There is no information on how the crash occurred.
Video from the scene shows two cars, one with a shattered windshield and apparently missing a wheel; a broken white road bike lies in the center of the street some distance up the road.
Update 2: AIDS/LifeCycle has identified the victim as Andrew Jelmert, a five-time participant in the annual fundraising ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles.
April 12, 2022 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Utah crash victims identified as Whittier brothers, San Diego bikeway fail, and Santa Ana Karen assaults bike-riding boy
Sadly, our worst fears have been realized.
On Saturday, two men identified only as brothers from California were killed when they were run down from behind by a repeat DUI driver near St. George, Utah, who claimed to be on fentanyl from being hospitalized the day before.
And told police she lost control of her car after losing control of her bowels as she was driving.
He also reports a pair of teens in cycling gear were standing by their bodies, screaming about their dads.
Read into that what you will. But it fits with rumors that the Bullard’s teenage sons were among the first riders to come upon the scene shortly after the crash.
Adam’s last post is particularly heartbreaking in retrospect.
Their accused killer, 47-year old Julie Budge, faces twin counts of vehicular homicide, DUI and hit-and-run, as well as single counts of reckless driving and failure to stay in her lane.
She continues to be held without bail, no doubt to the relief of everyone else on the roads.
Budge was previously convicted of DUI seven years ago.
Like Los Angeles before it, San Diego has learned the hard way that traffic safety projects are doomed to fail if they’re not rolled out carefully.
In LA’s case, it was the failed installation of road diets and bike lanes in Playa del Rey, which were unceremoniously ripped out at the mayor’s orders when angry drivers got out their torches and pitchforks, after getting no advance notice the changes were coming.
Hey Long Beach! LA County will be performing maintenance of the LA River Trail between Ocean Blvd and Artesia Blvd starting today 4/4/2022 and expected to end Monday, 4/18/2022. Be advised you may need to take alternative routes due to potential closures during this time. pic.twitter.com/0OSXPwTjLh
No bias here. An Idaho letter writer complains about “arrogant” bike riders who hog the road by riding side-by-side, forcing drivers to — gasp! — actually slow down until it’s safe to pass. And he must know what he’s talking about, since his family owns two bikes.
The Kansas woman who pled guilty last month to running over and shooting a bike-riding because he smiled and gestured towards her has changed her mind, and now insists she didn’t do it; she’s asking the judge to allow her to change her plea.
New York City will shut down over 100 streets to celebrate Earth Day later this month. Meanwhile, Los Angeles officials will undoubtedly mark the day by making a few pronouncements about how important it is to save the earth, while doing absolutely nothing about it.
The roadway will be reduced to a single lane for construction work from 9 am to 2 pm, with traffic allowed through in alternate directions, while the bike lanes will be completely blocked.
However, there’s no word on what road conditions will be like if you arrive before or after that five-hour time period.
It’s also questionable whether bikes can be prohibited from using PCH during those hours, since California allows bicycles on any public road where cars are allowed, with the exception of limited access highways in most urban areas.
Whether it would be smart to put yourself in that situation is another matter.
Los Angeles is installing bright red bus lanes in East Hollywood and DTLA, with others coming soon on Alvarado and La Brea; LA interprets state law as allowing bike riders to use bus-only lanes, though some other cities may disagree.
An Atwater Village elementary school is working with the PE Learn-To-Ride program sponsored by All Kids Bike to teach the youngest students how to ride using balance bikes, after a teacher discovered no one really wanted to win a bicycle as a reward for good behavior.
Hermosa Beach police used bait bikes to bust a pair of bike thieves, while making sure the bikes had a value of more than $950 so it would count as felony theft. Which serves as yet another reminder that the LAPD still doesn’t use bait bikes to cut high theft rates, thanks to a misguided opinion from the city attorney’s office concluding they could be seen as entrapment; meanwhile, that same city attorney wants your vote for LA mayor.
Cycling Newsexamines how bikes get made, starting from iron ore or a vat of petrochemicals to the finished bicycle in your garage. Although you’re better off keeping it inside your home, since garages are often easy targets for thieves.
February 16, 2022 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on LA Times editorial calls for supporting Healthy Streets LA initiative, and Oxnard man arraigned in drunken bike death
Nice to see a writer for the LA Times get behind a ballot measure safer, healthier streets.
The measure would require Los Angeles to implement the ambitious, but long-forgotten, Mobility Plan 2035, building out bus and bike lanes, as well as pedestrian improvements, when city streets are repaved.
