May 3, 2022 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Bike-riding woman injured in street takeover, and repeat DUI driver busted again five years after killing bike rider
Police are looking for the driver of a white car, who left the scene without stopping after the crash.
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This is why people keep dying on our streets.
A 22-year old Los Osos woman is back behind bars after hitting several parked cars while driving at four times the legal alcohol limit, just five years after she killed a Cal Poly student riding a bicycle in a drunken hit-and-run.
Gianna Brencola was sentenced to seven years behind bars, but somehow released after just two years, and released from parole less than two years later.
Thanks to jmell for the heads-up.
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Here’s your chance to demand that new vehicles protect the people outside of them, as well as those inside.
Streetsblogoffers a roundup of LA bike news, including a) Metro extends its Metro Bike contract for another year, b) Metro approved revised funding for South LA’s Rail-to-Rail bike/walk path, and c) new bike lanes on Burbank Blvd in Van Nuys and a one-way bike lane on 2nd Ave in South LA’s Hyde Park neighborhood.
Heartbreaking news from Australia, where former juniors cyclist Maddy Marshall died, four and a half years after she was diagnosed with leukemia; she was just 24. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.
The victim, identified only as a 40-year old man, was pronounced dead at the scene.
No word on whether he had lights on his bike, or if there was some other reason why the driver failed to see him. And no word on how fast the driver was going.
But at least he stayed at the scene.
A street view shows six lanes with a center turn lane on Rosecrans, with a frontage road on the south side. That suggests the victim may have been riding west on Rosecrans, if he was on the main roadway at the time of the crash.
This is at least the 39th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the ninth that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.
And yes, that means the predominantly black, Hispanic and immigrant neighborhoods mostly south of the 10 Freeway, along with other area in East LA and the San Fernando Valley.
It is the first Friday of April, 15 days after California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a statewide shelter-in-place order. In Los Angeles, San Francisco, and other large cities in California—as well as in many other states—bike shops have been classified as essential businesses, a move that has been celebrated by some and derided by others. Some critics have argued that bike shops primarily cater to privileged fitness-oriented hobbyists and that putting shop staff in harm’s way (and risking community spread of disease) to serve recreational riders is unwise. But that assumption renders invisible the thousands of neighborhood shops in cities across the country that serve customers who mostly rely on bicycles to facilitate their livelihoods, customers from some of the most economically vulnerable communities in the U.S.
In LA, for example, Paisano’s and other shops in neighborhoods like Compton and South Los Angeles provide a vital service to people who depend on bicycles to get to and from work. These small businesses are perhaps 15 miles and universe away from LA’s affluent coastal suburbs where bike shops are typically stocked with $300 bib shorts and $10,000 road bikes.
Shops that many of us are familiar with, or at least heard of.
Along with others you may not know, like Linares Bike Shop, and Filipe’s #2 in Pico Union.
Shops where new bicycles sell for as little as $200, purchased on layaway. And where essential takes on a whole new meaning for people who have no other way to get to work.
Census data indicates that one in eight households in the city of Los Angeles don’t have a car. That figure is considerably higher in a low-income community like South LA.
Consider the neighborhood known as South Park—where Paisano’s is located, as well as another popular shop called Linares. Here the community is 79 percent Latino, 19 percent black, and zero percent white. According to data compiled by the real estate brand Trulia, households in this zip code have only 0.37 vehicles per capita, roughly half the median in LA. And according to an analysis published by the Los Angeles Times, the median household income in South Park is $29,518.
Many customers rely on their neighborhood shops because they don’t have the luxury of doing repair work themselves. “If you have a bad cut, you go to a doctor,” says Tejeda, who notes that most of his customers lack even the most basic tools like pumps and levers. “People bring their bikes here. It’s a trade for a reason.”
According to Flax, though, the owners are scared.
Scared of a virus that could come in undetected, carried in by a careless customer or some other visitor. And perhaps even more scared of losing their employees and businesses to a prolonged economic slump.
When asked how things are really going, Linares looks at his feet for a minute and bites his lower lip. “I’ve started closing the shop earlier now. I’m worried a lot about the business,” he says, pointing to the register. “What we make today is what me and the employees have for the day.”
And this.
