Tag Archive for bicycling fatality

Update: San Diego cyclist dies two days after dooring

September 30, 2011 / / 16 comments

This is not the way we wanted to end the week.

Early Friday morning, a San Diego cyclist died of injuries he received after getting doored Wednesday evening.

The incident occurred around 7 pm Wednesday when 30-year old Justin Newman of San Diego was riding west on University Avenue near Kansas Street.

According to the Union-Tribune’s Sign On San Diego website, as he passed a 2008 Dodge sedan parked on the side of the street, the driver opened the door into his path. He hit it and fell into the street, suffering a major closed head injury.

He was pronounced dead at 1:30 am at Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego.

For a change, none of the stories I’ve seen indicate whether Newman was wearing helmet, even though this is exactly the sort of relatively slow-speed impact that helmets are designed to protect against.

And despite common perceptions that often blame the cyclist for running into a door, it is almost always the motorist’s fault when a cyclist is doored.

Under section 22517 of the California Vehicle Code, drivers are responsible for ensuring that the street next to them is clear before opening a door. And it’s been that way for nearly 50 years.

22517.  No person shall open the door of a vehicle on the side available to moving traffic unless it is reasonably safe to do so and can be done without interfering with the movement of such traffic, nor shall any person leave a door open upon the side of a vehicle available to moving traffic for a period of time longer than necessary to load or unload passengers.

The driver should face criminal charges for Newman’s death under that statute, since there is virtually no way to door a rider without violating it. So it will be interesting to see if San Diego authorities, who aren’t always perceived as being supportive of cyclists, do the right thing.

Or if they say it was just another accident. And let yet another killer careless driver off the hook.

Newman was the 2nd San Diego area cyclist fatally injured in two days this week, and the 12th confirmed traffic-related bike fatality in San Diego County this year. He was also the 55th cycling fatality in Southern California since the start of the year, matching the annual total for the last two years on record.

Update: Chuck Lowery forwarded an earlier story from the Sign On San Diego site indicating that Newman wasn’t wearing a helmet when he was doored.

And that brings up a common misconception.

Bike helmets are designed to offer full head protection at impact speeds of up to 12.5 mph, and partial protection up to 20 mph. It’s highly unlikely that Newman’s head hit the pavement at a speed higher than that in a simple dooring; had he been wearing one, there’s a good possibility that he might have survived.

Where helmets offer little or no protection are the kind of high speed collisions most people wear them for. If you’re hit by a car or truck traveling at speed, a helmet may offer some protection, but it’s not a magic talisman that will miraculously protect you from injury.

Personally, I use something else for that.

And a helmet will do absolutely nothing to protect against injury to other parts of the body.

So by all means, wear your helmet; I never ride without mine. But know their limitations. Because the best way to survive a dooring, or any other collision, is to avoid having one.

My deepest sympathy to the family and friends of Justin Newman.

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

79-year old Escondido cyclist killed in apparent solo wreck; Coroner rules Alan Deane death an accident

September 28, 2011 / / 5 comments

What started out as a very good month on SoCal streets has turned bloody for area cyclists.

After going nearly four full weeks without a fatal collision — and yes, that’s good for the heavily populated Southern California region that averages over one bike death a week — three riders have died in the last 10 days.

The latest is a 79-year old Escondido man who apparently died in a solo collision.

According to the North County Times, the rider, who has not yet been publicly identified, was found along the 400 block of East Mission Avenue in Escondido. He was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The Union-Tribune’s Sign On San Diego website reports that the victim was not wearing a helmet, and did not have lights on his bike. In this case, the lack of a helmet is relevant because this appears to be exactly the sort of slow speed impact that helmets were designed to protect against.

The cause of his fall is unknown;  however, police report that no other vehicles were involved.

Of course, it is entirely possible for a car to cause a crash, without leaving any sign, by cutting off a rider or passing too closely and causing the victim to lose control of his bike.

Unless a witness unexpectedly turns up, it’s unlikely we’ll ever know. But this could be exactly the sort of situation that SB 910, the 3feet2pass bill that’s currently sitting on the governor’s desk awaiting his signature, is designed to prevent.

Are you listening, Governor Brown?

This is the 54th confirmed traffic-related death in Southern California this year, and the 11th in San Diego County. That compares to an average of just under seven deaths each year in the San Diego area, and is just one below the 55 deaths recorded in the seven county SoCal region in each of the last two years currently on record.

