Tag Archive for Fullerton

I confess to a major screw up, advocates call on Metro to keep its damn promises, and shooting cars while naked

July 27, 2023 / / Comments Off on I confess to a major screw up, advocates call on Metro to keep its damn promises, and shooting cars while naked

Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. 

I screwed up. 

On Tuesday, I issued a call for BikeLA, the former LACBC, to step up and resume their rightful place as LA County’s leading bicycle advocacy organization, after recovering from serious economic turmoil.

Something I continue stand by. 

But in doing so, I called on them to help Fullerton bike advocates support a planned lane reduction, which has run into predictable opposition. 

In my mind, I was placing Fullerton in the tangle of cities in Southeast Los Angeles County. 

It’s not.

It’s in Northern Orange County, of course, on the other side of Buena Park. Something I should have known, having written about it several times. Let alone being there more than once. 

So my apologies to BikeLA for any real or implied criticism of any lack of action in Fullerton — which is like criticizing the OC Sheriff’s Department for not patrolling in Norwalk. 

I fucked up, and I own it.

Photo by Steve Johnson from Pexels. 

………

Los Angeles bicycle and livability leaders called on Metro Wednesday to keep its damn promises.

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton writes that a group of organizations including BikeLA, Climate Resolve, MoveLA, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and Streets For All signed a letter urging Metro to “promptly add several bike/walk facilities left out of Metro Regional Connector construction.”

Linton broke the news last month that Metro had left out several promised and/or required first-and-last-mile projects intended to improve safety and connectivity for people walking and biking near the near Regional Connector stations.

Although they somehow didn’t forget to add lanes for drivers.

According to Streetsblog,

The missing Connector first/last mile facilities fall into two categories: (more on these below)

  • omitted and scaled-back facilities in a Metro (with LADOT) federal grant – by Little Tokyo Station
  • facilities omitted that had been approved in the city’s Downtown Street Standards – at all three Connector stations

Streets For All founder Michael Schneider has been sounding an urgent note regarding the grant moneys, declaring that “[Metro and DOT] should implement the omitted elements now to avoid having to give the Feds their money back.”

The letter urges Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins and Metro Board Chair Mayor Karen Bass to “to move expediently to complete these required and promised pedestrian and bicycle improvements in the next three months,” as Linton notes in his subhead.

Let’s hope they take the advice to heart.

As well as the streets of DTLA.

………

This is who we share the road with.

A naked woman armed with a gun opened fire on passing cars on the busy San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge until she was taken into custody, apparently without hitting anyone.

She was probably angry that bike riders still can’t get more than halfway across the bridge.

Although she probably wasn’t the same person who took a drive-by shot at an Oakland bike rider in broad daylight early Wednesday afternoon.

………

Speaking of BikeLA, they’ll be at the Bicycle Kitchen — which is celebrating it’s 20th anniversary — on Saturday, preaching bike safety and giving away free digital bike horns

………

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

Safety advocates predicted more bicycling deaths after the New Orleans suburb of Algiers ripped out a two-year old protected bike lane, because some people complained about the aesthetics, lack of parking, and traffic. Someone should tell them that traffic congestion isn’t caused by bike lanes; it’s the result of too few people in too many cars. 

Tampa officials blame “rogue cyclists” for plans to ban bicycles from the city’s Riverwalk. But at least the mayor is calling for bike lanes parallel to the popular route.

Sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

The LAPD finally arrested a bike-riding man suspected of committing multiple assaults, including the sexual assault of a 67-year old woman outside her East LA home.

In a truly bizarre story, a 19-year old Rhode Island man was arrested when security cam video showed he was the “primary aggressor,” after someone driving a pickup stopped and took his bicycle, and threw it into the back of the truck; he then took his bike back and punched the pickup driver hard enough to possibly break his own hand. Because apparently, you’re not allowed to fight back to keep someone from stealing your bike in Rhode Island, at least not if you’re big and Black.

………

Local 

The Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering wants your feedback on three options for remaking the massive Sepulveda Basin, including an extension of the LA River bike path. And pickleball courts.

They get it. Pasadena city councilmembers say more has to be done to prevent bike and pedestrian deaths in the city, which has suffered between 2 and 6 active transportation fatalities per year for the past four years.

