Tag Archive for hit-and-run

75-year old Hemet man killed by hit-and-run driver while riding bike; suspected DUI driver arrested after brief chase

June 30, 2025 / / No comments

Once again, a SoCal bike rider has been killed by a hit-and-run driver.

But this time, they actually caught the heartless coward.

According to the Hemet Police Department, a man was struck by a driver around 5:36 pm Saturday, while riding east on Domenigoni Pwky near State Street.

The victim, identified as 75-year-old Hemet resident Kenneth Lauer, died at the scene before police arrived.

After witnesses provided a description of the vehicle, police searching the area spotted the vehicle. The driver refused to stop, and led officers on a brief chase before being taken into custody.

Police said the driver, who has not been publicly identified at this time, appeared to be under the influence, and believe that may have been a factor in the crash.

Anyone with information is urged to call Hemet Police Corporal Christian Coley at 951/765-2400.

This is at least the 21st bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth that I’m aware of in Riverside County.

Lauer was also at least the sixth SoCal bike rider killed by hit-and-run drivers since the first of the year.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Kenneth Lauer and his loved ones.

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

LAPD slowly doles out more details on fatal South LA hit-and-run, and California leads nation in bicycle thefts

June 26, 2025 / / No comments
Day 177 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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Apparently, the LAPD wants our help.

But only a little at a time.

A week after the LAPD belatedly told us about the hit-and-run that killed 34-year old Los Angeles resident Jose Villalobos as he rode his bike in South LA earlier this month, the department has released a little more information about the crash.

Investigators now believe the driver may have been involved in one of several street takeovers that occurred in the area in the hours before the June 1st collision. One of which was broken up by police less than a mile from where Villalobos was killed at Century Blvd and San Pedro Street.

Surveillance video shows Villalobos being struck by a silver two-door Chevrolet Camaro with black racing stripes as he approached San Pedro on Century. The driver fled the scene, still dragging the bicycle beneath their vehicle as the car headed towards the 110 Freeway.

Police believe the driver was the same man who stopped at a nearby liquor store before the fatal crash.

So naturally, police used the press conference to deliver an important safety message, reminding drivers that street takeovers are illegal and that they are legally required to stop after a crash.

Right?

Guess again. According to LAPD Det. Ryan Moreno,

“Whether you’re a pedestrian, on a bicycle, on a scooter, skateboard, whatever it is, you have to also take your safety in your own hands. Don’t assume people see you. Don’t assume the public sees you. And if they do see you, don’t assume they’re going to stop,” he said.

Which may be good advice. But it’s the wrong message, delivered to the wrong people, when they should have been talking to the ones in the big, dangerous machines who have a bad habit of killing other people.

As always, there is a standing $50,000 reward for any fatal hit-and-run in the City of Los Angeles.

Anyone with information is urged to call 213/321-9681, or anonymously via Crime Stoppers at 800/222-8477 or lacrimestoppers.org.

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Yay, us.

A new report shows that California leads the nation in bike thefts by a nearly two-to-one margin in the total number of bikes stolen, and more than that in terms of total value.

That leads Texas on the first count, and Colorado on the second.

In fact, Colorado had an average value of nearly $2,000 per purloined bike, nearly a third more than California, at just under $1,500. And roughly two-and-a-half times the average value of Texas bike thefts.

Not surprisingly, Alaska had the least number of bicycles stolen.

All of which is a good reminder to get free, lifetime bike registration through Bike Index if you haven’t already.

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Streetsblog examines the new roughly 750-foot pathway connecting two existing footbridges near the Griffith Park Recreation Center, improving access to the LA River bike path.

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Nothing like taking a little bike riding vacation in California.

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

No bias here. A British town councilor complains about the “bullying and intimidation” from the “unelected” bike lobby over approval of a new pump track. Even though the only pressure a bike group can actually apply stems from their public support. And isn’t responding to the public what elected officials are supposed to do?

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Local 

A California man is suing Amazon and Los Angeles-based ebike maker Actbest Technology Inc, alleging he suffered catastrophic injuries when he was thrown to the ground after the handlebars on his foldable ebike gave out. Then again, what would you expect from $369 electric foldie?

Santa Clarita will officially break ground Tuesday on the long-debated Haskell Canyon Bike Park.

Thirty-year old mountain bike pro and Santa Clarita Valley resident Spencer Rathkamp says he’s excited about the growing mountain bike scene in the area.

 

State

Secret Los Angeles explores the 70% complete California Coastal Trail, which will eventually stretch 1,230 through the state.