When asked how business is going, Ambrosia gets animated as he responds in Spanish. “He says business has gone down a lot because people have no money, no jobs,” Mendoza says, translating before he adds his own commentary. “He is scared to work in the shop now, but he has no choice. He needs money for his house.”
Bike shops like these are the backbone of these neighborhoods and our communities, and need to be saved.
But the question is how.
The people in the local communities can’t do it. Too many are on the bottom rungs of society as it is, and the ones most hurt by the shutdown of so many businesses.
A crowdfunding campaign might make sense. But it would be hard to bring in enough donations to make a difference, and harder still to distribute it equitably to the many shops that so desperately need help right now.
If these businesses were more sophisticated, we could just visit their webpages and buy something, anything. Maybe pay off those layaways, or buy one of those sub-$200 bikes and give it to someone who needs one.
But few even have a website, and fewer still are set up for e-commerce.
As in, none.
So the best solution may be to take your bike in for service if you can, and maybe pick up something while you’re there.
Will that be enough to save these shops, and the countless other small local bike shops that are struggling to survive in these desperate days?
Probably not.
Maybe someone smarter than me has the answer.
Because you might never visit one of these shops. But we’re all going to miss them when they’re gone.
On the other hand, Los Angeles is closing paths, parks and trails, and just telling bike riders and pedestrians to stay home, while allowing motor vehicles to maintain their near-exclusive hegemony over the newly nearly empty streets.
Streets for All and the LACBC are working to get street closures here. Whether they’ll be successful remains to be seen.
At 6:40 am, a driver was reportedly unable to avoid him, and slammed into Velez-Segovia at roughly 55 mph.
Not surprisingly, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The LA County Coroner’s office places the location as the freeway onramp; however, neither source mentions which direction he was traveling in.
No explanation is given for why he was riding on the freeway, particularly in the traffic lane; bicycles are prohibited from all limited-access highways in Los Angeles County.
It’s possible he may have been riding on the shoulder, and moved into the traffic lane when the shoulder disappeared at the onramp. Or he may have been forced into the lane by cars entering the freeway.
Unfortunately, we’ll probably never get any answers beyond what is contained in the brief story.
This is at least the 57th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 25th that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Nelson Mariano Velez-Segovia and his loved ones.
Almost needless to say, the driver fled following the crash.
KBCS-2 reports he was attempting to cross Alondra when he was run down. Although someone should tell them that hit-and-run is a crime, not an accident.
Parker was reportedly riding to a relative’s home when he was killed, leaving his children without a father.
Yes, this is the cost of traffic violence. And what happens when cowardly drivers leave their victims to die in the street.
Sheriff’s deputies are looking for video from nearby surveillance cameras, as well as possible witnesses. Anyone with information is urged to call the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department’s Compton station at 310/605-6500.
This is at least the 22nd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 11th in LA County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Darnell Parker and all his family.
Mike Wilkinson forwards a reminder to always ride safely.
About 10:30 Thursday morning my wife saw the aftermath of a crash involving a bicyclist near Alameda and Alondra in Compton. Such a scene would be hard for most people to stomach, but it was especially tough for her, because we are both avid riders.
The bike was broken in half, which may indicate the force of the collision, but what really got to my wife was the rider’s screams as the first responders tried to help him. The whole scene is going to haunt her for a while.
Despite her shock, she felt it was important to note that most riders she sees in this area ride terribly. They run stop lights, ride on the wrong side of the road, cross from one side to the other in the middle of the block and worse. That makes it hard for even careful drivers like her to avoid collisions. It’s a reminder that following the rules of the road at least means that you are more likely to be where drivers expect you to be.
Be careful out there!
It’s important to note that there is nothing to suggest that the victim in this crash broke the law or rode recklessly in any way.
But it’s valid to say that our safety as bicyclists depends on riding in such a way that drivers know what to expect. Which means riding with traffic, observing traffic signals, and signaling turns. Even if they don’t.
In other words, ride like your life depends on it.
The Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition, SoCal Families for Safe Streets, Day One, Streets are For Everyone, and Los Angeles Walks will hold a late afternoon ceremony at Pasadena city hall on Sunday.
It’s often said that if you can’t fix it with duct tape, it ain’t broken.
Which is amply demonstrated by this video, where people in the Dutch city of Nijmegen fixed a dangerous intersection on a bike path with a simple application of the aforementioned adhesive.