It’s also the 5th fatal solo bike collision this year.

Update: The victim has been identified as Jerzy Nowak of Escondido; San Diego’s 10 News reports that there were witnesses who saw him fall, and confirm that no other vehicles were involved. 

……..

Meanwhile, the carnage continues in Pasadena, as another cyclist is injured in a hit-and run at the intersection of Walnut Street and Los Robles Ave; fortunately, he was not seriously injured.

And the death last week of popular cyclist and musician Alan Deane has been ruled accidental by the coroner’s office. What effect that will have on the police investigation remains to be seen.

Oddly, for someone whose death brought forth such an outpouring of grief, police have been unable to find Deane’s last known address.

Maybe you know where he was living?

……..

Of course, it’s not just Pasadena. Or Escondido, for that matter.

KABC-7 reports that a 15-year old bike rider was injured when he was struck by a hit-and-run driver on the 5500 block of North Victoria Avenue in Highland on Monday afternoon. He was taken to the hospital with a head injury; authorities are looking for the driver of a black, 1980s pickup truck.

……..

Finally, I’ve gotten word that Jeffrey Ray Adams, the driver accused of intentionally cutting off a cyclist in Santa Monica — then ranting about it in a video captured by the victim — missed a court appearance on Monday. As a result, I’m told that a felony bench warrant has been issued for failing to appear.

However, reports that the case has been upgraded to a felony charge appear to be incorrect. According to cyclist/attorney Dj Wheels, the District Attorney’s office still reports that the case has been referred to the Santa Monica City Attorney for misdemeanor filing, while the SaMo CA says the case is still under evaluation.

As he notes, however, it’s always possible that neither of their computer systems have been updated yet. We’ll check back in a few days.

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

A beautiful, moving remembrance of a fallen cyclist. And brother.

August 22, 2011 / / 8 comments

Almost one a year ago to the day, I received an email from a reader telling me that a friend of his had been killed riding his bike a few days earlier.

A link to a Facebook page brought confirmation that Doug Caldwell, a popular local cyclist and scientist, had been killed, and another man, Scott Evans, seriously injured.

The driver, Gordon Wray, was charged with the death, and acquitted. Even for the relatively light charge of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter, it was a difficult case to prove.

In the flurry of angry comments that followed, I was surprised to see Stephen Caldwell jump into the fray to challenge those who claimed his brother’s death was nothing more than just an accident.

Afterwards, I offered him the use of this site if he ever wanted to tell his story, or simply remind us of the man Doug had been.

This past weekend, Stephen took me up on my offer — exactly one year after his brother was struck down on Foothill Blvd.

……..

To My Brother

For a boy, a bike means freedom. With a bike he can ride to a friend’s house or explore new neighborhoods on the weekend. He doesn’t need his parents anymore to drive him to school. He can, if he wants, ride to the beach. Were he a surfer he could devise a means to carry his board.

I think of my own boyhood. Few were the consecutive days when I did not ride my bike. Indeed, I took it so much for granted that recently I tried to remember the bicycle I used from the 7th through the 11th grade. Though I can specifically remember the Centurion ProTour I purchased just before my 12th grade year – the year I started driving – I cannot remember the prior one. I think it may have been light blue. I think it was a Schwinn. But it was my freedom. And I often rode with my brother.

For an adolescent boy-becoming-man, a car means freedom. He can go to the same places he went on his bike, but now more quickly. He can take girls on dates. He can drive to work at night. If he persuades his parents, he can drive to a city he never could have reached on bicycle. Greater freedom and a larger world.

For the adolescent with car keys, the bike takes on new meaning. Now a bike becomes simply a means of exercise. Or a way to feel the wind in his hair. (We lived at a time when helmets were rarely worn.) Now it is not primarily a means of transportation, but of recreation.

For some at this stage, the bicycle recedes into the past. They take it out again when they have their own children, or perhaps when they are on vacation and pleased to enjoy a summer boardwalk in a carefree way. For others, bicycles rise to the racks atop their cars, now transportable to scenic roads away from the busy city. For a few, bicycles become symbols of something greater, of greener worlds and healthier humans.

As boys, the bicycle demonstrated the sort of men we might become. The steep hills were our crucible. At the base of the hill one had three choices:  push the bike up while walking beside it; zig zag up to decrease the effective grade; or dig deep into oneself and learn to dominate the hill by going up it straight.