Santa Monica police will conduct another bicycle and pedestrian safety operation next Thursday and Friday, ticketing any violations that could put either at risk, regardless of who commits them. So follow the usual protocol and ride to the letter of the law until you’re safely back in LA. “Safely” being a relative term. 

 

State

Calbike says California is falling short on Complete Streets policies, with only one California city making Smart Growth America’s list of the nation’s leading cities for forward-thinking active transportation policies. And needless to say, it wasn’t Los Angeles. 

For the second day in a row, a San Diego ebike rider was seriously injured in a crash with a pickup — even if this one was unoccupied — when 32-year old man crashed into the left rear bumper of a legally parked truck in the Shelltown neighborhood. Although it’s always possible that he was forced into the truck by a driver passing too close. 

Only In Your State calls the 16-mile bikeway from Ventura to Carpinteria the ultimate outdoor playground.

At least one bicyclist likes San Francisco’s new centerline protected bike lane, finding the new Valencia Street project “glorious.” Although it’s interesting that the San Francisco Chronicle dropped its draconian paywall just for this story.

San Francisco’s Vision Zero plan is failing after traffic deaths jumped during the pandemic; the city has just one more year to meet its goal of eliminating traffic deaths by 2024. Los Angeles has two more years, and still doesn’t have a chance in hell of meeting that.

A proposed bike and pedestrian bridge would connect the East Bay cities of Oakland and Alameda, replacing a dark and dirty tunnel under an estuary between the cities; however, opponents balk at the $200 million price tag.

 

National

The US Chamber of Commerce highlights five small businesses capitalizing on the ebike “craze,” including Orange County’s Electric Bike Company.

Truly awful story from Albuquerque, New Mexico, where a 40-year old woman was found dead in her home after someone apparently drove her there when she was the victim of a hit-and-run while riding her bike miles away. Yet another tragic reminder to always seek medical care if you’re hit by a motorist, because you’re probably hurt more than you think. 

An Iowa state senator was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of refusing to abide by a law enforcement officer during this week’s RAGBRAI, insisting he didn’t have to budge when the cop ordered a group of bike riders to clear a roadway.

The Green Bay Packers maintained their annual tradition of opening training camp by riding bicycles borrowed from little kids, after the storm clouds parted to allow the event to go on.

Jalopnik apparently sees its first advisory lane at a pilot demonstration in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and comes away predicting disaster for bike riders; the roadways feature a single traffic lane shared by drivers with bike lanes on either side, requiring drivers coming from opposite directions to briefly move into the bike lanes to pass one another.

Feel free to keep parking in Michigan bike lanes, after a supposed bill banning the act turned out to be a hoax.

Connecticut is increasing funding for the state’s ebike rebate program after accepting nearly 6,400 applications. That’s not likely to happen when California exhausts the far too low $7.5 million budget for the state’s ebike rebate program, in a state with over ten times the population of Connecticut.

Hundreds of New Yorkers demanded the city do something to get dangerous ebikes and scooters off the streets at a local town hall, complaining that people on ebikes, mopeds and other motorized vehicles often run red lights and refuse to yield to pedestrians. Because evidently, only people in cars are allowed to do that.

Philadelphia bike messenger bag maker R.E.Load Bags is going out of business after 25 years, because the founders want to move on to other things.

Once again, Florida retains its title as the nation’s deadliest state for people on bicycles. California usually comes in second to Florida in terms of sheer numbers, despite having nearly twice the population.

 

International

In another bizarre case, a 31-year old Scottish man confessed to the drunk driving death of a 63-year old man taking part in a charity bike ride, then coming back with his twin brother the next day to bury the victim’s body and dispose of his bike and other belongings; the victim was considered missing until his body was finally found over three months later.

A UK electric safety organization calls for regulating ebike batteries, after 12 people died in suspected ebike and e-scooter fires in the country since 2020.

The pandemic bike boom is clearly over, as Shimano’s bike component sales dropped nearly 18% in the first six months of this year due to weak demand.

 

Competitive Cycling

Velo writes that Wednesday’s fourth stage of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, aka the women’s Tour de France, turned into a measuring test between pre-race favorites Demi Vollering and Annemiek van Vleuten, with Vollering gaining eight seconds over her chief rival.