Speaking of Mar Vista, a dermatologist and Mar Vista Community Council member says Vision Zero is a great idea, but the Venice Blvd road diet was rammed down their throats and won’t save a single life. Because everyone knows that dermatologists are experts in traffic safety, unlike the people who actually get paid to do it. Never mind that it was the result of a two-year, community-driven process, and wasn’t rammed up or down any part of anyone’s anatomy.
One thousand bikes were found in a hand-built dirt bunker after a homeless camp was evicted from the Santa Ana River. If you had a bike stolen anywhere in the Fountain Valley area, now would be a good time to check in with the OC Sheriff’s Department.
Can he give it back? A 19-year old Michigan man rode his bike to work every day, regardless of the weather, so his coworkers pitched in to buy him a car for his birthday.
New York officials knew the bike path where eight people were killed recently was vulnerable to a terrorist attack, but did nothing to prevent it. Just like LA officials know the risk of a similar attack on Hollywood Blvd, but haven’t done anything about it.
And if you’re dismantling a pair of bikes in an alley, while in possession of burglary tools — and already on probation for grand theft — you might want to have an explanation ready in case the cops show up.
Reports are coming in that a bike rider was killed in Compton this morning, and a building partially destroyed by an out-of-control driver.
According to KTLA-5, the crash occurred on the 1100 block of E. Compton Ave before 10:50 Monday morning, when the driver of a van was reportedly unable to avoid hitting the bicyclist before crashing into the storefront.
The victim, who has not been publicly identified, has was pronounced dead at the scene. Attorney James Johnson indicates he may have been a man in his 50s.
There’s no explanation for how the collision occurred or why the driver was unable to avoid striking the rider. However, the position of the victim and his bike, in relation to the impact with the building, suggests he may have been thrown a significant distance by the impact of the crash.
In addition, the building — the site of a planned real estate office — suffered significant structural damage and may have to be red tagged, implying that the wreck may have occurred at a high rate of speed.
In a report that is not yet online, KABC-TV places the impact at 10:27 am at 1137 E Compton Blvd.
They also report the driver taken into custody, although other reports indicate he was injured and taken to a hospital for treatment.
You can view the KABC report in a cellphone video recorded by a viewer.
This is the 42nd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 16th in Los Angeles County.
That compare with just 24 in SoCal on this date last year, and ten in the county. It’s also the fourth bicycling death in Compton since 2011.
Update: According to KNBC-4, the driver was headed west on Compton when he somehow veered across three lanes of traffic to hit the victim head-on before slamming into the building.
The 22-year old driver was found unconscious following the crash.
The victim had apparently just stopped for food; a shopping bag lay on the sidewalk next to his body.
Meanwhile, KABC still hasn’t posted their report online. However, an update to the story suggests the driver was not taken into custody as originally reported.
The station reports that, while the investigation is ongoing, police describe it as just a tragic accident — despite the description in the KNBC story.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.
Thanks to Michael MacDonald and James Johnson for the heads-up, and to Vanessa for the cellphone video.
More bad news, as a Compton bike rider was killed in a collision Monday morning.
According to the Press-Telegram, the victim, identified only as a man in his 30s, was riding north on Compton Ave around 6:30 am when he was struck by a vehicle driving east on El Segundo Blvd.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver remained at the site following the collision.
A satellite view shows a signalized intersection with four lanes in each direction, with a center left turn lane; Compton narrows to two lanes south of El Segundo.
No other information is available at this time.
This is the 62nd bicycling fatality in Southern California, and the 24th in Los Angeles County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.
The Sheriff’s Department says the 27-year old victim was targeted by the shooters, while a woman standing nearby was injured, apparently as collateral damage.
In case you need a reminder how much fun it is to ride a bike, this girl’s reaction should do the trick.
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Caught on video: My friends at the West Seattle Blog post a first hand view of what it’s like to get right hooked by a massive semi-truck. Remarkably, both the rider and his bike survived almost unharmed.
As they note, you may want to hit the mute button if innocent ears are around, since they finally found someone who swears at drivers more than I do. And with good reason.
A Canadian driver went to play the slots after hitting a cyclist, leaving him to die alone in a ditch. Common sense suggests she’d face a murder charge for her callous indifference to human life, and sped the next several years behind bars.
