Tag Archive for bicycling fatality

OC bike rider died a week after she was trapped under car; 80th SoCal cycling death this year

November 20, 2013 / / 10 comments

And then there were 80.

On Monday, November 4th, 44-year old Michelle Lounsbury was hit by a car in Costa Mesa in an apparent right hook.

Early last week, I started seeing rumors that she had died; however, it wasn’t until this morning that Amy Senk of Corona del Mar Today forwarded confirmation from the Orange County Register that Lounsbury had passed away one week later on November 11th.

For some reason, the story never showed up in any of my internet searches, even though it doesn’t seem to be hidden behind the paper’s paywall for some reason.

According to the original story in the Daily Pilot, the driver — later identified as 48-year old Suja Haq of Costa Mesa — was headed east on Bay Street when he started to turn right onto Newport Blvd. As he turned, he heard a loud noise, and stopped to find Lounsbury trapped under his car.

Rescue personnel had to use emergency equipment to lift the vehicle off her, before rushing her to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana. The Register reports that she showed no brain activity shortly after arriving at the hospital; life support was disconnected a week later after family members gave their consent.

The Register describes Lounsbury as a homeless woman who lived in the Costa Mesa area, and was well-liked in the local homeless community.

“She was always there for everybody,” said Ashley Clark, who kept in contact with Lounsbury through the Churches Consortium’s outreach. …

“She had a cruiser, like a black cruiser. It was very Michelle. She’s kind of like a rocker chick, so her bike was black. She had black hair, black outfits, black everything … The homeless people, the thing about them is they stick together,” Clark said. “So when one of them passes away, it’s difficult. … That moral support that they would’ve gotten from her is gone.”

Lounsbury was scrappy, outgoing and direct, and could also be considerate, big-hearted and compassionate, said Clark and John Begin, pastor at Costa Mesa Church of Christ.

As a homeless person, it’s possible that she may not have had lights on her bike; with black clothing and a black bike, she may have been hard to see in the full darkness of the early morning hour. However, the driver still had an obligation to notice and avoid someone anyone on the street, especially at a major intersection that should have been well lighted.

If there is any good news in this story, it is this.

“She didn’t suffer through this,” Begin said. “From the day of the accident, she wasn’t there.”

Police are still looking for two men who may have witnessed the collision. Anyone with information is urged to contact Traffic Investigator Darren Wood at 714/754-5264.

And let’s remember that there are many reasons someone might become homeless. Their lives are no less valuable than those of anyone else, and their deaths no less tragic.

This is the 80th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, in what has turned out to be an exceptionally bloody year for SoCal bike riders. It is also the 11th cycling death in Orange County, as the county maintains its horrible average of one bicycling death per month.

My deepest sympathy and prayers go out to Michelle Lounsbury and all her family and friends.

Thanks to Amy Senk for her help in confirming this story.

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

Update: Bike rider killed in Coachella; few details available

November 20, 2013 / / One comment

Once again, a bike rider is dead in Riverside County. And once again, we have almost no information about what happened.

According to The Desert Sun, the victim was involved in a collision with a car at 5:11 pm, at the intersection of Van Buren Avenue and Avenue 48 in Coachella. He was pronounced dead at the scene; no word on how or why the collision occurred.

The paper identifies the victim only as an older man, while KESQ-TV says he was described as a man in his 50s, wearing dark clothing. The family in the car that hit him is reportedly cooperating with the investigation.

No other information is available at this time.

Hopefully that will change. Because whoever the victim turns out to be, he was someone’s father, son, brother or friend. And he deserves to be remembered for the person he was, instead of a nameless victim.

This is the 79th cycling fatality in the seven-county Southern California area this year, compared to 74 for all of last year, and the 11th in Riverside County.

Update: The victim has been identified as 70-year old Ruben de la Cruz Miramontes, a citizen of Mexico. According to the LA Times, Miramontes was hit while riding in the southbound lane of Van Buren, between Avenues 48 and 49. He was pronounced dead at 5:14 pm. 