Dutch cyclist Yara Kastelijn won a “hard-earned victory in a long, grueling stage,” according to Velo.

UCI conducted nearly 1,000 checks for motor doping during the recent men’s Tour de France, looking for any mechanical device that could give a cyclist an unfair advantage over his competitors. And thankfully came up empty.

Twenty-three-year old Polish cyclist Filip Maciejuk will miss the world championships and his home country’s stage race, after he received a 30-day ban for causing a massive pileup in April’s Tour of Flanders.

Bold move from the Northampton International Cyclocross, as the country’s oldest ‘cross race requested that it be removed from the UCI calendar in order to continue to welcome all riders, after bike racing’s governing body recently reversed course to ban trans athletes from competing in women’s events. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the tip.

 

Finally…

Your new cyberpunk ebike could look like a Tesla pickup — but why the hell would you want it to? Every city needs a bike path connecting local microbreweries.

And who needs a bike mechanic when you can fix it yourself in the middle of the race?

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A call to rejoin the fight in Fullerton and LA County, what CA’s bike rebates could be, and tips for your first cargo bike

July 25, 2023 / / Comments Off on A call to rejoin the fight in Fullerton and LA County, what CA’s bike rebates could be, and tips for your first cargo bike

Okay, I screwed up this time. 

In the words that follow, I called in BikeLA, the former Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, to step up and help this writer for the Fullerton Observer, and other bicyclists in the area, with their campaign in support of plans for a lane reduction on Associated Road. 

In my mind, I mistakenly placed Fullerton in the tangle of cities in Southeast Los Angeles County. 

It’s not, of course. 

Fullerton is in Northern Orange County, on the other side of Buena Park. Which I should know, having written about the city several times — let alone being there more than once. 

I stand by my call for BikeLA to step up and resume its role as LA County’s leading bicycle advocacy organization. But any criticism, real or implied, for not taking a direct role in Fullerton is off base, and I apologize. 

He gets it.

A writer for the Fullerton Observer calls for improving safety on Associated Road by removing two traffic lanes between Bastanchury and Imperial, allowing for wider bike lanes and several feet of painted buffering.

But warns it’s not likely to happen without wide support, particularly from the city’s bicycling community.

Only property owners on Associated Road received notice of the meetings on this issue. Almost all were opposed to the project, primarily to the parking and the fear that it would result in homeless and student parking.  Two Councilmembers supported the opponents, while Councilmember Charles opposed the parking but supported the lane removal. Mayor Jung did not speak directly to the issue, but at a later meeting, in response to some comments that decisions seemed to have been made behind closed doors, he stated that it would come back for a vote.

That is yet to happen. Thus the issue remains open. In the meantime, staff has stopped working on this proposal. Since it involves only paint and the road re-construction is going forward from now until November 20, time remains to determine the ultimate lane configuration.

He goes on to call for people to sign a petition supporting the lane reduction, which doesn’t even have 40 supporters as of this writing.

And ends with this.

The Council majority would prefer to see this go away, even though there is no shortage of bicycle riders in Fullerton. Over 1000 turned out for a July 4 ride on Wilshire. Not so many readily turn out for Council meetings, contact their members, or sign petitions. Nor is there an active bicycle or road safety advocacy group in Fullerton at the moment.

If you wish to weigh in on this proposal (pro or con), you can contact the Council at Councilmembers@cityoffullerton.com, Or you can show up for public comments at Council meetings on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month at 5:30.

It has long been a problem, not just in Fullerton, but throughout LA County to get the bicycling community involved with their local government, and to stand up en masse to demand safer streets.

For nearly two decades, the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, now rebranded as BikeLA, led the fight, often working behind the scenes with government leaders, but able to marshal a significant turnout at council meetings when needed.

But now they’re needed — desperately — in Fullerton, and elsewhere throughout LA County.

As a former board member of the organization, I’ve withheld any criticism for some time now — especially knowing the dire straights the previous Executive Director left them in when he left the group at the brink of financial disaster after leaving the country.

I know the current board and leadership of BikeLA have worked hard to bring the organization back to health, financially and otherwise.

But it’s time they got back into the fight.

