleton Rd around 12:25 pm on Sunday, December 29th, when a car allegedly driven by 42-year old Calimesa resident William Donald Johnson crossed the centerline and hit Richards head-on at an estimated 50 mph. Johnson fled the scene, leaving his victim critically injured in the roadway.

The experienced 55/60+ racer underwent a number of surgeries over the past few weeks, but ultimately, his medical team was unable to save him.

Hopefully, the felony hit-and-run charge against Johnson will be upgraded to a homicide charge.

This is the 89th bicycling fatality in Southern California resulting from injuries suffered in 2013, and the 12th in Riverside County.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Phil Richards and all his family and loved ones.

Update: The San Bernardino Sun says Richards was a 64-year old resident of Beaumont. 

 

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

Woman killed by tour bus in South LA; bike stolen as she lay dying

January 11, 2014 / / 3 comments

There’s a special place in hell for someone who’d steal a bike from a dying woman.

That’s apparently what happened after a woman was fatally struck by an empty tour bus in South LA this morning.

In what turned out to be a very confusing story, KABC-7 initially reported that a 56-year old woman on her way to a local clinic was hit by a private tour bus at 8:30 am Saturday as she was crossing Slauson on northbound Figueroa. The station reported she was in the crosswalk when she was hit by the bus, which was turning left onto Slauson from southbound Figueroa.

She was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to the report, investigators say the driver did not see the woman in the crosswalk, while witnesses reported he appeared to be in a hurry to make the light.

“She had the right of way and the bus came and just took her out, ran her over,” said Johnathon Pineda.

And yet, police appear to be excusing the driver’s actions, saying it appears to be “nothing more than a tragic accident” despite the ongoing investigation.

And that’s where things really get confusing.

KTLA-5 says the bus had a green light, and the woman, who they say was 54, was walking outside the crosswalk when she was hit.

Meanwhile, according to KCBS-2, the victim was either carrying or riding a bicycle, which they say was taken from her before police arrived; they also give the victim’s age as 54.

Finally, KNBC-4 says the victim, who they identify as a 50-year old resident of the area, was riding her bike when she was hit, and that her bike was stolen after the crash.

The bus driver remained at the scene and was cooperating with the police.

And as if to complicate the matter further, two paramedics were injured — fortunately not seriously — when their ambulance overturned following a three-car collision as they rushed to the scene.

This is the fourth bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the second in Los Angeles County. It’s also the first in the City of Los Angeles, which suffered at least 18 bicycling fatalities last year.

Update: The victim has been identified as Ena Villalobos.

 My deepest sympathy and prayers for Ena Villalobos and her loved ones.

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

Update: 16-year old bike rider killed in Desert Hot Springs hit-and-run

January 10, 2014 / / 2 comments

Then there were three.

Just 10 days into the new year, Southern California has already suffered three cycling fatalities, continuing the bloody pace from last year, when at least 88 riders lost their lives on SoCal streets.

The latest came last night, as a 16-year old bike rider was killed while riding with a friend in Desert Hot Springs.

According to The Desert Sun, Reuben Guzman was sharing a single bike with another boy when they were hit by a Nissan pickup at 5:35 pm at the intersection of West Drive and Desert View Ave. One boy was pedaling the bike north on West Drive while the other rode on the handlebars; no word on whether Guzman was on the seat or the handlebars, or whether the other rider was injured.

The boys reportedly veered into the traffic lane where they were struck from behind by the truck; the driver fled the scene, leaving the victims bleeding in the street.

Guzman died at 11:05 pm at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs.

Police are looking for a blue or gray Nissan pickup with major front end damage.

This is the third bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the second in Riverside County already this year; there were 11 bicycling deaths in the county last year.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the Desert Hot Springs Police Department at 760/329-2904.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Reuben Guzman and all his loved ones.

Update: According to KESQ.com, Guzman was pedaling the bike while his friend rode on the handlebars on their way to a local bike park. The other victim has been released from the hospital.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Hit-and-Run, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , ,
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