Anyone with information is urged to call the Riverside County Sheriff’s Dept at 760/863-8990.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Ruben de la Cruz Miramontes and his loved ones.

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

Yet another driver kills a cyclist and flees the scene; 3rd fatal Ontario bike hit-and-run since July

November 17, 2013 / / 12 comments

News is just breaking that yet another bike rider has been killed by a hit-and-run driver, this time in Ontario.

According to the Daily Bulletin, the victim was riding on Euclid Avenue at Budd Street shortly after 2 pm Sunday when he struck by a Ford pickup traveling north on Euclid. No word on which direction the victim, who has not been identified pending notification of next of kin, was traveling or how the collision occurred.

He was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Meanwhile, the driver fled the scene, but was captured shortly later thanks to information provided by witnesses. Police arrested 29-year old Ontario resident James Manuel Avalos; no word yet on any possible charges.

This is the 78th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 11th in San Bernardino County. That compares to 74 SoCal deaths, and 10 in the San Bernardino County, for all of last year. It is also the third bicycling fatality in the City of Ontario since July — all hit-and-runs.

Clearly, something is seriously wrong there.

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

Correction: I initially left off the last name of the suspect; he should have been identified as James Manuel Avalos, as I’ve now changed it above. Thanks to Allyson Vought for the catch.

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

Update: Cyclist found dead on side of the road in San Bernardino County, apparent victim of hit-and-run

November 7, 2013 / / 12 comments

If this doesn’t piss you off, maybe it should.

According to the Lucerne Valley Leader, an unidentified man was found dead on the side of the road in eastern San Bernardino County this morning, the victim of an apparent hit-and-run.

The victim was discovered with his bike on the south side of Highway 18 just east of Post Office Road in Lucerne Valley around 8 am; paramedics declared him dead at the scene after arriving about 10 minutes later.

According to the CHP officer investigating the death, it appeared his mountain bike was hit from behind as he rode along the white line on the right side of the highway. His bike showed damage to the rear end, and there was evidence that the driver veered off the road after striking him, then continued without stopping.

The collision most likely occurred sometime during the night, which means the victim could have been lying there for several hours before he was discovered — which could have been the difference between life and dead.

All because some heartless son of a bitch didn’t have the basic human decency to at least stop and call for help before running away like the coward he — or she — is.

As far as I’m concerned, once the driver is found, he or she should face a murder charge on the assumption that the victim might have lived if they hadn’t made a conscious decision to let him die.

This is the 77th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 10th in San Bernardino County. That compares with 10 in the county for all of last year, and six in 2011.

Update: The Victorville Daily Press identifies the victim as 47-year old Angelo “Andy” Douglas Azzato of Lucerne Valley.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Azzato and all his loved ones.

Update 2: According to the Victorville Daily Press, the CHP reports Azzato was hit by a truck between 5 pm and 10 pm on November 6th, which means his body was on the side of the road for 10 to 15 hours before he was discovered. Authorities are looking for a silver 1999 or 2000 Dodge Ram pickup with damage to the right front bumper and/or headlight assembly. 

Anyone with information is urged to call the CHP Victorville office at 760-241-1186.

 

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

Update: Cyclist killed in Newport Beach collision; 7th cycling death in city since 2010

November 6, 2013 / / 28 comments

It’s happened again.

For the second time this year, and the 7th in the last four years, a bike rider has been killed in Newport Beach.

Unfortunately, details are still extremely limited.

However, Corona del Mar Today and Newport Beach Patch both report that the victim, identified publicly only as a man in his 30s, was hit by a passenger vehicle at the intersection of San Joaquin Hills Road and Marguerite Ave at 7:42 Wednesday night. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

No word on which street the victim or the car that hit him were traveling on, or how the collision occurred.

The rider died just half a mile away, and on the same street, from where triathlete Amine Britel was killed by Danae Miller while riding his bike in 2011.