The Huntington Beach Police Department is now offering ebike training for local students. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Calbike is taking issue with the recent Kern County grand jury report blaming bike lanes for causing problems on Bakersfield streets, alleging the conclusions are troubling and lack sufficient evidence.

A former Antioch K-9 cop was sentenced to seven years in federal prison after he was convicted of siccing a police dog on a bike rider for the crime of riding without lights, then filing a false report about it. Oh, and he paid someone else to fraudulently earn a college degree for him, too.

Sad news from Marin, where Mountain Bike Hall of Fame member and co-director Don Cook died from a heart attack while riding his mountain bike on Tuesday; the 66-year old Cook was inducted into the hall in 1989, in just the second class, and co-directed the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame with his wife, Kay Peterson Cook, who was inducted into the hall six years after her husband.

 

National

Momentum ranks the best bicycling routes through American wine regions — not surprisingly topped by California’s Napa Valley.

An Anchorage, Alaska woman learns the hard way that it takes more than a thousand bucks to bribe a cop into letting you go home from the drunken crash that killed a bike rider as he was on the phone with his mom in Baja California. And yes, we mentioned this one earlier in the week. But still.

Utah follows Idaho’s lead, and bans narrowing or reducing travel lanes for the next three years without approval of each project by the Utah Department of Transportation, putting new Salt Lake City bike lanes at risk, as well as the city’s Vision Zero program.

I want to be like him when I grow up. A 90-year old man takes part in the Everybody Bike Day in the town next door to my bike-friendly Colorado hometown, which celebrated the more mundane Bike to Work Day, instead.

Rhode Island’s largest newspaper highlights the state’s whopping 60 miles of paved bike paths. And even that is more than enough to traverse the entire state. 

People For Bikes celebrates Brooklyn’s ascension to the top of the organization’s large city ratings — even though it’s a New York borough, rather than an actual city. Which is kinda like giving the award to the San Fernando Valley, not like that would ever happen.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that bikes have a right to the road and don’t have to automatically pull over to make room for motor vehicles; instead, road conditions should determine whether a bike rider needs to make way for faster vehicles in order not to impede traffic.

 

International

A British bicyclist says he was lucky to cheat death when he went over his handlebars after hitting a pothole, which wasn’t fixed despite causing another crash six weeks earlier; his injuries included a broken neck and collarbone, nine fractured ribs, a collapsed lung, and multiple pelvis fractures.

A man from the UK was sentenced to 12-years behind bars for hacking a 75-year old man to death with an axe after visiting Finland on a fundraising bike tour, telling police he had killed the man as he slept in his bed the morning after spending the night with him because the victim had drugged and raped him — even though police found “no evidence of illicit substances or materials that the elderly victim could use to restrain the young and physically fit aggressor.”

A Chilean man riding around the world with his three-year old dog was happy to escape Iran after getting caught in the country during the recent Israeli bombardment, especially after he was abducted by armed men who took his passport, before releasing it and him the next day.

After moving to Sydney, Australia, a new resident explores the 142-mile Greater Sydney Bike Trail, which loops around the city. The only thing that loops around Los Angeles is the city’s freeway system. 

 

Competitive Cycling

A new German documentary quotes an anonymous pro cyclist as saying it’s a joke to believe “nothing illegal has been taken at the Tour de France since 2015” — and not only is doping still going on, but as many as 14 people alleged to have been involved in a previous doping scandal are still involved in pro cycling.

Bicycling previews the key stages in this year’s Tour de France, calling it the most grueling race in decades. But you’ll have to pay them if you want to read it. 

 

Finally…

It’s been just a short 216 years since the first bicycle was patented. Apparently, “no” is not the correct response when a cop tries to pull you over on your bicycle to serve an active warrant.

And that feeling when you find a feline who loves biking as much as you do.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Witness blames driver, not victim, for recent Stunt Road crash; and OC DA goes easy on LAPD Sgt. in fatal DUI hit-and-run

June 23, 2025 / / One comment
Day 174 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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My apologies for Friday’s unexcused absence. 

Having diabetes means dealing good days and bad days. That was one of the bad ones. 

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Let’s start with an update to the recent fatal bicycling crash in Calabasas.

Friday afternoon, I spoke with a witness to the crash that killed 37-year old Marvin Cortez as he was riding on Stunt Road on Saturday, June 14th.

What she told me changed our entire understanding of what happened. And more importantly, who was likely responsible.