For the first boy, the ride down is but a lazier extension of the walk up. It is remarkable only in that it might not have been at all, close as the boy was to simply turning around at the bottom to look for an altogether easier route. For the second boy, the ride at the end is a reward for his labor. The gravity he once resisted now serves for his relaxation. But the rest is short-lived. Another hill will come, ever a burden.

For the last boy, the ride down on the wings of gravity is like a hero’s flight on the wings of victory. He has triumphed. He does not dread the next hill but seeks it out. “I defy you,” he thinks. “Indeed, though you may be even steeper and longer, I shall learn to ascend you faster.”

In a way, the three boys so described are three types of men. One cruises along in society, often at the expense of others. Another makes his way, but with only enough energy to provide for himself and the small world of his affections. The third is the sort who leads. Metaphorically, he has the power and strength to ride a tandem up a hill even doing the greater share of the peddling. Indeed, he can push himself to great heights because he knows that life is like the hills he conquered in his youth.

As a man, he must drive his car to his place of work, the place where he rides metaphorical mountains straight up. As a man, he sometimes rides his bicycle to work, a bit of a boy still in him. He enjoys the exercise which stills his busy mind, his mind which at his place of work he exerts for developing concepts or equations and for leading others to do embrace a vision.  He enjoys the open road with nature to his side – at least as much as he can experience in the city. He feels the air on sides of his head, but not the top, for now he does wear a helmet.

He is free for one last time. Ironically, on this day he is riding up a slight hill without exertion.  He has many mountains yet to climb, in tandem or as vanguard, showing others the way.

He is a man for one last time. And then a driver, proving only a simple law of basic physics – that energy times mass equals force – lays that man, my brother, to rest beside the road.

Like that. It ends. And we are left groping for answers.

Douglas Caldwell, a lifelong cyclist, was an eagle scout, a nature photographer, and a UCLA Ph.D. He had spent many years advancing space exploration, but in recent years had shifted his focus to alternate energy development. On August 20th, 2010 he was riding to his new job at JPL where he would have led a program to develop smart grid technologies for a greener planet earth. A driver straying into the bike lane struck him down. Douglas died the following day. 

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

Yet another teenage cyclist killed earlier this month, this time in Rancho Cucamonga

August 16, 2011 / / Comments Off on Yet another teenage cyclist killed earlier this month, this time in Rancho Cucamonga

A 16-year old Rancho Cucamonga cyclist died August 5th, nearly a week after he collided with a car.

Bernie Cota, who would have been a junior at Rancho Cucamonga High School, was riding his bike to a friend’s house on Friday, July 29th when the wreck occurred at the intersection of Milliken Ave and Terra Vista Parkway. No other details about the collision are currently available.

Cota was not wearing a helmet at the time, even though helmets are required for anyone under 18 in California. He suffered severe brain injuries, and despite surviving emergency surgery, lingered in a coma before being declared dead on Friday, August 5th.

According to the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, his organs were donated after his death.

All of Cota’s organs were healthy and his mother opted to have them donated. She is absolutely certain that her son would have wanted it that way.

“Many people got good news that day,” Denise Cota said.

But many others received news that broke their hearts, including friends, relatives and Bernie Cota’s two younger brothers, Brent and Brandon.

A public memorial was held for Cota this past weekend, while a local hair salon and pizza parlor both held fundraisers for the family; friends made and sold t-shirts and bead bracelets to raise money for the funeral.

A local mortuary offers a moving slide show of a life cut short.

This is the 49th confirmed traffic-related cycling death in Southern California this year, and 4th in San Bernardino County; Cota was the second teenage cyclist to die in the county this month.

My heart and prayers go out to his family and loved ones. Thanks to Ann for forwarding the news.

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

Breaking News: Lake Elsinore cyclist killed Friday afternoon; 3rd SoCal bike death in three days

August 6, 2011 / / Comments Off on Breaking News: Lake Elsinore cyclist killed Friday afternoon; 3rd SoCal bike death in three days

According to a report from the North County Times, a 19-year old Wildomar man was struck and killed while riding his BMX bike early Friday afternoon.

The rider, who has not yet been publicly identified, was leaving his work just before 1 pm when he attempted to cross the road at 31784 Casino Drive, and reportedly rode into the path of an oncoming van. Responding officers found him lying on the side of the road with multiple injuries; he was transported to Valley Medical Center, where he was declared dead.