This is the 76th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 10th in Orange County. It also matches the total of two cycling deaths in Newport Beach in 2010 and 2012.

Far too many for a city of just 87,000.

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

Thanks to Lois for the heads-up.

Update: The victim has been identified as 41-year old Paul Lin of Irvine. 

According to the Daily Pilot, Lin was turning left from northbound Marguerite onto San Joaquin when he was hit by a car traveling west on San Joaquin. 

Unconfirmed reports indicate Lin was riding with a group when he was killed. A comment from Leo90604 cites one of the other cyclists on the ride as blaming a short light cycle, as well as a driver that may or may not have slowed for the light.

I was able to get a hold of one of the people who was on this ride. The cyclist was turning left and from one of the riders, it is a fast changing light from yellow to red ( I have experienced protected left turn lanes change from green to yellow within 5 seconds)  He checked his left and did not see any oncoming car and he was hit from the right side as the light changed to green. If the cartruck was at a stop he would’ve seen the cyclist turning.

Meanwhile, the always excellent Corona del Mar Today is on top of the back story, detailing the too many bicycling fatalities that have occurred in the city since 2009.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Investigator Scott Grecco at (949) 644-3747 orsgrecco@nbpd.org.

Update 2: According to a comment by Elvis — and apparently confirmed in part by KCBS-2 — Lin was part of a Meetup group ride that had ridden to watch the sunset before returning via Marguerite and San Joaquin. 

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

Update: Bike rider killed in Santa Clarita collision; witnesses say salmon cyclist ran red light

October 30, 2013 / / 5 comments

More bad news, on what is turning out to be an awful day for SoCal cyclists.

According to SCVNews, an unidentified bike rider was killed in a collision in Santa Clarita this morning.

The rider, described only as an older teen or young adult, was crossing Magic Mountain Parkway on northbound Railroad Avenue — which becomes Bouquet Canyon Road on the other side of the intersection — around 7:50 am when he was hit by an LA County Sanitation truck turning left onto Railroad.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Witnesses report he was riding on the wrong side of the street, against traffic, and ran the red light at the intersection. He somehow collided with the eastbound truck, which was turning left onto Railroad. A story in the Santa Clarita Valley Signal suggests the sun may have been in the driver’s eyes; however, he likely wouldn’t have been looking for someone coming from the wrong direction as he turned in the opposite way.

The victim was reportedly riding a child’s bike; it’s also possible that it was a BMX bike, as many non-cyclists wouldn’t know the difference. It’s unclear if authorities know his identity, as he didn’t have any ID in his wallet.

The driver was taken to a nearby medical center for routine tests; however, there was no suspicion of drug or alcohol use, and a sheriff’s spokesman said he was unlikely to face charges.

This is the 75th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 32nd in Los Angeles County; that compares to 22 in the county for all of last year.

My prayers and deepest sympathy go out to the victim and all his family and loved ones.

Update: The Daily News says the victim was in his 30s, with no explanation for the discrepancy or any other details. 

Update 2: The victim keeps getting older; the Signal identifies him as a 47-year old Hispanic man; his name has not been released pending notification of next of kin.

Update 3: The victim has been identified as 47-year old Luis Ochoa of Newhall. 

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

Update: Bike rider killed in Anaheim hit-and-run; victim left in street to be hit by second car

October 30, 2013 / / One comment

It’s happened again.

Last month a cyclist was killed in Los Angeles when a hit-and-run driver plowed into a group of cyclists, leaving her victims lying in the street, where Andy Garcia died after being hit by another vehicle.

Whether he would have survived if she’d stopped at the scene is anyone’s guess.

Now something similar has happened in Orange County.

According to multiple reports, a bike rider was struck by a vehicle at or near the intersection of East Orangethorpe Ave and North Lemon Street in Anaheim around 5:40 am. However, details are still unfolding; the Orange County Register places the time of the collision as 5:55 am, while Google Maps places the intersection in Fullerton, rather than Anaheim.

