Tag Archive for Fountain Valley

62-year old Garden Grove man killed by alleged DUI driver while riding bike in Fountain Valley early Tuesday

November 17, 2022 / / One comment

Yet another Southern California bike rider has fallen victim to a drunk or stoned driver.

Allegedly.

According to the Daily Pilot, 62-year old Garden Grove resident Phong Khuu was killed by a U-turning driver while crossing the street just north of Square Mile Park in Fountain Valley early Tuesday morning.

The driver, identified as 43-year old Scott McDonough of Fountain Valley, was traveling north on Los Coches Street around 4:30 am when he made a U-turn at Sunn Avenue, and slammed into Khuu as he was crossing Los Coches on his bicycle.

He died at the scene.

McDonough remained after the crash, and was arrested on suspicion of DUI causing injury, and vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. At last report, he was being held on $100,000 bond pending yesterday’s arraignment.

Fountain Valley Police Chief Matt Sheppard reports the department makes an average of 15 to 20 DUI busts each month.

Which is about 15 to 20 too many.

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 74th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 16th that I’m aware of in Orange County.

That’s one more than in 2020, which was the county’s worst year in recent memory.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Phong Khuu and all his family and loved ones. 

Thanks to bike lawyer Richard Duquette for the heads-up. 

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

73-year old man killed in Fountain Valley left cross collision; Southern California on pace for nearly 100 bike deaths this year

July 5, 2022 / / 4 comments

Once again, a driver has proven that paint is no protection.

Whether it’s a bike lane. Or in this case, a crosswalk.

According to the Daily Pilot, a man died after he was struck by a driver while riding his bike in Fountain Valley.

The victim, identified as 73-year old Fountain Valley resident Dac Them Kieu, was riding his bike in the crosswalk on Garfield Ave at Brookhurst Street, on the border with Huntington Beach, when he was hit by the driver of a massive Ford pickup around 6:57 am.

Dac was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died of his injuries.

The Orange County Register reports the 65-year old driver was turning left off eastbound Garfield when he crashed into Dac, who was riding east in the crosswalk, which would put him on the westbound side of the street.

The fact that Dac was in the crosswalk suggests he had been riding on the sidewalk. That means he wouldn’t have been riding against traffic, since both the sidewalk and crosswalk are bidirectional.

Although drivers don’t always look for anyone coming from the opposite direction, even though they should.

The driver remained at the scene. Police do not believe intoxication played a role in the crash.

Anyone with information is urged to call the traffic bureau of the Fountain Valley Police Department at 714/593-4481, reference incident #22-22611.

This is at least the 48th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the eighth that I’m aware of in Orange County.

That puts us on track for nearly 100 SoCal bicycling deaths this year.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Dac Them Kieu and all his loved ones.

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

Update: 71-year old Santa Ana man killed riding bike in Fountain Valley hit-and-run; driver arrested for felony DUI

January 15, 2022 / / 2 comments

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 Orange County Register reports he was dead when officers arrived.

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.

Update: A Facebook post from the VeloViet Cycling Team indicates Liem Bui was a bike racer and coach in Vietnam, before coming to the US. Thanks to Christian for the heads-up. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Liem Bui and his loved ones. 

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

Update: Bike rider killed in Fountain Valley hit-and-run

September 13, 2017 / / 4 comments

Yet another bike rider has been killed by a heartless coward who fled the scene, this time in Fountain Valley.

According to multiple sources, 41-year old Fountain Valley resident Bihn Ngo was riding a mountain bike north on Brookhurst Street just south of Ellis Ave when he was struck at 12:54 am.

He was reportedly riding in the curb lane when he was struck from behind and thrown 50 to 60 feet into a parked car.

The driver fled north on Brookhurst, and was last seen turning right onto Ellis.

Police are looking for a red 1990s Ford Mustang with damage to the front end. Anyone with information is urged to call the Fountain Valley Police DepartKent at 714/593-4485.

This is the 42nd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the sixth in Orange County.

It’s also the second fatal hit-and-run in Fountain Valley in the last three weeks, following the death of popular Orange County runner Juan Garcia; an arrest was made in that case.