Here’s what Cavanaugh had to say about the plan, which advocates fought for years to create and pass.
But, as is so often the case in L.A., the implementation of the Mobility Plan has not matched its ambition.
Since its adoption, the city has only made bike, bus and pedestrian upgrades to 95 miles out of 3,137 miles identified in the plan — or 3% in a little more than six years. Time and again, city leaders have ignored or torpedoed bike and bus lanes outlined in the Mobility Plan. At this rate, it will take nearly 200 years — not 20 — to fulfill the plan’s vision.
As Cavanaugh points out, it’s crazy that it takes a ballot measure to force the city to do what it already agreed to do.
But that’s the city we live and ride in these days, where fear of angering anyone leads to paralysis among city leaders. Along with more and more community meetings, where the people who scream the loudest usually carry the day.
And it’s usually the people who fear and fight any kind of change who scream the loudest.
Again, here’s Cavanaugh.
The need for community engagement can’t be an excuse for doing nothing. There’s too much at stake. Last year nearly 300 people were killed in traffic collisions in Los Angeles, a roughly 20% increase over the two prior years. Nearly half of the people killed were pedestrians. Some 52% of Angelenos said that crossing the street in their neighborhood is dangerous, according to polling conducted for the Healthy Streets LA initiative.
As part of his Green New Deal sustainability plan — another aspirational document — Garcetti called for 50% of all trips in the city by 2035 to be made by walking, biking and taking transit. But that goal will be unreachable without the political will to prioritize the infrastructure and transit improvements that make it easier, safer and more pleasant for people to get around.
It’s ridiculous that we’re in this position.
But it’s sadly become clear over the last decade that we can’t count on city leaders to do what they already know has to be done. Yet clearly lack the courage and political will to do.
He faces charges of DUI causing injury or death, and driving with a blood-alcohol level over .08 percent, along with a single count of felony vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, combined with special enhancements for a serious felony and a crime involving great violence.
He remains in jail on $50,000 bond, which will be reviewed tomorrow.
Thirty-eight-year old Carlos Arturo Acosta is expected to be charged with hit-and-run resulting in death, and driving on a suspended license.
He’s being held on $75,000 bail.
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There’s always a shortage of bike lockers, even at the Metro stations that actually have them. And high demand for them at the stations that don’t.
At tomorrow's Metro Planning and Programming committee there is a staff recommendation for Metro station bike parking – a $6M 5-year contract for electronic bike lockers https://t.co/XnuEPnUUBF
You probably didn’t have this one on your 2022 bingo card — an Orlando, Florida bike cop in hot, but polite, pursuit of a very drunk woman riding a motorized suitcase.
Walk Bike Glendale alerts us to public meetings this week to fight a plan to settle for sharrows on La Crescenta Ave tomorrow, and on Saturday to create a 9.4-mile linear park along the Verdugo Wash.
The Monterey Park City Council will discuss an induced demand-inducing plan at today’s meeting to widen Garvey Ave from four lanes to a ridiculous six lanes. Exactly the opposite of what should be done to improve safety for bike riders and pedestrians, and reduce motor vehicle use while California is literally burning. Thanks to Active SGV for the heads-up.
Just a year after revising Virginia law to require drivers to change lanes to pass bike riders, and remove the limitation on riding two abreast, the state senate is going backwards by approving a measure that would require people on bicycles to ride single file when being overtaken by someone in a car. The bill’s sponsor appeared to make up an incident to support it.
A University of Toronto study confirms what you already knew. Over half of all drivers never look for bicyclists or pedestrians before making a right turn. Then again, some of them never look for us when we’re right in front of them, either.
The driver was reportedly traveling east on Wooley at a high rate of speed when he swerved onto the shoulder and slammed into the victim.
The bike rider, who has not been publicly identified, died at the scene.
The 27-year old driver remained at the scene and was booked for vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, as well as felony DUI. He was being held on $50,000 bond.
Anyone with information is urged to call Oxnard Police Officer Manuel Perez at 805/385-7750 or email manuel.perez@oxnardpd.org.
This is at least the 13th bicycling fatality in Southern California already this year, and the first that I’m aware of in Ventura County.
Linton blames the staffing shortages on the feared budget shortfalls due to the pandemic, which failed to materialize thanks to federal COVID recovery funds.
However, the department has been understaffed for years, particularly in regards to bicycling and walking infrastructure, which has severely hampered the department’s ability to make much-needed changes to our streets.