Police report the driver tried to avoid the collision and remained at the scene to cooperate with the investigation, and was released without charges.

This is the third fatal Southern California bike traffic collision in the last three days, and the second in Riverside County. It’s also the 46th confirmed traffic-related cycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 9th in Riverside County.

Update: The rider has been identified as 19-year old Cody Wessel of Wildomar. Anyone with information about the crash is urged to call the Lake Elsinore Police at 951/245-3300.

Update 2: Cody Wessel is remembered as a recent grad of Elsinore High School and a member of Future Farmers of America; Wessel worked at Casino Hand Car Wash and planned to attend Mt. San Jacinto Community College. 

Category: General / Tags: , , ,

Seven-year old Redondo Beach cyclist killed on his way to visit his mother at work

August 5, 2011 / / 4 comments

Just one day after news was released about the death of a 51-year old cyclist in Riverside County, another bike rider was killed on the streets of Southern California.

This time, a 7-year old boy on his way to visit his mother at her new job in Redondo Beach.

At 10:28 am, a truck driver was backing up in the loading dock area of the Albertson’s market at 2115 Artesia Blvd when something seemed wrong. Stopping his truck, the driver — who has not been publicly identified — got out to discover Jeremy Perez pinned under the truck along with his bike; a sandal and broken handlebars were still visible under the cab as police investigated the collision.

According to the Contra Costa Times, Jeremy most likely rode through a break in the parking lot wall that neighbors use a shortcut; his mother had begun working at the store just days before.

NBC-4 reports that police are reportedly investigating the death as an accident.

“For the family, for the community, for the business here, for the truck driver, everybody involved,” said Sgt. Shawn Freeman of the Redondo Beach Police Dept. “It’s a tragic accident so we want to get the best and most complete investigation we can.”

In almost every collision, someone is at fault. Someone breaks the law or operates their vehicle carelessly. A driver may be drunk or distracted; a cyclist may blow through a light or ride without lights or on the wrong side of the road.

But on rare occasions, there’s no one to blame.

And this may be one of those cases.

It could be argued that the driver should have been more aware of what was behind his vehicle. But no one would expect a small child to be riding through a loading dock, and he would have been very hard to see through the mirrors of a large truck as it backed up.

It’s also hard to blame a small child for being in the wrong place. Few children have sufficient judgment to determine where they should and shouldn’t ride. That’s what parents and guardians are for; unfortunately, Jeremy’s mother was at work, and there’s no information available on who was, or should have been, watching him.

Ultimately, whatever blame there may be may lie with the property owner, who should have been aware of the damage to the surrounding wall that apparently allowed Jeremy and others to cut through the loading area.

In the end, this is a just heartbreaking tragedy.

And one that will devastate everyone involved for years to come.

Thanks to Vic for the heads-up.

……..

This is the 16th confirmed traffic-related bicycling fatality in Los Angeles County so far this year, and the 45th in Southern California since January 1st. It’s also the second bike fatality in Redondo Beach this year.

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

Hit-and-run driver kills cyclist in Carlsbad; driver found hiding in bushes

July 28, 2011 / / 2 comments

It’s happened yet again.

Another hit-and-run, another dead cyclist in North San Diego County, only a few miles from where Jim Swarzman was killed in April.

This time, though, the alleged drunk driver was found before she had time to sober up, hiding in some bushes near where her car was found.

According to multiple reports, 64-year old Arthur John Jacobs of Vista was riding southbound near the intersection of El Camino Real and Cassia Street around 9:45 pm last night when he was hit by a vehicle allegedly driven by 23-year old Julianne Elyse Thompson. A witness reportedly told police that Thompson’s vehicle hit the curb and some bushes, then sped off into the nearby Villa Loma apartment complex.

When police arrived, they found Jacobs lying in the street; he was pronounced dead at the scene.

After a brief search, Thompson was found hiding in the bushes near where her vehicle, which has not been publicly identified, had been abandoned. She was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter, felony hit-and-run drunk driving.

This is the 43rd confirmed traffic-related cycling fatality so far this year, and the 10th in San Diego County; one other cyclist was killed in a shooting this year. It is also the third fatal hit-and-run death of a cyclist in SDC this year, and the second in which the driver was known to be intoxicated.

Thanks to David Huntsman for the heads-up.