Update: According to KTLA-5, 25-year old Huntington Beach resident Justin German was arrested later the same day after a tip from someone who recognized the car. Thanks to Peter for the heads-up.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Bihn Ngo and his loved ones.

 

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

36-year old bike rider killed in Fountain Valley collision; third Southern California bike fatality in three days

December 29, 2014 / / 2 comments

Then there were three.

After going a full 30 days without a bicycling fatality, three Southern California bike riders have lost their lives in the past three days, as a rider succumbs to injuries suffered in a Fountain Valley collision on Saturday.

According to KTLA-5, 36-year old Westminster resident Vinh Tran was riding south on Brookhurst Street at Heil Ave when he was struck by a Jeep driven by William Joseph Klein of Santa Ana.

Tran was taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries, where he died earlier today.

He was reportedly riding next to the curb when he was rear-ended by Klein. A street view shows three southbound lanes on Brookhurst, with right turn lane near Heil; it’s possible Klein may have been attempting to make a right turn when he ran into Tran.

Then again, it’s also possible Klein may not have been in control of his vehicle, since he was arrested on suspicion of being under the influence of a prescription drug. He was taken into custody on Saturday on suspicion of felony DUI and gross vehicular manslaughter, and is being held on $100,000 bond.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the Fountain Valley Police Department at 714-593-4484.

This is the 84th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 19th in Orange County; that compares with 12 in the county last year. It’s also the second cycling death to occur on Brookhurst in Fountain Valley in the last three years, just 2.6 miles apart.

My deeper sympathy and prayers for Vinh Tran and all his loved ones.

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

15-year old bike rider killed in Fountain Valley, just days before his birthday

March 21, 2014 / / 14 comments
Ghost bike for Sean Severson; photo by Danny Gamboa.

Ghost bike for Sean Severson; photo by Danny Gamboa.

Every death on our streets is needless tragedy. Every fallen rider a heartbreaking loss.

But some tug a little harder at the heartstrings.

Like when a young boy with a lifetime of possibilities is taken from us before he can even grow up or become who he was destined to be.

On Thursday, 15-year old Sean Severson was hit and killed while riding his bike in Fountain Valley at 7:47 am, most likely while on his way to school.

According to a press release from the Fountain Valley Police Department, Severson was riding along the west curb line of Bushard Street north of Rose Avenue when he rode out into the traffic lane and was hit by a Volvo Sedan.

The report doesn’t say why he went out into the traffic lane, or wether he was riding with or against traffic, rear-ended or hit head on.

He was transported to a local hospital in critical condition; according to the Orange County Coroner’s office, he died at 11:50 am this morning, just four days short of his 16th birthday.

The driver remained at the scene, and there was no suspicion of drug or alcohol use. Anyone with information is urged to call the Fountain Valley Police Department at 714-593-4484.

This is the 26th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fifth in Orange County.

I’m told a ghost bike will be installed for Sean on Saturday morning.

This one will devastate a lot of people, including his schoolmates, as well as those of us who never knew him.

And now never will.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Sean Severson and all his family and loved ones. 

Update: I’m told by Danny Gamboa that there are no brake marks on the street anywhere near where the collision occurred, indicating that the driver made no attempt to stop. Which suggests that Severson either made a last-second swerve to the left that the driver was unable to avoid, or that the driver never saw him.

Unfortunately, Sean isn’t around to tell his version of events.

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

Charges in Carlsbad and Fountain Valley cycling deaths; bold plans for WeHo, new bike plan in SaMo

August 8, 2011 / / One comment

Lots of things are happening on the SoCal legal front.

To start with, Julianne Thompson of Carlsbad has pleaded not guilty in the hit-and-run death of 64-year old cyclist Arthur Jacobs; she was found hiding in some nearby bushes shortly afterwards with a blood alcohol level over three times the legal limit. Thompson faces up to 15 years on charges of gross vehicular manslaughter, hit-and-run and drunk driving.

According to the stories, she’s remorseful. Yet the victim is still dead.

So how does that balance out?

……..

Sources tell me that Adam Carl Garrett, the 19-year old driver accused of killing cyclist Hung Do in a Fountain Valley hit-and-run then calling police pretending to be a witness, has been charged with misdemeanor hit-and-run without gross negligence and hit-and-run with permanent and serious injury.