They have long since been supplanted as the county’s primary voice for bicycle advocacy by groups like Active SGV, SAFE and Streets For All.

Yes, some chapters of BikeLA have continued to be active in their local communities over the past few years.

But those chapters, and individual members, need to light a fire under the the current leadership, and urge them to once again step forward to lead the fight for bicycle access and safer streets.

And become, once again, the advocacy organization we all need them to be.

Because Fullerton is literally crying out for help.

And the rest of us aren’t far behind.

Photo from Pexels.

………

This is what California could have, if it ever rolls out its long-delayed, vastly underfunded ebike rebate program.

………

Arleigh Greenwald, better known as Bike Shop Girl, offers a Twitter thread with tips on buying your first cargo bike.

Although you’ll have to click through to read it, and may not be able to if you don’t have a Twitter account, since Elon keep changing the damn site rules every five minutes, along with the name.

………

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

The US Army Corps of Engineers is closing a popular lakefront roadway near Fort Worth, Texas to bike riders and pedestrians, citing “hundreds” of safety incidents over the past three months. Because evidently, people are much safer with cars zooming by than people walking or riding bikes.

No bias here. A Cambridge, Massachusetts city council candidate says she won’t sign a pledge to keep building bike lanes, because some people can’t ride a bike, and even people who ride bikes sometimes drive cars.

Police in England are looking for the person who pushed a man off his bike and into a river; the victim was okay, but his bike was lost in the water.

Sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

A Virginia man faces charges after he allegedly crashed his bike into a car, then fired a shot at the driver. Seriously, violence — especially gun violence — is never the answer, though I suspect there may be some dispute over just who hit who. 

A Singapore bike rider is looking for the man who somehow took offense to being passed on his bike, catching up to him outside a store and repeatedly kicking his bike and wheels while swearing at him, until police broke up the confrontation — but evidently let the attacker go.

………

Local 

Apparently, Metro finally figured out they can waste all the money they want on widening the 605, without having to tear down people’s homes in Latino working class neighborhoods in Downey and Santa Fe Springs after all.

A Streetsblog op-ed from Streets for All’s Michael Schneider and Eli Lipmen of Move LA says it’s time to go bold, and finally make bikeshare a core Metro mobility service instead of an afterthought.

Bizarre attack in Pasadena, where a man pushing a bicycle walked up to another man at a bus stop, pushed the tip of a machete against his abdomen, then slashed a four-inch gash in the man’s leg, before gathering his bike and walking off, all without a single word.

 

State

Police in Huntington Beach are jumping on the ebike crackdown bandwagon, warning, ticketing and/or arresting those who “mis-use” ebikes, while warning that riding over-powered ebikes under the influence could lead to a DUI. Thanks to Oceanside bike lawyer and BikinginLA sponsor Richard Duquette for the heads-up.

A man in his 60s was lucky to apparently escape with minor injuries when he was the victim of a hit-and-run driver while riding his bike in Chula Vista late Monday morning.

San Diego’s SDNews says ebikes are popular and convenient, but also pose dangers, citing battery fires and speeds up to 28 mph — but fails to mention that you can achieve that relatively easily on a good road bike, too. And without the risk it will burst into flames. 

A lithium-ion ebike battery is blamed for setting an apartment on fire in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district.

 

National

A group of 15 Portland bike riders are suing the city for failing to comply with a 52-year old state law requiring cities to build cycling and pedestrian infrastructure whenever a road is reconstructed. Too bad we don’t have something like that on the books here in California. Because there are a lot of cities that need to have the hell sued out of them, starting with a certain SoCal megalopolis I could name. 

This is who we share the road with. A New Mexico woman faces vehicular homicide, DUI, hit-and-run and child abuse charges for fleeing the scene after driving against traffic, hitting a parked car and killing a 70-year old man riding a bicycle, all with her three-year old son in the car.

A Houston TV station reports on a local group using mountain bikes to help teens and their families dealing with addiction and other self-destructive behaviors.

Police in Minneapolis are warning about new bike theft tactics, as thieves are using super glue to jam bike locks so they can’t be opened, then coming back later and cutting the locks. I’ve been told by LAPD officers that’s being used here, too.