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

Update: Another biking fatality in Moreno Valley last week; no ID for Rancho Mirage victim

July 25, 2011 / / Comments Off on Update: Another biking fatality in Moreno Valley last week; no ID for Rancho Mirage victim

Somehow, this went under the radar over the weekend.

According to KTLA, 57-year old Jose Garcia-Espinosa of Moreno Valley was killed in a collision with a motor home on Saturday, July 22nd.

Garcia-Espinosa was riding on Cactus Avenue near the intersection with Lasselle Street when he was struck from behind after Joseph Gerald Edgerson of Moreno Valley lost control of his vehicle, which went on to strike a utility pole. Edgerson was reportedly incoherent following the collision and was taken to a local hospital in critical condition; KTLA reports he may have suffered a seizure.

A story by the Press-Enterprise suggests that Garcia-Espinosa may have been struck some distance from the final crash site, noting that he was found lying on the side of the road at 10:48 am. He was pronounced dead at Riverside County Regional Medical Center at 11:11 am.

This is the 42nd confirmed traffic-related cycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 7th in Riverside County.

Thanks to Dj Wheels and an anonymous source for the heads-up.

……..

Still no public identification for the cyclist killed in Rancho Mirage on Saturday night. The 41-year old Hispanic man was riding against  traffic when he was hit.

I’m told that bike riders in some parts of Mexico and Central America are often taught to ride against traffic, and bring that habit with them when they ride the more heavily traveled roads of this country.

Sometimes with tragic results.

I can’t say that’s what happened here, though the delay in contacting his next-of-kin suggests that they may not be in this country.


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

Update: Salmon cyclist killed in Rancho Mirage Saturday night

July 24, 2011 / / 9 comments

According to MyDesert.com, a cyclist was killed while riding against traffic in Rancho Mirage last night.

The rider, who has not been publicly identified, was headed east in the westbound on Highway 111 near Atrium Way when he was struck by a car traveling west at around 10:50 pm. KPSP-2 reports that he was pronounced dead at the scene.

No other details are available at this time.

……..

Some bike riders believe it is safer to ride against traffic, since it allows them to see oncoming vehicles. However, it’s actually significantly more dangerous because motorists aren’t looking anything approaching them on the same side of the road, and it shortens time both rider and driver have to react to a dangerous situation.

It also dramatically increases the severity of the impact by combining the speeds of both bike and car, rather than reducing the speed of impact as it would if both were traveling in the same direction.

For instance, if a car was traveling at 30 mph in the same direction as a bike at 15 mph, they would collide with a force equivalent to hitting a stationary object at 15 mph. However, traveling in opposite directions means the force of impact would be equivalent to 45 mph.

And that makes a big difference. It’s said that a pedestrian hit at 30 mph has an 80% chance of survival, while one hit at 40 mph has an 80% chance of dying.

This is the 6th bicycling fatality in Riverside County this year, and the 43rd confirmed cycling traffic death in Southern California since January 1st.

Update: The rider has been identified only as a 41-year old Hispanic male. While the cyclist appears to be clearly at fault for riding on the wrong side of the street, at least one local TV station seems to be going out of its way to blame the victim, as they quote a local resident questioning why anyone would ride a bike at night:

“I’m very sorry this man was killed but the average bicycle rider doesn’t ride at 11 O’clock at night,” Wells said.

Unless, of course, the average bike rider needs to get home from work or school, has someplace they want to go or just happens to enjoy riding after dark. You know, sort of like people in cars, but with fewer wheels.

And writer Jim Lyle questions my physics, saying that force of impact in a collision isn’t as simple as adding and subtracting relative speeds

It doesn’t work that way.  Ignoring differences in mass, if two cars collide head on at 30 mph, the force of the collision is not doubled; it’s the same as driving into a wall at 30 mph for each car.

For a bicycle/car collision, the differences in the masses are so large that the force of the collision is only marginally different if you are hit from behind or head on.

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

Updated: Five SoCal cyclists dead in last 5 days; 6th fatality uncomfirmed

July 21, 2011 / / 13 comments

It is a sad irony that the same week local cyclists celebrate L.A.’s groundbreaking cyclist anti-harassment ordinance, we’re forced to confront one of the bloodiest weeks in recent memory.

Just this week, bike riders have been killed in Downtown Los Angeles and Big Bear; in addition, a Simi Valley man has been killed while riding in Hawaii, and a Long Beach man died of injuries he received in a collision on July 6th.