As one reader put it,

I don’t understand the “without gross negligence” part, but I’d have to say that, yes, death is “permanent and serious.”

As members of the LAPD have repeatedly pointed out, charges are based on what the DA or City Attorney’s offices think they can prove, rather than what police believe really happened. Without witnesses, and with the additional time for any possible intoxicants to pass out of the driver’s system allowed by the hit-and-run, it would be very difficult to make stronger charges stick.

……..

I’m also informed that the family of Amine Britel, the Newport Beach triathlete killed while riding in a bike lane last February, has filed a lawsuit against the driver. Danae Miller was reportedly texting and driving under the influence when she hit Britel’s bike from behind; with her driving record, I’d recommend settling quickly.

……..

Word from the LAPD indicates that charges will soon be filed — if they haven’t already — in the hit-and-run death of Alex Romero, the 17-year old cyclist killed by a speeding car while riding with a friend on De Soto Ave. last April. And charges may not be limited to the driver; they could include others who allegedly attempted to help her cover up the crime.

……..

Renew your membership or make a donation to the LACBC now and AdventureCorp will match it up to a total of $10,000 in honor of fallen endurance cyclist Jim Swarzman.

……..

Get a first look at the newly unveiled draft of the Santa Monica Bike Action Plan when the Santa Monica Spoke hosts a meeting with Santa Monica Deputy Director Lucy Dyke tonight from 6 pm to 8:30 in the Colorado Community Room, 502 Colorado Blvd.

Meanwhile, West Hollywood’s Bicycle Task Force proposes a bold plan to make the city more bike friendly, including removing parking spaces to extend bike lanes along busy Santa Monica Blvd and a road diet on Fountain Ave. to create a protected bike lane along the curb. Not to mention aligning other proposed bike lanes on Fairfax and Vista/Gardner with bike lanes included in the new L.A. bike plan.

We can only hope bike-unfriendly Beverly Hills is paying attention, and plans to do something about that gaping black hole marring biking on the Westside. And needlessly risking the lives and safety of everyone who lives and rides there.

……..

The L.A. County Sheriffs Department is looking for a stabbing suspect who killed a man along the L.A. River Bike Path in South Gate; if you rode the trail the last Friday in June, maybe you saw something.

And according to KNBC-4, L.A. police are looking for a hit-and-run suspect who struck three pedestrians and a parked car in a space of two blocks in Downtown L.A. Sunday morning. But maybe someone else can point out the logical disconnect in this sentence, since KNBC clearly doesn’t get it:

An investigation is underway as to whether or not these accidents were intentional, police said.

……..

It’s time to rethink North Figueroa. Streetsblog looks at the less-than-promising Woodley Ave. bike lanes. LADOT wants your help to survey L.A. bike racks. Metro moves forward on bike share. Full bike parking at the Grove. Those of us born with an competitive gene have to be reminded from time to time not to underestimate anyone; I have to fight the urge to ride down anyone on the road ahead of me. Funny how often the Times photo of the day features bikes. Will gives new meaning to L.A. River Ride by actually riding in the river to connect the gaps in the trail. The South Bay section of the beachfront Marvin Braude Bike Path is about to get a much needed facelift; hopefully the county will get to the cracked and crumbling Marina section before it completely falls apart. Ashley Tisdale rides with her dog in Toluca Lake. An update from Amarillo on the L.A. firefighters riding across the country to honor victims of 9/11.

More information on Cody Wessel, the 19-year old Wildomar cyclist who was killed in nearby Lake Elsinore on Friday. Bike thefts are up in Newport Beach, where police search for Ashton Kutcher and Colonel Sanders. A blind cyclist rides a tandem 240 miles from Santa Barbara to San Diego. A Santa Barbara writer says we could solve a lot of problems with those three little words: share the road. An SB teen is riding across county to raise money and awareness for a program allowing the homeless to live safely in their cars. The Bay Area is facing a pedicab war; yes, Microsoft Word, pedicab is a word so get over it. I missed the unique importance of these new microwave red light sensors in Pleasanton the first time around; thanks to Road.cc for the clarification. Palo Alto attempts to calm traffic and build boulevards. A bike path that doesn’t connect to anything may be a waste of money, but some idiots still don’t get it — it’s the cyclists who are subsidizing the roadways, not the other way around. African American cyclists get blessed in Oakland in an attempt to get more on the road.