Initial reports said that Cortez was on the wrong side of the road when he was struck head-on by the driver. But she said the motorist was driving recklessly, with the sound of his engine “reverberating through the canyon” even before he came into sight, roaring around a corner “like he was on a racetrack.

The moments later, she and her friends hear a loud pop, and saw debris flying through the air.

I won’t go into all the details; you can read it yourself if you want to know more.

Suffice it to say that I didn’t question the brief initial news report, which now seems to have been based solely on the driver’s perspective.

And I should have.

Photo from Pexels.

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This is who we share the road with.

A 40-year old LAPD sergeant is getting off easy for the drunken, off-duty hit-and-run that killed a 24-year old man walking in an Orange County street.

LAPD Sgt. Carlos Gonzalo Coronel faces charges for felony DUI and hit-and-run, along with a felony enhancement for allegedly causing great bodily injury.

Yet Coronel could have been charged with second-degree murder after previously admitting to driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs in 2011.

He likely would have been required to sign a Watson advisement, which states that he could be charged with murder if he ever killed someone while driving under the influence anytime in the future.

And he did — allegedly.

Yet he wasn’t.

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About damn time.

A Colorado grand jury has returned an indictment against Barry Morphew, once again charging him with the murder of his wife, Suzanne Morphew.

Suzanne Morphew disappeared while going for Mother’s Day bike ride five years ago. Her body was finally found three years later when investigators were searching in an unrelated case, long after her abandoned bike and helmet were discovered in separate locations near her home.

An autopsy revealed she had been dosed with an animal tranquilizer, which Morphew reportedly had access to.

Barry Morphew was arrested for her presumed murder in 2021, but charges were dropped in April 2022, just before he was supposed to go on trial.

Maybe this time they can make the charges stick.

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That’s more like it.

A French public broadcaster reports that cars are no longer welcome in the country’s third largest city.

Thanks to Megan for forwarding the video. 

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

A road-raging 59-year old Utah man faces charges for intentionally swerving his SUV into a 24-year old man riding an ebike, resulting in a serious head injury, after the ebike rider allegedly cut him off; it was the second time he had confronted the victim in just a matter of days.

No bias here. A local newspaper in exclusive Palm Beach, Florida says there’s just no room for packs of bicyclists on the state’s coastal highway, complaining about plans for sharrows that might encourage people to ride bikes where and how they are legally entitled to ride, because it could inconvenience car-driving local residents.

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

A 43-year old New York man paid the ultimate price after crashing his ebike into a pedestrian walking in a Central Park crosswalk. A reminder to always give the right-of-way to someone in a crosswalk. And colliding with a pedestrian is just as dangerous for the person on the bike as it is for the person walking.  

Police in West Yorkshire, England are looking for a hit-and-run ebike rider who stopped briefly, the fled the scene, after crashing into man in his 60s and sending the victim to the hospital with serious injuries.

British Dame Joan Collins — yes, that Joan Collins — lashed out on Instagram at “loutish” Lime Bike users on the sidewalk.

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Local 

Sheriffs officials in Calabasas are on the lookout for a high-end mountain bike thief, described as a white man between 30 and 35 years old, wearing a black hat, light-colored pants, a black long-sleeve sweatshirt, and black and white tennis shoes. Unless maybe he changed clothes, of course.

 

State

Officials in Carlsbad are removing a pair of traffic circles in response to complaints. Although the metric they should consider is whether the circles improved safety, rather than how many people complained. It’s also worth considering that people who don’t object usually don’t say anything. Thanks to Phillip for the link.

A San Francisco grand jury report blames the city’s Vision Zero failure on a lack of police enforcement, as drivers just ignore the many “No right on red” signs going up downtown with no fear of consequences.

 

National

A writer for People For Bikes says great rides begin at home, with biking adventures waiting just outside your front door. Which is exactly where (almost) every ride I ever took began. Unless you count the back door, too.

A former candidate for mayor of Portland, Oregon was killed when he was struck by a train after reportedly riding his bike around the crossing barriers. Seriously, don’t do that. Ever. Period.

An Arizona writer says the Sabino Canyon Recreation Area near Tucson is an incredible place for bicycling, and her favorite park in the state.

They get it. Police in St. George, Utah say they’re done playing games with people riding illegal e-motorbikes, which are too often lumped in with ped-assist ebikes to unfairly tar all ebike riders. Thanks to Ellectrek for the heads-up.

