According to the paper, Swantek was riding on Glendora Mountain Road when he lost consciousness due to an undetermined medical problem just before noon Friday.
A passing Good Samaritan began CPR, and continued until paramedics took over. However, Swantek was declared dead less than half an hour later.
Anyone with information is urged to call the CHP’s Baldwin Park office at 626/338-1164.
Sadly, it’s yet another reminder that cars aren’t the only danger we face on the roads.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Stanley Swantek and all his family and loved ones.
Thanks to John McBrearty, ActiveSGV and LB Acct Action Grp for the heads-up.
My apologies for yesterday’s unexcused absence, once again.
The assorted health issues stemming from my diabetes, and the many and varied meds to treat them, conspired to knock me on my ass all Tuesday night and most of the following day.
One more reminder that diabetes sucks.
Virtually all my health problems are the result of doctors who insisted I’d never get diabetes, despite a family history on both sides, allowing it to go undetected for as much as 20 years.
So if you’re at risk, get checked. And don’t believe anyone who insists your bicycling, lean build and/or healthy diet means you won’t get it.
Then do whatever you have to do to avoid it.
Because trust me, you don’t want this shit.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay.
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Los Angeles TV viewers watched live Tuesday evening as a car theft suspect led police on a high speed chase before briefly driving on the Westside’s Ballona Creek bike path.
He then abandoned the allegedly stolen van to run across the 90 Freeway during rush hour traffic, and apparently made a failed attempt to buy, beg or steal a man’s bicycle back on the path.
All in vain, as it turned out, as the bike rider refused, and police tackled the man in a grassy field shortly later.
Albuquerque Police said Crane allegedly shot the man in the foot, heated a metal pipe and threatened to burn him in the face, and shoved an object up his nose, KRQE reports. Crane allegedly spray-painted a cross on the man’s chest and threatened to shoot him.
They reportedly were looking for someone they said owed them money. But they’re likely to get long prison terms, instead.
And yes, this is why you should always meet prospective bike buyers or sellers in a public place.
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Here’s your chance to weigh in on a safer Glendora Ave.
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KCET highlights 12 bikeable spots to explore in WeHo’s Rainbow District, aka Boystown, viewable along the bike lane on Santa Monica Blvd. Some I didn’t even know about, like the Door’s offices and rehearsal space, where Jim Morrison laid tracks for L.A. Woman.
An Ohio bike shop got a stolen BMX bike back when the owner’s mother called the mother of one of the suspected thieves, asking for her son do the right thing. Which in this case, meant buying it back from the person he sold it to before he could return it.
The Virginia Senate approved measures requiring drivers to change lanes to pass bike riders when they can’t give a three-foot passing distance and allow bicyclists to ride two abreast, but punted on adopting the Idaho Stop Law.
About damn time. Thirty-three year old former bike messenger Ayesha McGowan has joined Liv Racing, achieving her high-profile goal of becoming the first Black American woman to compete on the World Tour, just six years after first taking up the sport. Once again, read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you.
One of my policies on this site is not to report a bicycling fatality without some sort of confirmation.
Which means you many never hear about some of the tragedies that pass through my inbox. But I’d rather keep some bad news under wraps than risk injuring friends and family of a reported victim by reporting a story that may not turn out to be true.
So when I received a report on Thursday that a Glendora rider had died of injuries he suffered earlier this week, I reached out to various sources who might be able to verify the facts.
Sadly, that confirmation came today, in a news story from the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.
The paper had reported earlier this week that a 79-year old rider was critically injured in a left cross collision in Glendora on Monday.
He was riding west on Foothill Blvd at Elwood Ave around 2:30 pm Monday when a driver headed in the opposite direction turned across his path, forcing him into the passenger side of the vehicle. He was revived by police officers, who found him with no pulse and not breathing when they arrived.
He was stabilized by LA County firefighters, and taken to the ICU unit at Foothill Presbyterian Hospital.
Then on Thursday, a comment from Trish said he had been disconnected from life support and died on Wednesday.
That 79 yr old cyclist in Glendora was my son-in-law’s father. He cycled every day and then would come home and walk his dog. He was in excellent health and very fit. Sadly, he was removed from life support yesterday, and passed away shortly thereafter. Sure with drivers would look before they make left hand turns….really look, not just for cars!
