A man riding a bicycle was killed by a driver early this morning in the Vermont Square neighborhood of South Los Angeles.
According to KTLA-5, the victim was riding east on West Vernon Avenue at South Figueroa Street shortly before 1 am Sunday.
A driver traveling south on Figueroa slammed into him, then continued on to hit several parked cars.
The victim, identified only as a 29-year old man, died at the scene.
The driver was badly injured, and remained at the scene.
The station reports that local residents rushed out to assist the victims after the crash, and attempted to lift the driver’s car off the other man. It’s unclear if they succeeded, but at least he didn’t die alone.
The driver was extracted from his car, a while Honda, and taken to a hospital suffering from facial injuries.
There is video from the Citizen app showing the aftermath of the crash, but portions are fairly graphic, so be sure it’s really something you want to see.
Police were unsure this morning whether speed or alcohol were involved. But given the early morning hour and the damage to multiple vehicles, it seems likely the driver was traveling at a high rate of speed.
The intersection is controlled with a red light, but it’s unknown at this time who had the right-of-way.
This is at least the 25th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the ninth that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County; it’s also the fourth we’ve learned about in the City of Los Angeles.
He was the fifth bike rider to die in LA County in just the past two weeks.
Update: The victim was identified at Jonatan Perez, no city of residence given.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Jonatan Perez and his loved ones.