The 16-year old Albuquerque boy charged with killing Scott Habermehl, while riding with three other boys joyriding in a stolen car, as the Sandia Laboratory scientist was bicycling to work, is now charged as an adult and facing a murder charge.

Life is cheap in Wisconsin, where a 45-year old woman walked without a day behind bars for the hit-and-run that left an ebike rider with “multiple visible injuries.” As long as courts refuse to take hit-and-runs seriously, drivers will continue to trying to get away with it. 

Something is terribly wrong when someone who is still riding a bicycle at 85 becomes a victim of traffic violence, like the elderly Illinois man who was killed by a driver, just days after a 90-year old man was killed by a driver while riding a three-wheeled bike in Indiana. But at least that story mentioned there was someone behind the wheel, unlike the first one. 

Time to cash in the crypto, after Massachusetts-based Parlee Cycles created a money-is-no-object, limited-edition bike build to honor late company founder Bob Parlee; the 25 bikes are based on their new Z-Zero GT, which already retails for $22,990.

New York City counselors are complaining that current mayor Eric Adams — who is likely on this way to becoming ex-mayor after next week’s Democratic primary — is reneging on promises to install 500 secure bike parking pods throughout the city’s five boroughs.

Ebikes provided by New York’s Citi Bike bikeshare are now limited to a maximum of 15 mph; meanwhile, a three-week bike mechanic program has a 100% success rate in placing formerly incarcerated New Yorkers with the bikeshare system.

This is who we share the road with, too. A 32-year old Virginia man has been arrested for the hit-and-run death of 40-year old Sara Burack, after the luxury real estate agent and star of Netflix’s Million Dollar Beach House was found dead on the side of a Long Island roadway. 

Dozens of people took to their bikes in Reading, Pennsylvania to call for peace on the streets and an end to youth gun violence.

Bike riders in Richmond, Virginia are being placed in needless danger by construction crews who have carelessly destroyed bike lane markers and bollards, while forcing riders into traffic to go around their equipment.

Florida could get a 120-mile bike trail through the central part of the state.

 

International

A Vancouver district counselor calls for making bike bells mandatory, arguing they’ “a simple yet effective solution to address a range of issues related to safety, visibility and courteous riding practices.” Although the next step would likely be requiring bicyclists to use them — and holding them accountable if someone claims they didn’t. 

A new Canadian study shines a light on the dangers bike riders face in the country, but doesn’t offer any solutions.

Simon Cowell is back on his bicycle, albeit raising eyebrows by riding through a London borough wearing a puffer coat in 93°F weather.

Life is cheap in the UK, where a 62-year old truck driver walked without a day behind bars for killing a 56-year old mother riding a bicycle, in their equivalent of a right hook.

A British drug dealer will spend the next 70 months behind bars for shooting a bike theft victim who had tracked him down, and confronted him with a pickax handle. Another reminder to just let the police handle it. And don’t bring a pickax handle to a gun fight.

The Guardian visits a southwest London neighborhood that is the most dangerous place in Great Britain to ride a bike.

Sweden’s Hövding is back from the dead after being rescued from bankruptcy — but don’t call it an inflatable helmet anymore, because the new owners say it’s really an airbag.

NPR talks with a travel writer who took an off-road bicycle tour of Morocco.

Germany’s Marek Kaufman has reportedly been under state arrest in Iran for the past year, the Jewish bike tourist accused of espionage for making social media posts while near a heavy-water reactor in Markazi Province as he was riding through the country on a tourist visa.

World Bicycle Relief is distributing their Buffalo Bikes to Ugandans in need of reliable transportation, in hopes that the tougher, reinforced bicycle will stand up to the country’s rugged roads.

 

Competitive Cycling

Portuguese cyclist João Almeida dominated a mountain time trial on the final stage to claim overall victory in the Tour de Suisse, with Kévin Vauquelin second and Oscar Onley rounding out the podium.

A new German documentary says doping is still going on in pro cycling, they’re just using different drugs — like a cancer medication that’s also used to fight cardiovascular disease.

The team manager of French cycling team Groupama-FDJ repeated his call to ban race radios, power meters and GPS bike computers from competition, in an effort to slow the evolution of pro cycling and make the sport safer.

UCI is investigating Belgian cyclist Dries de Bondt and an unnamed EF Education-EasyPost director, after de Bondt allegedly helped the rival team’s Richard Carapaz over the Colle delle Finestre during last month’s Giro, with de Bondt saying later “it never hurts to market yourself.”

An Aussie ultracyclist will attempt to ride the entire 1,500-mile route of the original Tour de France in just six days, using a two-speed bike with the same gear ratio as the original riders.