The bikeways are currently being planned or implemented in Los Feliz and the San Fernando Valley, including —
Replacing sharrows on Riverside Drive south of Griffith Park with a lane removal and parking protected bike lane, the first in the 4th Council District, due to be complete in the next few months.
Adding protected bike lanes on Riverside Drive north of Griffith Park, in cooperation with Glendale and Burbank.
New bike lanes on Hyperion Blvd from Griffith Park Blvd to Rowena Ave to connect current bike lanes on Rowena and Griffith Park Blvd, as well as bike lanes promised for the Glendale-Hyperion Bridge.
Closing an existing half-mile gap in the bike lanes on Burbank Blvd between Hazeltine Ave and Van Nuys Blvd, part of the city’s Vision Zero High Injury Network.
Adding protected bike lanes leading from the G Line — nee Orange Line — bike path to the North Hollywood Metro Station and the Chandler bike path.
Raman is also assuming shared responsibility for portions of projects already underway in what was formerly other council districts, which were moved into her district under the recently redistricting.
A new three-mile long segment of L.A. River Greenway from Vanalden Ave to Balboa Blvd, which will nearly complete the river path west of the Sepulveda Basin, shared with 3rd District Councilmember Bob Blumenfield
The 3-mile long Reseda Boulevard Complete Streets Project currently under construction from Victory Boulevard to Parthenia Street, shared with Blumenfield and CD12’s John Lee.
Unfortunately, she no longer has responsibility for much of Hollywood, Mid-City and Hancock Park, so any hope for changes there will depend on who replaces Paul Koretz in CD5, and whether Mitch O’Farrell remains in office in CD13.
Thanks for covering my office's work on bikeways in the district, @streetsblogLA!
Lavalle was driving a rented moving truck when he allegedly ran a stop sign, and slammed into the boy as he rode in a crosswalk on Arlington Drive.
He was previously convicted of DUI in San Diego County in 2013, which justifies the murder count for a second violation under California law, and was on parole at the time of the crash.
He faces up to 30 years behind bars if he’s convicted.
Without digging into the details, the main point of the changes is to give greater priority to vulnerable road users. Or put another way, unlike 007, they’re taking away drivers licenses to kill.
One they apparently issued themselves.
No one set out to turn our towns, cities, villages and rural roads into dangerous hellholes. It just happened as motorists assumed the right to highways which were never designed for motor traffic. It was the exercise of raw power: drivers of motor vehicles lording it over the rest of us because they could.
It’s worth a few minutes to give it a read.
On the other hand, there are people who don’t get it at all. Take this gasoline-addled automotive troglodyte.
Please.
Under cover of Covid, they have turned our city centres into crazy golf courses, intended to frustrate freedom of movement by giving priority to Lycra-clad lunatics on racing bikes and suicide jockeys on e-scooters.
Transport policy has been captured by single-issue, anti-car fanatics, hell-bent on bankrupting businesses and causing the maximum possible inconvenience to the traveling public…
Our other major cities have suffered from pollution-spewing traffic jams created by Town Hall Guardianista polar-bear huggers in thrall to the cult of the great god cycling.
Maybe that should read ‘Cyclops’, since the pushbike lobby are terminally myopic when it comes to seeing any point of view other than their own warped ideology.
Nope.
No bias there.
………
When is a Culver City protected bike lane not a bike lane?
— Let's Get Neighborhood Approval to Save the Planet (@ChrisByBike) January 25, 2022
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
Someone is sabotaging a pilot bike lane on a Boston bridge installed to test plans for a more permanent lane, tossing orange cones marking the lane into the Charles River, not just once, but twice over the last weekend.
A man was shot in a driveby while riding his bike at Whites Canyon Road and Delight Street in Santa Clarita; there’s no word on his condition, or if the shooting was gang-related or a road rage attack.
A 71-year old man riding a bicycle lost his life in Fountain Valley early Saturday morning, thanks to a drunken coward who didn’t have the decency stop.
Allegedly.
According to County News TV, police responding to reports of a crash found 71-year old Santa Ana resident Liem Bui lying on southbound Euclid Ave just north of Heil Ave, next to Mile Square Regional Park, around 5:39 this morning.
The driver fled the scene, leaving Liem to die alone in the street.
Police identified the suspect vehicle, locating it in Westminster sometime later with 32-year-old Fountain Valley resident Amanda Martin still in the driver’s seat.
She was arrested on suspicion of felony driving under the influence, felony hit-and-run and vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.
It’s not clear if she was driving at the time or had stopped, or whether she was awake or passed out behind the wheel.