A Kentucky man will spend the next ten years behind bars after copping a plea to the hit-and-run death of a bike-riding mother, claiming he somehow didn’t see her despite the flashing lights on her bike, and the man’s she was riding with.

The shameful scourge of sharrows continues to spread, despite studies showing they increase the risk for bike riders, now leaving their dangerous road markings on the streets of Plattsburgh in upstate New York.

Lyft is considering selling off New York’s highly successful Citi Bike bikeshare due to mounting financial problems at the company. Meanwhile, Curbed questions why Citi Bike’s ebikes are always broken, concluding the problem is likely the bikes themselves. Or maybe a financially strapped company is just cutting corners. 

The rich get richer, as NYC’s public realm officer, aka “czar of public spaces,” is building on the city’s recent biking and pedestrian successes by ramping up projects to benefit both.

A 45-year old Pennsylvania man was sentenced to a well-deserved five to ten years behind bars after pleading guilty to the drunken, stoned crash that killed a bike-riding bank manager exactly 1,392 days earlier.

A West Virginia man faces charges of attempted murder, malicious wounding, wanton endangerment, and presentation of a firearm in the commission of a felony for jumping down off his trunk and shooting a passing bike rider in the arm, after screaming at him for some unknown reason.

Unbelievable. A North Carolina woman faces charges for fleeing the scene after running down two bike riders from behind, leaving one man with serious injuries — then trying to coverup her crime by telling investigators she thought she’d hit a deer, and going so far as to place hair from her dog on her windshield to support her story.

 

International

Electrek says the bike industry should refocus on building simple, attractive, and serviceable ebikes following the “shocking” VanMoof bankruptcy.

Canadian Cycling Magazine suggests a half dozen outdated rules for city bicycling that should be modernized.

London officials admitted that a bike lane is causing congestion when buses stop to pick up passengers. In other words, it’s the narrow traffic lanes and lack of bus stops, not the bike lanes, that are the problem. 

A pair of Scottish brothers are about to stand trial for murdering a man taking part in a 104-mile charity bike ride, then hiding his body for months afterwards; they allegedly abandoned the victim after hitting him with their car while driving under the influence, then came back the next day to move his bike and body.

 

Competitive Cycling

Germany’s Liane Lippert captured her first stage win since 2020 on Monday’s stage of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, aka the Women’s Tour de France.

Velo offers 21 quick hits in summing up this year’s Tour de France, from a “super” Sepp Kuss to pulling for Cav to make a comeback next year.

Lost in the news from the Tour de France was that upstart American Neilson Powless lost the polka dot King of the Mountain jersey to Italian Giulio Ciccone over the final stages, after pushing the action for much of the race.

Bicycling reports that Netflix’s popular cycling docuseries Unchained will be back for a second season, this time focusing on Tadej Pogačar and the UAE Team Emirates team.  As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.

 

Finally…

Evidently, winning a Tour de France stage is like getting drunk — especially the next day. The video game-ish future of mountain biking.

And victory is not always to the swiftest, but to those who manage to remain upright.

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Update: Fullerton bike rider killed riding into parked truck Saturday afternoon — or possibly the victim of a hit-and-run

January 29, 2023 / / 7 comments

For the third time in just four days, someone riding a bicycle has been killed in a Southern California crash.

This time in Fullerton.

And it’s unclear whether the victim rode into the back of a parked vehicle, or may have been struck by a hit-and-run driver.

According to a press release posted to Facebook by the Fullerton Police Department, the victim was found lying in the roadway on northbound Beach Blvd north of Rosecrans Ave around 12:55 pm Saturday.

Police investigators concluded that the victim, identified only as a man in his late 30s, rode into the back of a truck parked illegally in a no-stopping zone, and fell off his bike.

He died at the scene, despite the efforts of firefighters.

However, commenters to the Facebook post complained that the cops version of events just doesn’t take sense.

The first said the victim was struck by a hit-and-run driver directly in front of a friend’s house, and that local residents provided CPR until first responders finally arrived 30 minutes later.

Meanwhile, more than one person suggested it was more likely that the victim was struck by a driver while trying to pass the truck, while others suggested that a slight rise and clear sight lines make the official version unlikely.