Cyclist looks at the climbs that will decide this year’s Tour de France.

Benin’s women’s cycling team made history at the Maryland Cycling Classic, becoming the first women’s African national team to compete in a major American road race.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you rescue the kitten you just rescued after finding it hanging from a bicycle. Or when cycling celebrity makes you the stars of a Slovenian children’s book.

And now you, too, can ride your mountain bike in the name of science.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Update: 30-something man on bicycle killed by hit-and-run driver in South LA; nearly 1/3 of SoCal bike deaths this year hit-and-runs

June 2, 2025 / / No comments

Once again, someone on a bicycle in Los Angeles has been left to die alone in the street by a heartless coward.

But for a change, we actually learned about it the next day.

According to multiple sources, the victim was run down from behind while riding west on East Century Boulevard near San Pedro Street, in the Broadway-Manchester neighborhood of South LA, around 11 pm Sunday.

The victim, identified only as a man in his mid-30s, died at the scene, his mangled yellow road bike lying nearby in the crosswalk.

Unfortunately, security video was too blurry to provide a description of the suspect vehicle or driver, and there doesn’t appear to be any immediate witnesses.

Google Maps shows a bike lane on the west side of San Pedro, but none on the east, where the crash appears to have occurred.

Anyone with information is urged to call the LAPD South Traffic Division at 323/421-2500, or anonymously via Crime Stoppers at 800/222-8477 or lacrimestoppers.org.

As always, there is a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the driver for any fatal hit-and-run in the City of LA.

This is at least the 16th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, the fourth that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County, and just the second we’ve learned about in the City of Los Angeles — which is likely a dramatic undercount.

This is also at least the fifth bike rider killed by a hit-and-run driver in Southern California this year.

Update: The victim has been identified as 34-year old Jose Villalobos.

Update 2: The LAPD has posted video of the crash, which occurred with other vehicles around, so someone probably saw it. But be warned, it shows the full crash and the aftermath, be sure you really want to see it before you click on the link. 

The police have identified the suspect vehicle as a silver Chevrolet Camaro. 

“Following the crash, the driver of the Camaro made a right turn onto San Pedro Street, continued northbound, and then turned westbound onto East 98th Street, fleeing the scene without stopping to render aid or identify themselves, as required by law,” police said.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Jose Villalobos and his loved ones.

Thanks to Jeffrey for the heads-up. 

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

Chino driver flees with ebike embedded in bumper, Historic South Central Meets Watts CicLAvia, and pledge to bike in OC

May 29, 2025 / / No comments
Day 149 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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Just a quick note. 

I always try to thank people who submit stories, because I truly appreciate the help finding stories I might not otherwise see.  

After hearing from a few people, however, I am changing my policy to identify people just by their first names going forward, in order to protect their privacy. 

I mean, you’ll still know it’s you. But everyone else doesn’t need to.

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Um, okay.

Police in Chino arrested a woman who drove roughly five miles or more to Montclair with a shattered windshield, and an ebike embedded in her bumper, after fleeing the scene of a hit-and-run crash that left the victim with a head injury.

Police found the woman by tracking an AirTag hidden on the ebike across multiple cities.

What they don’t say, though, is how much time elapsed between the crash and the arrest, and whether the driver would have had time to sober up first.

Because something tells me she might have needed to.

Thanks to Jeffrey for the heads-up.

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Mark your calendar for the next CicLAvia next month, as Historic South Central Meets Watts.

Here’s how a press release describes the open streets event.

6.4-Miles of Open Streets Connecting Historic South Central, Florence, Firestone, and Watts Via S Central Ave and 103rd Street to Enjoy this ‘Pop-Up’ Park for the Day in One’s Favorite People-Powered Way for All Ages and Abilities

On Sunday, June 22; between 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. CicLAvia will celebrate its 61st car-free open streets event catalyzing vibrant public spaces, active transportation and good health through car-free streets. CicLAvia—Historic South Central meets Watts connects historic South Central, Florence, Firestone, and Watts, welcoming everyone of all ages and abilities to enjoy this day-long 6.4-mile pop-up park. Always free, you can enjoy the day,by walking, jogging, biking, roller skating, skating, or simply spectating at CicLAvia. Participants can show up anywhere along the route between 9am-4pm to enjoy the open streets, take the time to explore, and see where the day takes you.