She was being held on $100,000 bond.
Anyone with information is urged to call the Traffic Bureau of the Fountain Valley Police Department at 714/593-4481.
This is at least the fifth bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the first that I’m aware of in Orange County. Three of those deaths have been hit-and-runs.
A Victorville boy is dead, all because someone had to get drunk and get behind the wheel in the middle of the day.
Allegedly, of course.
According to the Victorville Daily Press, a 15-year old boy was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver in downtown Victorville Monday afternoon.
The victim, who hasn’t been publicly identified, was headed west on C Street at Fifth Street, when he was run down by a driver traveling south on Fifth around 2:01 pm.
He was taken to a local hospital, where he died at 3:19 pm.
A photo from the scene shows what appears to be a mangled mountain bike resting on the curb.
The driver apparently continued without stopping. Sheriff’s deputies arrested 29-year old Victorville resident Hector Castro Loaeza later that night.
Loaeza was booked on suspicion of driving under the influence causing death, hit and run resulting in death, and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. He’s currently being held on $150,000 bond.
There’s no word on what led investigators to Loaeza, or how they know he was drunk at the time of the crash, when he wasn’t arrested until hours earlier.
The victim was identified only as a 53-year old, Hispanic La Puente resident; he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver, Amelia S. Salazar, remained at the scene, and was arrested for vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, and driving under the influence causing injury to another person.
There’s no word on how the crash occurred, or what Salazar is accused of using.
This is at least the 56th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 15th that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.
September 22, 2021 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on It’s Car Free Day, San Diego driver faces murder for meth-fueled death of Laura Shinn, and always carry ID on your bike
He faces an additional felony count of vehicular manslaughter while under the influence, giving jurors a choice of charges and potential sentences.
Milavetz, who works as a “420 mobilization tech” and delivery driver for a pair of cannabis dispensaries, entered a plea of not guilty to the charges; he has been held in custody without bail since his arrest.
He was arrested a month earlier for driving while high on meth.
And once again, authorities managed to keep a dangerous driver the road until it was too late.
The e-bike tax credit and other bicycle programs that make up the massive bill are as follows, and it signifies a welcome change and an indication of just how fast and how large e-bikes sales are growing:
E-bike tax credit: 15% on the purchase of new e-bikes (the first $5,000), up to $750 benefit value. The credit was originally proposed for 30%.
Bicycle commuter benefit: Allow use of pre-tax dollars to fund bike purchases and bike-share memberships.
E-bikes for business tax credit: An incentive of a tax credit of 30% for businesses to install e-bike charging stations
Funding to reconnect or enhance communities split apart by highway projects.
Opportunities to build a sustainable and complete bicycle network.
And never mind that the prospect for the House bill aren’t looking good in the evenly split Senate, where Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema are insisting on further steep cuts to the bill, even though it has already been reduced $1.5 trillion from the original proposal.
But don’t rely on your wallet or cellphone, or anything else that can be easily stolen if you’re incapacitated in a crash; it may sound ghoulish, but it happens often enough to be a valid concern.
I always wear a Road ID when I ride. Or any other time I leave home.
I also keep emergency contact information written down on a slip of paper in my jersey pocket or seat bag; other people attach information on their shoes or directly to their bikes.
But do something. You don’t want your loved ones frantically searching for you if anything happens.
Thanks to “Zero Carbon” Kevin and Megan Lynch for clarifying where this took place.
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Unless you have to share the road with LA drivers, that is.
New research supports yet another reason to hop on your bike and go for a ride!
Marin County drivers and officials are once again coming for the successful bike lane on the upper deck of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, after a study suggested that converting it back to a traffic lane could save drivers a whole eleven minutes, while costing bike commuters hours. Or forcing them back into cars. Sure, let’s just turn all the streets back over to cars. It’s not like there’s a climate or fatality crisis or anything to worry about.
A first-time ebike rider says the new 28 mph Specialized ebike won him over — especially the Garmin sensor feature that displays the position of cars around and behind the bike on a small screen on the handlebars. Although that maximum speed means a helmet is required in California, regardless of age, and it would be banned from separated bike paths.
A Nevada couple faces a shitload of charges for killing the wife of a Tesla co-founder as she rode her bike last July, then lying about who was behind the wheel; a TV reporter explains the driver is charged with reckless driving causing death, rather than vehicular manslaughter, because the former is a felony while the latter is just a misdemeanor. Thanks to Al Williams for the tip.