That’s in addition to news that a 17-year old cyclist shot and killed on over the weekend while riding his bike.

Five deaths in the last five days, spanning the spectrum of potential hazards facing riders.

……..

Let’s start with the collision that killed a 63-year old man in Downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday evening.

While it was widely reported that this death may have been collateral damage resulting from a road rage incident between two drivers, multiple sources at City Hall have told me that the police are no longer investigating this as a confrontation between the motorists.

According to these sources, the collision occurred as a result of the drivers competing for lane space on the street, resulting in the driver of the Avalanche swinging to the right of the roadway where the victim, who has not yet been publicly identified, was riding.

As a result, the driver who had been taken into custody has been released.

This does not mean that no charges will be filed in the death, though; the investigation is still continuing.

Flying Pigeon offers a photo of the ghost bike that will be installed for the victim, if it hasn’t been already.

……..

Twenty-three-year old Christopher Sop of Big Bear Lake was killed in an apparent solo riding accident on Mill Creek Road, approximately one mile south of Tulip Lane in the unincorporated part of Big Bear.

According to the Rim of the World News, the Big Bear Sheriff’s Department responded to a report of a man down at 6:17 pm on Monday. Officers concluded that Sop had been travelling north on Mill Creek when he lost control of his bike and struck a rock; he was pronounced death at the scene, with time of the accident estimated at around 3:40 pm.

……..

A 67-year old Long Beach man has died of injuries he received when a truck driver allegedly ran a red light on July 6th in the Bixby Knolls area.

According to the Long Beach Press Telegram, Louis Gabor was riding his bike east on Bixby Road when he was struck by a Chevrolet S-10 pickup while crossing Cherry Avenue at around 11 am. After nearly two weeks in critical condition, he died of his injuries on Tuesday.

The driver, who has not been publicly identified, faces possible a possible charge of vehicular manslaughter once the investigation is concluded.

……..

Maui Now reports that 24-year old Anthony Hernandez of Simi Valley was killed while riding in Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii on Thursday, July 16th.

Kona police found Hernandez laying next to his bike after responding to a report of a crash at 1:18 am. He reportedly lost control of his bike and fell, hitting his head on the pavement and suffering critical face and head injuries; he died of his injuries on Sunday the 17th.

The website reports that he wasn’t wearing a helmet; in this case, that information is actually worth mentioning, since this is exactly the sort of slow-speed impact helmets are designed to protect against. It also suggests that police are investigating the possible “influence of intoxicants” in the crash.

However, as in the case of Christopher Sop in Big Bear — and any case in which a rider is found unconscious or dead on the side of the road — the question is why he lost control of his bike.

It’s entirely possible that it was the result of carelessness or intoxication on the part of the rider. But it’s also possible that it could be due to road conditions, or being brushed, buzzed or harassed by a passing vehicle. With no physical evidence, it’s very easy to blame the victim for something that may or may not have been his fault.

……..

Finally, the 17-year old cyclist killed in a shooting in Montecito Heights on Saturday evening has been identified as Jesus Lopez of Los Angeles. The Press-Enterprise reports that no arrests have been made; anyone with information is asked to call Detectives J. Rios or Cary Ricard at (323) 342-8959. During non-business hours or weekends, calls may be directed to 1-877-LAPD-24-7.

……..

These deaths — excluding that of Anthony Hernandez in Hawaii — raise the total of confirmed bicycling fatalities throughout Southern California this year to 47; 5 by gunshots and 42 in solo accidents or collisions with trains or motor vehicles; 20 of those deaths have occurred in L.A. County.

My sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of all the victims.

……..

Update: I had originally included a sixth fatality in this article; as noted on Tuesday, I had received an anonymous tip about a cycling fatality in Santa Maria; when I did a Google search for confirmation last night, I found an article from the Santa Maria Times that seemed to line up with the information I had, including the location.

However, I missed the date on the story. Even though I was searching for stories that had appeared online in just that last 24 hours, what I found was a story about a collision that occurred last November, as David Huntsman was kind enough to point out. As a result, I have removed references to the Santa Maria fatality while I wait for confirmation.

My apologies for the confusion.

Update: I’ve received confirmation that report of the Santa Maria collision was in error, and that no fatality occurred. And yes, that is very good news. 

Category: Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities, Violence & Crime / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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