Imagine streets alive with joy, laughter, and the freedom to roam. CicLAvia is a non-profit organization that has been opening streets throughout Los Angeles County for nearly 15 years now. It transforms city streets into a car-free celebration of community, connection, and possibility — places where participants can slow down, connect, and appreciate the city in a new way. CicLAvia is about reimagining our city streets as welcoming spaces for everyone — places for walking, running, rolling, skating, cycling, gathering, and enjoying the moment.

As a nonprofit organization, CicLAvia relies on the public’s support to continue bringing opportunities for meaningful community connections, mindful exploration, and greater understanding across Los Angeles.

CicLAvia—Historic South Central meets Watts includes five (5) hubs filled with plenty of activities and programs along the route. Hubs are walking zones (mandatory dismounts) and meeting points along the route which includes theHistoric South Central Hub located on Central Ave, just south of Washington Blvd.; Jazz Park Hub located at 41nd Place and Central Ave; Florence Firestone Hub located on Central Ave near 61st St; Central Ave Hub located on Central Ave near E. 84th St; and the Watts Hub located on E 103rd St and Success Ave. Hubs offer family-friendly activities, restrooms, free water refilling stations, free basic bike repair, bike parking, places to sit and meet up with friends and family, and first aid. Free pedicab rides are available at each hub’s information booth.

The CicLAvia—Historic South Central meets Watts route is accessible via many different forms of transportation. There is not one place to start or finish. Read more about getting to the route through these links: hubs, Metro, bike rentals, parking for the event, group meet ups: walk/run clubs, feeder rides, bus detours, and help getting to CicLAvia.

(Please note, if you are biking to and from CicLAvia along any streets that are open to cars, it is at the discretion of the individual.)

“South LA is always one of the highlights of CicLAvia’s schedule,” says CicLAvia Executive Director Romel Pascual. “Along South Central Ave, LA’s dynamic culture can be seen in the local businesses and restaurants, community parks, and public art that are on the route. It gives Angelenos the opportunity to see new things, which reminds us of what makes our city a remarkable and special place.

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As long as we’re doing press releases, the Orange County Transportation Authority, aka OCTA, says there’s still time to pledge to ride a bike this month.

While OCTA encourages people to ride all year long, May is National Bike Month, which is also celebrated all month long in Orange County.

OCTA invites people of all ages and abilities to take part in Bike Month, and there’s still time to pledge to ride a bicycle – for commuting, for fun, or for fitness.

This year’s “Every Ride is Your Story” campaign encourages participants to ride at least once during May. Those who pledge online will be entered in a raffle to win a commuter e-bike prize package that includes an Avant Agile Commuter E-Bike, along with accessories including an adult helmet, child helmet, bike lock, and baby seat.

Pledges must be received by the end of the day on Saturday, May 31, at www.octa.net/bikemonth. A winner will be announced in June.

In addition to the Bike Rally, OCTA continues to promote safe cycling habits for all riders, including those using e-bikes. Resources and safety tips are available at www.octa.net/bikeand www.octa.net/ebike.

Orange County offers more than 1,000 miles of bikeways, from beach paths to mountain trails, making it easier than ever to ride safely and explore the region on two wheels. Over the last 15 years, OCTA has invested approximately $437 million in active transportation, including cycling and more than half (54%) of the county’s primary roadways include bike lanes.

Over 80 riders made a 4-mile bike ride from the Orange Metrolink Station to OCTA headquarters for a Bike Rally Wednesday morning to promote active transportation throughout the county.

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No bias here.

The anti-bike New York Post is trying to whip a nonissue into an “explosive” campaign issue, after an ebike rider crashed into a three-year old girl who apparently got out of a double-parked car and darted into the bike lane he was riding in, making a crash virtually unavoidable.

Yet the paper somehow blames the bike lane, and not the driver who double-parked or the dad who didn’t hold her back.

And the result could have been far worse if she had darted in the other direction. But no one seems to be calling for removing dangerous traffic lanes from the roadway.

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

A Lancaster, Pennsylvania man was charged with intentionally crashing his car into a 16-year old boy riding an ebike, after he admitted to intentionally driving into the victim, causing serious injuries.

Seriously? After a British bike rider was struck by a hit-and-run driver who darted in front of him on a roundabout, The Sun can’t seem to figure out who was in the wrong.

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Local 

Metro’s board of directors moved last week to put the planned Southeast Gateway Line underground, leaving them a paltry $10 to $12 billion short. And even that probably wouldn’t result in the green, bike-friendly Alameda corridor shown in the picture.