Hopefully someone saw it, and can tell police investigators what really happened. Anyone with information is urged to Fullerton Police Traffic Accident Investigator Manes at 714/738-6815.

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

It follows other fatal crashes in Yucaipa and Pomona.

Update: The victim has been identified by family members as Robert C. Galvin. A crowdfunding campaign has raised a little more than half of the modest $12,000 goal. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Robert C. Galvin and his loved ones. 

Thanks to Lois for the heads-up.

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

Update: 67-year old grandfather killed riding bike in Fullerton hit-and-run; 19th SoCal bike rider killed by hit-and-run drivers this year

August 19, 2022 / / Comments Off on Update: 67-year old grandfather killed riding bike in Fullerton hit-and-run; 19th SoCal bike rider killed by hit-and-run drivers this year

Yet another heartless coward has left an innocent victim to die in the street.

Just because the victim was riding his bike to work, like he did every morning.

According to a press release from the Fullerton Police Department, a 67-year old man was riding his bike west on Chapman Ave approaching Ladera Vista Dr  when he was rear-ended by an unknown driver around 5:07 Thursday morning.

He was thrown into a planter on the north side of the street, suffering significant injuries; his bicycle was found a short distance away.

He was taken to a local trauma center, where he was pronounced dead. Family members identified the victim as Elfego Andrade.

A witness followed a green 1999 Ford F-250 pickup that was missing a tire and traveling on the rim, though it wasn’t clear if the driver was responsible for the hit-and-run.

He abandoned his truck nearly four miles away near Delphine Place and Jacaranda Place, and fled on foot. He is described as a Hispanic man approximately 5’8” tall, with a stocky build and wearing all black clothing.

Andrade was described as a great-grandfather, who had just celebrated his 50th wedding anniversary. He was riding his bike to his job in Fullerton when he was killed.

KNBC-4 reports he and his wife were planning to retire to Mexico, which will now never happen, thanks to a killer driver.

A crowdfunding page described him like this.

“He was a very happy man with the most humble heart. He was hard working and always did what he could for his family,” the fundraising page read. “We are heart broken for our believed husband, father, grandfather, father in law to leave us too soon.”

At the time of this writing, the crowdfunding campaign to help defray funeral expenses has raised just over $900 of the $15,000 goal.

Anyone with information is urged to call Fullerton Police Accident Investigator J. Manes at 714/738-6812 or email joshua.manes@fullertonpd.org.

This is at least the 59th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the twelfth that I’m aware of in Orange County.

Nineteen of those deaths have been hit-and-runs.

Update: The driver was arrested at the Fullerton police station late Thursday afternoon. 

Twenty-one-year old Anaheim resident Jonathan Ocampo was booked on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and felony hit-and-run. He was being held on a half-million dollar bond. 

There’s no word on whether Ocampo was in fact driving the F-250 pickup followed by the witness. 

It’s possible that Ocampo did the right thing, heeding calls to turn himself in. Or he may have simply given himself enough time to sober up before taking responsibility for his actions. 

My deepest prayers and sympathy for Elfego Andrade and all his loved ones.

Thanks to Lois for the heads-up.

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

Fullerton man riding DIY ebike killed in possible hit-and-run; 5th Southern California bike death this week

March 5, 2022 / / Comments Off on Fullerton man riding DIY ebike killed in possible hit-and-run; 5th Southern California bike death this week

Please make it stop.

After a terrible start to the year — and one of the worst weeks in memory — yet another bike rider has lost his life on the mean streets of Southern California.

And once again, it may have been a hit-and-run.

My News LA is reporting that 58-year old Fullerton resident Ivars Borsteins was found lying in the street at Malvern Ave and Basque Ave in Fullerton around 9:30 pm Thursday.

Borstens was discovered suffering from serious injuries, next to a mountain bike that had been converted to an ebike.

He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Police are investigating the crash as a possible hit-and-run, but acknowledge it’s possible that Borstens may have fallen off his bike for some reason.

Officers stressed that Borstens’ bike had been modified to add an electric engine, rather than manufactured as an ebike. There are any number of conversion kits on the market that can turn any bike into an ebike.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Fullerton Police Department at 714/738-6812.