The reports indicate a driver in an unidentified vehicle reportedly hit the cyclist, who has not been publicly identified, dragging the victim several feet on Orangethorpe before fleeing the scene. The victim was then struck by another vehicle; he or she was pronounced dead at the scene, still trapped under the second car.

No word on how the collision occurred, or what street the victim was riding on. And once again, whether the victim could have survived the initial collision if the driver had stopped, as required by law and basic human decency, is anyone’s guess.

KCBS-2 reports the victim was dragged roughly 20 feet under the first car, while KNBC-4 describes it simply as several feet. However, before their paywall cuts the story off, the Register writes that the bike was found lying in the street about 150 feet behind where the victim’s body was found, suggesting it may have been dragged a considerable distance.

That would be consistent with the description of where the rider was hit by the second car. Reports indicate he ended up in front of a church; Google’s satellite view shows The Rock some distance east of Lemon Street.

KNBC-4 also indicates the first driver hit another car as the driver fled the scene after hitting the cyclist.

Who was at fault for the initial collision is still to be determined.

However, if there is any justice in this case, the first driver should face a homicide charge on the assumption that the victim might have survived if the heartless coward behind the wheel hadn’t dragged him or her beneath the car, then left the victim lying in the street to be hit by someone else.

This is the 74th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the ninth in Orange County this year; it’s also the second in Anaheim since the first of the year. This is also the 16th fatal hit-and-run involving a bike rider this year.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his or her family. 

Thanks to Alan Thompson for the heads-up.

Update: An email from John reports passing the scene this morning, and witnessing police activity on Orangethorpe east of Lemon, as well as several hundred feet north of Orangethorpe on Lemon, where he saw several pieces of blood-soaked clothing. While he can’t say that the two sites are definitely connected, it suggests that the collision may have occurred on Lemon, ending on Orangethorpe. 

Meanwhile, KABC-7 reports that one driver managed to swerve around the victim before he was hit was hit by the second car. 

Anyone with information is urged to contact OC Crime Stoppers at (855) TIP-OCCS.

Update 2: The victim has been identified as 19-year old Fullerton resident Manuel Morales Rodriguez. According to the LA Times, a suspect has been identified, but has not been arrested or charged.

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

Update: Bike rider killed by big rig truck near Ventura County Medical Center

October 29, 2013 / / 4 comments

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

According to the Facebook page for KTVA-1390 in Ventura, a bicyclist was hit by a big rig truck around 8:30 am at the intersection of Loma Vista and Hillmont, near the Ventura County Medical Center. The victim was taken to the medical center, where he died of his injuries.

A satellite view appears to show bike lanes on Loma Vista. Danny Gamboa reports that the medical center is currently undergoing construction work, and it was a transfer truck involved in the construction project that hit and killed the victim, who has not been publicly identified.

No other information is available at this time.

This is the 73rd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the seventh in Ventura County. That compares with three in the county for all of last year, and four in 2011.

Thanks to Danny Gamboa for the tip.

Update: The Ventura County Star identifies the victim as a 49-year old Ventura resident. I’m told he was a construction worker; his name is known, but hasn’t been publicly released pending notification of next of kin. 

According to the paper, he was killed in a left cross collision, as the victim was crossing Loma Vista on northbound Hillmont, while the truck was turning left onto Loma Vista from southbound Hillmont. Under those circumstances, the rider should have had the right of way; the question becomes why the driver didn’t see him. 

Update 2: The Star identifies the victim as Scott Adamson; I’ve known his name since yesterday afternoon, but held off publishing it until I was sure his next of kin had been informed of his death. The paper also reports he wasn’t wearing a bike helmet; I don’t know many helmets strong enough to protect against a semi. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Scott Adamson, and all his family and loved ones. 

 

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

Bike rider killed in Oxnard collision; third SoCal cycling death in three days

October 21, 2013 / / 14 comments

More bad news, following the death of two young riders over the past weekend.