Ebike dealer Upway is hosting a community bike ride and ebike block party in Redondo Beach on Saturday.

 

State

Former Los Angeles mayor and erstwhile bicycle champion Antonio Villaraigosa is complaining about high gas prices and closing oil refineries. Neither of which could have anything to do with taking more than $175,000 in campaign contributions from the oil industry for his run for governor. Right?

The chief executive officer of the San Diego Youth Services rode his bicycle 500 miles from San Francisco to San Diego earlier this month to call awareness and raise funds for the 55-year old nonprofit.

A Madera teenager got a new, refurbished bicycle after his was stolen, thanks to a program run by inmates at a local penitentiary.

Sad news from Petaluma, where a man riding a bicycle was killed when he was rear-ended by a driver.

 

National

Portland wants residents to help them choose a new tagline to promote bicycling. None of which would have made it past the first round at any decent ad agency.

Singletracks looks at five of the best mountain bike trails in Washington state. Sasquatch sightings optional.

Another teenager has been arrested for the Albuquerque, New Mexico hit-and-run that killed a 63-year-old physicist as he was biking to his job at Sandia National Laboratories last year, making them the fourth juvenile in the stolen car when the kids intentionally steered it into the victim, and posted it on social media.

A Denver, Colorado TV station examines the intersection between May’s Mental Health Awareness Month and National Bike Month, and how riding a bicycle can improve your mental health.

An Austin, Texas woman learned the hard way about reckless ebike riders on the city’s trails. Or one in particular, anyway.

Atlanta’s bike-riding Magnet Man has a new bicycle thanks to fans and supporters who replaced the one he had stolen, enabling him to get back to using his magnet-equipped bike trailer to sweep metal debris off the streets before it ends up in the tires of local drivers.

 

International

Bicyclists in the Cayman Islands are calling for immediate action to improve safety on the streets after an uptick in serious injuries.

What’s the point of living in a haunted Manitoba city if you’re not going to have a bike ride visiting all the ghastly and ghostly sites? Although it really should have been after dark. 

 

Competitive Cycling

Mexico’s Isaac del Toro bounced back from a bad day in the Alps to win Wednesday’s stage 17, extending his lead to 41 seconds, as Richard Carapaz climbed into second.

This is pretty much the definition of a gnarly crash, taken from a New Jersey Cat 3 race.

 

Finally…

That feeling when your AI reporter doesn’t know the difference between a linear park and a sports attraction. Or when a fundraising ride ends in a new bike — and a proposal.

And NFTs once again raise their ugly, scammy and virtually worthless head, this time with a bicycle spin.

Seriously, shame on Pez Cycling for even accepting the sponsored post.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

CA legislature making bike-unfriendly sausage, and bike riders deserve more than bare minimum — but usually get it

May 21, 2025 / / No comments
Day 141 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

The California legislature continues to make the sausage this year.

Or maybe not.

Momentum says California remains on-track for a “game-changing” new bike highways program.

Ventura Assemblymember Steve Bennett’s AB 954 would create a Caltrans pilot program in two parts of the state, instructing the agency to connect existing bikeways into bicycle highways.

If it passes, that is. Which is a big “if” right now, since it remains in the Appropriation Committee’s Suspense File.

Unfortunately, there’s no suspense about what happens if it doesn’t get out. Calbike has a quick email format to urge the committee chair to bring it up for a vote before it dies for this year.

Meanwhile, Calbike put out an urgent call to help get the Quick-Build Project Pilot Program out of committee before Friday, when it must either advance or die for the year.

Santa Monica Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur’s AB 891 instructs Caltrans to develop quick-build bike lane and intersection projects on state roadways to improve safety for people walking and on bicycles.

If it’s passed into law, Zbur’s bill would require that Caltrans speed up its glacial planning process, which can easily take years from inception to construction, no matter how desperately it’s needed.

Case in point, PCH, where we’re just now seeing a draft of possible improvements.

And possible improvements have never saved a single life.

Photo by Ján Števonka from Pixabay.

………

He gets it.

Responding to the Boulder County, Colorado hit-and-run we mentioned yesterday, Velo’s Alvin Holbrook quotes The White Line Foundation in stressing that bicycling deaths are preventable.

Then he goes on to add,

Still, cyclists doing everything right can still be hit by a car. Reflective gear isn’t enough to prevent cyclists from being hit by cars, either.

Bike lanes are proven to make streets safer for everyone, and ensuring cyclists have proper infrastructure that protects them is the bare minimum.