This is at least the 23rd bicycling fatality in Southern California already this year, and the sixth that I’m aware of in Orange County. It’s also the fifth SoCal bicycling death in just the last week.

If this turns out to have been a hit-and-run, it would be the eight fatal bike hit-and-run since the first of the year.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Ivars Borsteins and all his lived ones.

 

Category: General / Tags: , , , ,

Update: Man killed riding bike in Fullerton crash Monday evening; 16th Orange County bike death this year

November 24, 2020 / / 4 comments

A bad year for Orange County bike riders just continues to get worse.

According to multiple sources, a 33-year old man was killed riding his bike in Fullerton Monday evening.

The victim, who hasn’t been publicly identified, was riding in the area of Bastanchury Road and Lancer Way when he was struck by a Mercedes-Benz driver headed south on Bastanchury around 5:43 pm.

He was pronounced dead after being taken to a local hospital.

The driver remained at the scene, and Fullerton police do not believe drug or alcohol use played a role in the crash.

Unfortunately, that’s all the information we have at this time. No word on how the crash happened, or whether the victim had lights on his bike after dark.

However, an email from Lois adds a few more thoughts.

This is a super dangerous crossing where a downhill proceeds to a right turn on a busy road with no clearance. Mountain bikers with no road riding experience frequently cross to the far side and ride salmon style to make the next left back to the Fullerton Loop. There’s a much safer but slightly longer and less exciting route to get to the same place. It has a light at the crossing. Maybe the city should have a sign to direct the Loop riders in that direction but many still won’t take it.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Accident Investigator H. Barclay of the Fullerton Police Department at 714/738-6815.

This is at least the 60th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 16th that I’m aware of in Orange County, which has seen an already too-high average of 12 bicycling deaths in recent years.

That puts it neck-and-neck with Los Angeles County, which has also seen 16 bike deaths this year, with over three times the population.

Update: The victim has been identified as 33-year old Joshua Pumphrey, who was killed just two weeks after he’d gotten married.

The Fullerton Observer explains how the crash happened.

Pumphrey was in a group of 11 riders on the “Fullerton Loop,” a popular series of interconnected local bike trails that sometimes cross major streets. According to witnesses, as the group of riders headed westbound on Valley View to Bastanchury, they turned right and hugged the right curb as cars were coming their same direction, northbound. The cars passed and the group merged across northbound traffic to the left turn lane which would put them westbound on Lancer Way. It was then that Pumphrey was struck by the car.

A crowdfunding campaign has raised over $43,000 in just one week to pay Pumphrey’s funeral expenses, more than double the $21,000 goal.

My deepest sympathy and prayers forJoshua Pumphrey and his loved ones.

Thanks to Lois for the heads-up.

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

Bike rider killed in Fullerton crash Tuesday afternoon, few details available

April 22, 2020 / / One comment

Once again, a bike rider has been killed in Southern California.

And once again, almost no information is available.

According to the Orange County Register, a person was killed when he or she was stuck by a driver in the 1900 block of Orangethorpe Ave in Fullerton just before 3 pm yesterday.

The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

And yes, the driver stuck around and cooperated with police.

Unfortunately, there’s no information available on the victim, or how the crash may have occurred. Or anything else that might explain what happened.

A street view shows a major six lane roadway, with a narrow painted bike lane on each side; without traffic, there’s little or nothing to slow drivers down.

Anyone with information is urged to call Fullerton Police Department Collision Investigator Chad Keen at 714/738-6812.

This is at least the 16th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the seventh that I’m aware of in Orange County, in what is turning out to be a very bloody year in the county.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his or her loved ones.

Thank you to the person who forwarded this to me.

Category: General / Tags: , ,

Update: Bike rider killed at deadly Fullerton intersection; second cyclist killed at same location since 2012

July 6, 2014 / / 6 comments

Some locations are more dangerous than others.

Which seems to be the case here, as a bike rider was killed in a collision at the intersection of Bastanchury Road and Morelia Avenue in Fullerton at 12:04 Saturday afternoon. Initial reports indicated he had been critically injured; however, according to the Orange County Register, he passed away at 3:45 pm after being taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange.