According to the Ventura County Star, 45-year old Oxnard resident Daniel Martinez Meza was killed when he was hit by a car attempting to enter Highway 101 in Oxnard this morning.

Meza was riding north on Rose Avenue approaching the 101 overpass around 8 am Monday when 20-year old Pablo Tellez Chavez attempted to change lanes to access the freeway onramp, striking Meza, who died at the scene.

It looks like bad road design may be at least partially responsible for this one. A satellite view shows a bike lane over the overpass, but no markings of any kind to guide drivers or cyclists leading up to it, creating an inevitable conflict zones as riders move left to enter the bike lane and drivers drift right to access the onramp.

The paper notes that Meza was not wearing a helmet. Whether that is relevant depends entirely on whether he died as a result of a head injury, and whether the collision was even survivable, based on the speed of the car that hit him and exactly how the collision unfolded.

This is the 72nd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, compared to 65 this time last year. It’s also the 6th in Ventura County — twice the total for all of last year — and the second in Oxnard since the first of this year.

My sympathy and prayers go out to Daniel Meza and all his family and loved ones. 

Thanks to Machiko Yusada for the heads-up.

Update: A comment from Colleen provides some further clarity in this case.

This is indeed a bad road design. I drove past this accident this morning. A white sheet on the pavement in front of a car brings you to tears. The bicyclist was actually 1/3 the way over the overpass, not approaching the on ramp. Cars that wish to enter the North bound 101 fwy have about 10-20 feet to enter the far right lane before they are prohibited to do so by the solid white line which is also part if the bicycle lane. Drivers INTENTIONALLY speed pass the long line of law abiding drivers, cross over the bicycle lane and solid white line, and force their way into the fwy on ramp lane. Every day on my way home from work I witness one of these drivers nearly causing an accident by illegally cutting in front me or someone ahead if me, many time with a bicyclist in the bike lane. The plastic orange reflective posts should be installed along each side of the bike lane that crosses the overpass so the drivers will be discouraged from cutting in front of others and killing people. Until then, I would be happy to see a motorcycle cop posted there giving tickets.

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

Update: 22-year old cyclist killed by Metrolink Train in Palmdale; 7th bike/train death this year

October 20, 2013 / / 26 comments

A bad year just keeps getting worse.

KNBC-4 is reporting that a teenage bike rider was killed in a collision with a Metrolink train in Palmdale Saturday night.

The victim, who has not been publicly identified, was crossing the tracks at Palmdale Blvd and Sierra Highway, when he reportedly tried to beat the train across the tracks.

And failed.

No other details are available at this time, including the time of the collision or which directions the rider and train were headed.

This has been a horrible year for bike/train collisions in Southern California. Seven bike riders have been killed by trains so far this year; this is the second this month alone. That compares with just two in all of last year, and four in 2011.

Yet this is the easiest type of collision to avoid. Just stop when the crossing gates come down, and wait until they go back up — even it if looks like it’s safe to cross.

And don’t even think you can beat the train.

Because chances are, you won’t.

This is the 70th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 30th in Los Angeles County; that is eight more than were killed in the county in all of last year.

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

Thanks to Joni for the heads-up.

Update: The LA Daily News reports that the victim, who still has not been publicly identified, was a 22-year old man.

According to the paper, a witness at the scene said the victim was riding with a group of friends around 7:10 pm when he tried to outrun the northbound train. The paper doesn’t say if he was the only one who tried to beat the train, or if any others might have made it across before he was hit.

Not surprisingly, none of the passengers on the Number 269 train were injured.

Update 2: The Antelope Valley Times identifies the victim as 22-year old Manuel Correa, no hometown given. 

Meanwhile, a comment from Bryan Laine, below, indicates that he not only knew the victim, he was on the train at the time of the collision. According to him, the leaders of the group kept riding after the crossing arms began to fall, which led to Correa’s death as he evidently followed them across the tracks.

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