New Tron-style wheel rim lights could keep you safer at night. How to not be invisible when you ride. Cycling is good for you, even if you’ve been a couch potato. A graphic illustration of why bikes are good for rural economies. This is why you don’t buy cheap carbon frames off eBay. How is it that Sitka AK is bike-friendly and L.A. isn’t? Misdemeanor charges for killing a Colorado cyclist. It wasn’t easy coming up with that crappy name for the upcoming USA Pro Tour Cycling Challenge; after a top 10 finish in the TdF, Colorado’s Tom Danielson could be one of the favorites. A thief who stole seven bikes from Idaho’s World Relief returns three with an apology. Newly minted Montanan Dancer a la Mode sends word of a DUI fatality that’s gripping the local community. Oklahoma authorities have arrested a suspect in the 2009 hit-and-run death of an 8-year old girl; there’s not a pit in hell deep enough. A Chicago cyclist is killed on her way home from Lollapalooza after falling underneath a dump truck. Massachusetts authorities can now ticket cyclists, but can’t force them to pay.

Turns out bike share saves lives; I wonder if the results would be the same here in L.A. with our lack of cycling infrastructure. How to be an ambassador for cycling. Southern California isn’t the only place where cycling fatalities are on the way up. Pro cycling’s most successful team is folding at the end of this season, while star rider Mark Cavendish may jump to Team Sky; thanks to George Wolfberg for the head’s up. Cycling prodigy Taylor Phinney will compete in this year’s Vuelta a Espana, after winning his first stage since turning pro. Israel revokes their mandatory helmet law for adults. Three years in prison for a rickshaw jockey who chewed off a cyclist’s ear in a road rage incident.

Finally, the unofficial highlights of the Tour de France. And a cyclist rescues a crawfish from the mean streets of Salinas.

If you missed Sunday's Brentwood Grand Prix, you missed some great racing. Don't make the same mistake next year.

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

Update: Teenage driver tries to pass himself off as witness in Fountain Valley hit-and-run

May 16, 2011 / / 6 comments

Late last night, I reported on the death of a cyclist in Fountain Valley, with virtually no information other than the time and location of the collision.

As usual, the morning brings more details.

An anonymous tip reported that the case was a hit-and-run, and that a 19-year old driver had been arrested after calling police investigators claiming to be a witness.

Now the Long Beach Press-Telegram confirms Huntington Beach resident Adam Garrett was arrested yesterday after further investigation revealed he was the driver in the collision, rather than an innocent bystander.

Twenty-five-year old Hung Khac Do, also of Huntington Beach, was riding west on Warner Avenue near the 405 when he was allegedly hit by Garrett’s 1994 Toyota Camry just after 3 am Sunday, and left in the street to die as Garrett fled the scene.

My source reports that Garret had previously been ticketed for failure to stop at a stop sign, as well as failing to wear a helmet while bicycling while still a minor. Now he’s under arrest for suspicion of felony hit-and-run, facing up to four years in prison, plus any additional charges that may be filed.

Police are urging anyone with information to call the Fountain Valley Police traffic bureau at 714/593-4481.

He is the 29th cyclist to be killed in Southern California so far this year — an average of 1.5 each week — and the 5th to be killed in Orange County since January 1st. This is the 6th fatal hit-and-run involving a cyclist this year.

My deepest sympathy to the friends and family of Hung Do.

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

Orange County man hit and killed by car in Fountain Valley

May 15, 2011 / / Comments Off on Orange County man hit and killed by car in Fountain Valley

The Orange County Register reports that 25-year old Hung Do of Huntington Beach was killed early Sunday. Do was hit by a car on Warner Avenue near the 405 in Fountain Valley just after 3 am, and was pronounced dead at UCI Medical Center in Orange at 3:42 am.

No other information is available at this time.

He is the 29th cyclist to be killed in Southern California so far this year — an average of 1.5 each week — and the 5th to be killed in Orange County since January 1st.

Thanks to Allan Alessio for the heads-up.

Update: More information has come in indicating this was a hit-and-run, and a suspect has been arrested after calling police pretending to be a witness.

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