The OC Coroner’s office identifies the victim as 19-year old Anaheim resident Rafael Correa, Jr, and places the location at where the Juanita Cooke Greenbelt Trail intersects with Bastanchury, suggesting the Correa was coming off the dirt trail when the collision occurred.

Remarkably, this is the exact same location where La Habra resident Richard Paine was killed in a  hit-and-run after exiting the bike trail two years ago this week. Which suggests that there is something seriously wrong with the design of the intersection itself.

Both the Register and the coroner’s office suggest Correa collided with a vehicle, implying that he may have come off the hill leading to the intersection and been unable to slow or stop in time on the dirt surface.

Regardless of cause or who was at fault, Fullerton officials should take a close look at the site to determine what can be done to prevent any future incidents. One death is a tragedy; two in the same location, in a similar manner, suggests a serious design failure.

This is the 51st bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 11th in Orange County, which compares to six in the county this time last year.

In fact, the total is early equal to the 12 deaths in Orange County in all of 2013. It’s also the third bicycling fatality in Fullerton in just the last two years.

Update: The Orange County Register confirms that Correa was riding downhill on the bike trail, and was unable to stop before sliding into the roadway and crashing into an eastbound car on Bastanchury.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Fullerton PD Traffic Bureau at 714/738-6812.

 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Rafael Correa, Jr and all his loved ones.

 

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

Update: Bike rider in her 20s killed by FedEx truck in Fullerton

June 20, 2013 / / 5 comments

Make that seven dead cyclists in the last eight days.

No one wants to think about a fallen rider as a statistic. But it’s hard not to when the body count keeps piling up on a nearly daily basis.

Word is just breaking that a bike rider in Fullerton has become the latest to lose her life on the mean streets, train tracks and racing venues of Southern California.

According to KNBC-4, a woman, described only as a Fullerton resident in her 20s, was riding east on Nutwood Ave when she was struck by a Fed-Ex delivery truck traveling north on Ladera Vista Drive around 2:15 pm.

The truck was turning left onto Nutwood; judging by the position of the truck and bike in a photo accompanying the story, it looks like the truck may have cut the corner, possibly hitting the victim’s bike nearly head-on. The story notes the cyclist appeared to have the right-of-way.

The driver was reportedly cooperating with investigators.

This is the 38th bicycling fatality this year, and the fourth in Orange County. It’s also the second bike death in Fullerton in the last two years.

My sympathy and prayers for the victim and her loved ones.

Thanks to Danny Gamboa for the heads-up.

Update: The victim has been identified as 22-year old Chelsea Kashergen of Fullerton. 

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

Update: Breaking news — yet another cyclist killed by hit-and-run driver, this time in Fullerton

July 11, 2012 / / 4 comments

Please, not again.

According to KABC-7, an Orange County bike rider has been killed in yet another fatal hit-and run.

The victim, identified only as a man in his 20s, apparently rode off a popular bike path to cross Bastanchury Road at the intersection with Morelia Avenue around 10:20 this morning. As he crossed the road, he was hit by a black subcompact car, which fled the scene, followed by a second vehicle that stopped after hitting him.

KNBC-4 reports that the rider may have been on a BMX bike, and coming off a dirt trail popular with mountain bikers. Both vehicles that hit him were traveling east on Bastonchury.

The victim was transported to a local hospital, and died a short time later.

Fullerton police are asking for the public’s help in identifying and finding the driver who fled the scene, leaving his victim to die.

This is the 34th bicycling fatality in Southern California since the first of the year, and the sixth in Orange County. It’s also the ninth cyclist to be killed in a hit-and-run this year, and the fifth SoCal bike rider to be killed in the last five days.

Thanks to NBCLA for the heads-up.

My prayers for the victim and his family and friends.

Update: A report from the Orange County Register adds few details, noting that police are unsure who had the right-of-way, and that the impact from the first collision threw the bike rider into the air, where he was apparently struck by the second car, a Volkswagen Jetta, whose driver remained at the scene.

KNBC-4 reports that the cyclist was not carrying ID, suggesting that police have not been able to identify the victim, who appears to be in his mid to late 20s.

Update 2: The Orange County Register identifies the victim as 41-year old Richard Paine of LaHabra. Paine reportedly rode off a biking and hiking train into oncoming traffic, though it’s still unclear who had the green light.

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