Tag Archive for bicycling injuries

Update: Cyclist critically injured in Topanga Cyn hit-and-run; $1000 reward offered for any hit-and-run

September 4, 2012 / / 7 comments

Update: I have deleted this entire post at the request of the victim’s wife.

While I stand behind the original story, with virtually every word I wrote based on information had already been tweeted and retweeted around the world — and which remains readily available from numerous other sources online — I am sympathetic to her situation and will honor her request, as much as I disagree with it.

I will note only that the victim was injured in a hit-and-run collision at or near the intersection of North Topanga Canyon Blvd and Viewridge Road in Topanga Canyon, and was reported to the CHP at 12:13 pm on Saturday. Authorities continue to look for a Land Rover with a missing headlight; no word on color and model year. Anyone with information should contact the West Valley CHP station at 818-888-0980.

Best wishes to the victim for a full and fast recovery.

Update 2: The CHP has identified the victim as 60-year old Gary Morris of Van Nuys; no word on his condition.

Authorities are looking for a 1996 to 2000 Range Rover — not a Land Rover as previously stated — with possible damage to the right front end. Anyone with information should call CHP Investigator Brooke Covington at 818-888-0980, ext. 228.  

Update 3: I’m told that the Daily News story I linked to above is incorrect, and the suspect vehicle is actually Land Rover, not a Range Rover.

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On a related note, I recently received an email from John Bisnar about HitAndRunReward.com, which provides a $1000 for information leading to the arrest of any hit-and-run driver.

We have a standing offer of $1,000 reward for information leading to a felony conviction of a hit and run driver.  Information on a hit and run driver is given to WeTip, a non-profit crime fighting organization.  WeTip has a process that ensures the anonymity of people providing information so that no one, not WeTip, not me, not anyone knows who provided the information.  WeTip then passes the information on to the appropriate law enforcement agency.  When a reward is due, WeTip has an anonymous method of paying the reward in cash.

Personally, I’d gladly settle for the feeling of relief that would come from putting one of these murderous, uncaring bastards behind bars. But a cool thousand bucks in your pocket couldn’t hurt, either.

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Speaking of Lance, maybe you missed our contest to give away some CLIF Mojo bars over the weekend.

Between the tragic breaking news and usual mass exodus of L.A. that takes place on any three-day weekend, the contest may have gotten a little lost. So I’m extending the deadline one more day.

Just leave a comment on the original post with your favorite means of performance enhancement before or during a ride, and why — whether it’s something you eat, drink, do, listen to or meditate on — no later than 8 am Wednesday.

The winners — and yes, there will be more than one — will get a box of Mojo bars directly from CLIF Bar.

But be sure to use a valid, working email address, or I won’t be able to let you know you’ve won and get an address to send them to.

And no, they can’t just send them as an attachment.

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Finally, let Monday morning’s Beverly Hills earthquake serve as a reminder that when the Big One hits — or the zombie apocalypse starts — cars and transit systems will be useless. Your best, and perhaps only, choice for transportation will be a strong bike with flat-resistant tires.

And I’d like to know how the hell the biking black hole can give us an earthshaking 3:30 am wake-up call, but can’t manage to give us a single bike lane.

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

Update: LAPD looks for yet another coward who ran away after running down a cyclist

August 6, 2012 / / 2 comments

The L.A. Times reports that police are on the lookout for the driver who hit a cyclist, then fled the scene to avoid taking any responsibility for his or her actions.

The collision — not accident, as the Times insists on inaccurately calling it — occurred at 8:55 pm at Central Avenue and  32nd Street, south of Downtown L.A. The rider, who has not been publicly identified, was transported to County/USC Medical Center with severe head trauma.

No information on how the collision occurred.

According to the Times, police are looking for a red or orange 1992 or 93 Chevrolet pickup, last seen speeding south on Central Avenue.

Statistics compiled by the LAPD indicate that one-third of all traffic collisions in the city are hit-and-runs.

Why this continues to be acceptable to the leaders and people of this city, I will never understand.

Update: According to a press release from the LAPD, the rider, identified only as a 32-year old Huntington Park resident, was riding east on 32nd when he made a right turn onto Central Ave. As he was finishing his turn, he rode into the path of a truck traveling south on Central; it’s unclear whether the rider drifted onto the wrong side of the road, or if the truck was in the wrong position on the roadway.