Clearly, life is cheap north of the border. At least if the victim is riding a bike.
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If you don’t read any other link today, take a few moments for this fascinating obituary of the sword swallowing, prize fighting, blood drinking Irish cycling legend Mike “Iron Man” Murphy, who slept in hay to prepare for races, and rode 40 miles afterwards just to cool down.
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Just eight days till the first world championships on US soil since ’86.
Alexis Gougeard won Friday’s stage of the Vuelta in a solo breakaway, setting up Saturday’s penultimate leg in the mountains around Madrid. After crashing early in the stage, second place Fabio Aru lost three seconds to leader Tom Dumoulin, doubling the margin between them to just six seconds; however, he may lose more time if he’s penalized for an assist.
And Marina del Rey women’s cyclist Lauren Mulwitz accepted a six-month ban for failing a drug test at June’s Manhattan Beach Gran Prix after she tested positive for marijuana. Yes, she was banned for pot, which has never been known to enhance anyone’s performance.
Seriously, why should anyone care if she or any other athlete takes a toke? Especially in California, where’s it’s just this side of legal.
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Local
Writing in the Daily News, a former Republican candidate for state assembly says the new mobility plan is all about whining about cars, and declares the new Reseda Blvd Great Streets protected bike lanes a failure. Somehow, they’re accused of making traffic worse even though no traffic lanes were removed; although admittedly, they do force drivers to actually look before jumping out of a car for a change.
The LA Times looks at what it’s like to ride the seven-day AIDS/LifeCycle ride from San Francisco to LA. Including being surrounded by men on bikes in red dresses.
A Glendale rider describes getting hit by a car that didn’t leave any passing room, let alone the three feet required by law.
Don’t try this at home. A San Diego man tackles the man selling his stolen bike after tracking it down on Craigslist. There are too many similar stories that went dangerously wrong; just call the police and let them handle it.
Boston makes changes to a street where a bicyclist was killed in a right hook by a semi while she was riding in a bike lane. Every city, everywhere, should study the cause of any fatal collision, then fix the problem to keep it from happening again.
Hugh Jackman, aka Wolverine, is one of us, as he rides the streets of New York on his Scott mountain bike. Why is it that the press criticizes anyone who doesn’t wear a helmet, but makes fun of anyone who does?
International
An Ontario, Canada website says investing in bicycling is the smart thing to do, saying the province doesn’t have a traffic problem, it has a health problem.
If you build it, they will come. Bicycling is booming in Vancouver BC, as the city invests $4 million a year in bikeways and greenways. Although it doesn’t help when even the mayor of nearby Victoria is a victim of thieves who stripped her bike during a meeting to approve bike parking in a new development.
A Brit woman charges a cyclist the equivalent of nearly $5 to refill his water bottle — from a garden hose, no less — then dumps it out when he can’t pay.
A Copenhagen firm wants to be the Uber of bikes for hire. Although they couldn’t have picked a much worse name than AirDonkey; maybe it sounds better in Danish.
Speaking of Copenhagen, maybe someday the anti-bike forces here will say LA isn’t Jakarta, instead.
Finally…
A South African cyclist swears he had a suitcase full of syringes to lance the boils on his butt, while an official says they were for filling bike tires with sealant. Sure, let’s go with that. It’s such a no brainer to use the term no brainer when talking about bike helmets that anyone who uses the phrase no brainer to talk about bike helmets is just showing their own need for an effing copy editor.
And nothing like a little sex shaming to sell boy’s bikes.
July 8, 2014 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Morning Links: Bike rider collateral damage in Compton drive-by, moving memorial to fallen cyclist Milt Olin
LAist suggests she may not have been the intended target, but just happened to be riding by when the shooter(s) targeted a group of people standing in a driveway.
Just thinking the other day I was thinking the Tour should ride through the Channel Tunnel — aka Chunnel — from the UK to France. Now it turns out Froome just did.
We’ve mentioned this one before. But if you haven’t yet, sign the petition to support Andy’s Law to increase penalties for hit-and-run; thanks to Mario Gastelum for the reminder.
Confused — or maybe just confusing — Athens GA writer says there must be some truth to the scofflaw cyclist trope, even though he’s never seen one. And even then, not all bike riders should be held responsible for the actions of a few, unless maybe they should.