Today’s story in the Tribune identified the victim as 78-year old Francisco Alvarez of Glendora.
The 86-year old driver who hit him stayed on the scene and cooperated with investigators. While the case is still under investigation, the paper reports no criminal behavior was suspected — despite the obvious failure to observe right of way and make a safe turn, resulting in the death of an innocent person.
Maybe this will go down as just another “oops,” excused by the age and, presumably, declining skills of the driver.
This is the 10th confirmed bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the sixth in Los Angeles County.
My deepest prayers and sympathy for Francisco Alvarez and all his family.
Just nine days into 2011, the first fatal bicycling collision of the new year took the life of a 44-year old cyclist northeast of Glendora in San Bernardino County.
According to Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Kevin B. Unck of Rancho Cucamonga was riding south on Glendora Mountain Road just north of Sierra Madre Avenue when he rounded a blind curve at approx. 30 mph; unable to negotiate the turn, he drifted onto the other side of the road and collided with a Land Cruiser driven by Martin Habern of Glendora.
Those of us who’ve ridden road bikes through mountain canyons have probably all been in that same situation; you misjudge a corner or take a curve faster than you should, trusting that you’ll get away with it. And most of the time you do.
It could have me many times over the years.
There were countless times when I drifted over the center line rounding a corner; fortunately, there was no one else coming the other way when I did. Or the few times there were, I was able, somehow, to avoid them.
I knew each time that I was risking my life. But as it turned out, I was lucky.
Kevin Unck wasn’t.
Not this time.
My prayers go out to him and his family and loved ones.
Update: This morning I received an email from Kevin Unck’s sister Autumn, who corrected some of the information contained in the initial news report:
Kevin was riding with his cycling team and was 4th in position, the guy in front of him slipped on mud and gravel that was on the road. He fortunately pulled out of his near fall, however, my brother wasn’t so lucky. He hit the mud and gravel, lost control, took a spill and slid across the lines, he was then run over by the vehicle.
I write this to you again, not complaining, but simply hoping that a reminder might be made to even the most experienced and talented riders; as you said, you never know and road conditions are a HUGE obstacle in the cycling world.
Kevin passed away doing what he absolutely loved, cycling.
Again, we’ve all been there. As Autumn makes clear, it only takes a little mud or gravel to take down even the most experienced rider, and sometimes, there’s little or nothing you can do to avoid it on blind curves. The only way to avoid it is to scout your route in advance, or slow down when you can’t clearly see the road ahead of you.
And even that isn’t always enough.
I’ve often written that most collisions aren’t accidents, because in most cases, one or more of the people involved were careless, distracted or broke the law; the rare exception is when road design or conditions are a contributing factor.
The Orange County Register has a moving piece about Jurgen Ankenbrand, the cyclist killed during the heavy storms just days before Christmas.
An ultra distance runner, Ankenbrand had survived another serious collision in 2006, when he was critically injured after being hit from behind while riding his bike just days after his 65th birthday.
He was killed December 22nd, just weeks before his 70th birthday, when he was struck by a Toyota 4-Runner that somehow turned left into him, knocking him into the path of an oncoming vehicle; the driver of the 4-Runner fled the scene.
Witnesses are urged to contact the Huntington Beach police at 714-536-5666.
No one deserves to be run down like that. Especially not someone who fought so hard to make it back.
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We are all in shock over the attempted assassination of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
As one who’s earliest memories include the assassinations of the Kennedy’s and Dr. King in the 60s, I’d long hoped that our country had grown beyond such mindless violence. And feared in equal measure that we hadn’t, and possibly never will.
I am heartbroken to see those fears realized.
Aaron Lawrence sends a reminder of something I had forgotten in my outrage and grief, that Giffords is one of us — a devoted cyclist who enjoyed riding to work at the Capitol. And one who didn’t hesitate to yell at drivers who cut her off.
I hope you’ll join me in sharing a prayer or best wishes, or whatever you’re comfortable with, that she may make a full and speedy recovery.
My thoughts and prayers as well to all those injured in this horrific event, that they may recover completely. And that all those killed may rest in peace, and that their families may find some solace in this nationwide outpouring of grief.
And please, let this be a reminder to all of us that words have power, and that the hatred and vitriol in our political discourse have gone far too far.