The victim is in critical condition with severe head injuries.

Witnesses describe the truck as a 1992 – 1998 Silverado flatbed truck, red with white painted panels.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Central Traffic Detectives Felix Padilla or Josephine Mapson at (213) 972-1825 or Central Traffic Watch Commander at (213) 972-1853.  

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

Update: Cyclist killed Saturday on 405 on-ramp, another critically injured in Hollywood Hills hit-and-run

July 2, 2012 / / 2 comments

It’s been a horrible few days for California cyclists.

In the latest bad news, a man was killed while walking a bicycle on the transition between the westbound Marina (90) Freeway and the northbound 405.

According to the Culver City Patch, police in Culver City began receiving reports of a man pushing a bike along the freeway sometime around 10 pm Saturday. CHP officers responded to news of the collision at 10:03; the rider, who has not yet been publicly identified, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The report does not say if the driver remained at the collision site.

Just to be clear, cyclists are not allowed on most freeways in Southern California, whether riding or walking their bikes. There would appear to be no legitimate reason why he should have been on the transition ramp.

This is the 29th cycling-related fatality in Southern California this year, and the 9th in Los Angeles County; it’s also the 9th fatality in the seven county SoCal region in the very bloody, tragic month of June.

Update: Patch reports that the victim has been identified as 51-year old Los Angeles resident Joe William McKinney.

According to the report, a 43-year old woman was driving at 25 mph in the #2 lane when McKinney stepped in front of her Volvo for unknown reasons — which would make her one of the few drivers who travel that transition at anything even closely resembling the speed limit.

She clearly stayed at the scene. And there’s no explanation as yet why McKinney was walking his bike onto the 405.

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In more bad news, Hollywood Patch reports that a cyclist suffered severe head trauma in a Hollywood Hills hit-and-run late Friday afternoon.

The 55-year old cyclist, who has not been publicly identified, was riding south on the 2700 block of Outpost Drive, just south of Mulholland and a few blocks from Runyon Canyon Park, around 4 pm when he was hit by a vehicle described only as an orange Jeep Cherokee.

Police are looking for security camera footage that may have captured the collision. Other news stories say the rider remains in critical condition with major injuries.

Anyone with information is urged to call LAPD West Traffic Division at 213/473-0234 or 877/527-3247.

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A 42-year old La Mesa cyclist was killed Saturday in the Fresno-area Climb to Kaiser; a 155 mile ride rated at one of the most challenging in the U.S.

Nicola Grossi was riding a steep descent when he lost control of his bike rounding a curve, flew off an embankment and hit a tree roughly 10 feet off the road. Two passing cyclists performed CPR for about 20 minutes before paramedics arrived.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that he was a relatively recent convert to cycling, losing over 100 pounds in the last two years as he biked to work and took long highway rides.

Grossi leaves behind a wife, daughter and three step-children. San Diego’s KGTV-10 quotes his wife saying what could be said for almost an of us.

“Right now, all I can do is hold onto the fact that he died doing what he loves,” said Grossi’s wife, Jennifer Silverman-Grossi. “I mean, there is nothing in this world that he loved more than being on that bike.”

This is the second fatality in the ride’s 36-year history; a British rider was hit and killed by a pickup while riding on the wrong side of the same road in 2003.

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Finally, a rising New Zealand professional cyclist received a rude welcome to American on Friday, when he was critically injured by a hit-and-run driver.

Pure Black Racing rider Michael Torckler was training by himself in California following Canada’s Tour de Beauce when the 26-year old rider was run down by a hit-and-run driver in the Alexander Valley near Santa Rosa.

Torckler was riding downhill at a high rate of speed when he was hit head-on by accused drunk driver Arthur Ben Yun of Rohnert Park.

Yun, who was turned in by a passenger in the allegedly stolen car he was driving, is charged with driving under the influence, hit-and-run, auto theft and driving on a suspended license. He reportedly has an extensive, but undisclosed, criminal history.

Despite suffering 20 facial bone fractures, Torckler has been upgraded to fair condition; his doctors say his face took the brunt of the impact, sparing his brain from damage. His family has flown in from New Zealand to be with him.

Thanks to the Trickster for the heads-up.

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My prayers for Torckler, Grossi, and the unidentified riders.

And let’s be careful out there; the period around the 4th of July is usually one of the most dangerous times for bicyclists throughout Southern California.

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