Problem is, that’s exactly what too many places do, Los Angeles included.

The bare minimum.

………

The annual Ride of Silence to remember fallen bicyclists will roll tonight, with local rides at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena (scroll down) and in Koreatown.

You can find other locations on the Ride of Silence website, though not every ride leader registers with the site, so there may be other rides in your area.

……….

Streets For All is hosting their monthly virtual happy hour tonight, with City Attorney candidate Marissa Roy.

Personally, I’m voting for ABHFS — anyone but current LA CA Hydee Feldstein Soto.

………

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

Despite pleading poverty, San Francisco wasted no time in ripping out DIY neighborhood-installed safety improvements along the city’s popular Wiggle bike route, including benches, bike racks and planters installed less than a month ago.

Hats off to New York Councilwoman Inna Vernikov, who is doing her best to keep the streets of Brooklyn deadly by personally blocking new bike lanes in the borough, despite the high rate of bicyclists killed or seriously injured in the district.

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

Sad news from the UK, where a man in his 60s died over a month after he was struck by an ebike rider after stepping out from in front of a bus while crossing the street.

………

Local 

He gets it. Colin Bogart, Active Transportation Director at Pasadena nonprofit Day One, says if you saw an ebike going any faster than 28 mph, it’s not an ebike — even if it had pedals.

You’re invited to celebrate the grand opening of Long Beach’s Artesia Great Boulevard Project on the last day of this month, featuring “family-friendly activities, a ceremonial ribbon cutting and a community bike ride.” Although you wouldn’t think they’d make it so hard to find the damn date. 

Streetsblog examines the new sidewalk-level curb-protected bike lanes on Long Beach Blvd in the eponymously named city.

 

State

Newport Beach gave the boot to bicycles, ebikes, pedicabs and motorized bikes from the sand on the beach, as well as any other assorted bikes, boards and scooters.

New protected bike lanes in Vista are just the latest to cause controversy in San Diego County, where the media seems to search high and low for people hating on any new bicycling improvements.

Bakersfield’s triathlete-favorite Finish Line bike shop is just the latest in the state to go belly-up.

Both a sidewalk memorial and a crowdfunding page are growing for the Santa Barbara man killed by an alleged drunk driver while riding his ebike home from work Sunday night; 29-year old Joel Gonzalez leaves behind a nine-year old daughter.

Showing an unusual degree of spine, Caltrans put its foot down and is adamant that new protected bike lanes will remain part of the repaving project for the Bay Area’s Tiburon Blvd, despite predictable opposition from the Belvedere city council.

Sad news from Sacramento, where a 76-year old man died in the hospital, eight days after he was struck by a heartless, cowardly hit-and-run driver while riding his bike; a 29-year old suspect was booked and released following the crash.

 

National

The famed Mayo Clinic offers moderately useful tips on how to avoid injuries on your bike, including all-time favorites like wear a helmet and don’t fall off.

US Senate Republicans are prepared to ignore the chamber’s parliamentarian to overturn waivers granted to California by the EPA, which enable the state to regulate emissions and fuel efficiency for gas-powered cars, and could cause chaos for carmakers if they were cancelled.

A Chattanooga, Tennessee man faces attempted murder charges after he came to a woman’s apartment to return her bicycle, then stabbed her in the chest, palm and thigh when he refused to leave.

 

International

Sarah Ruggins, a Canadian woman living in England, succeeded in her attempt to set a new record for biking up and down the full length of the UK, riding 1,677 miles from John O’Groats to Land’s End and back in five days, 11 hours and 14 minutes, despite suffering from a rare neurological disorder that left her unable to walk as a teen.

Anyone know good lawyer in the UK? A British doctor reportedly gave “false, outdated and misleading” information to a colleague just days before a 13-year-old girl died of sepsis, more than a month after the girl fell off her bike, injuring her pancreas.

Heartbreaking news from Palestine, where a beloved member of the Gaza Sunbirds paracycling team was killed in an Israeli strike on Khan Younis, ten years after losing his leg in another Israeli bombing.

 

Competitive Cycling

Mexico’s Isaac del Toro spent a second day in the pink Giro leader’s jersey, as Dutch cyclist Daan Hoole upset overwhelming favorite Josh Tarling to win the stage 10 time trial. Something tells me I’ll smile just as big every other day del Toro leads the race, too.

The Tour de France’s final stage ascent of Paris’ famed Montmartre promises plenty of spectacle, if nothing else.

Watch the elite classes of this year’s 2025 Unbound Gravel for free on the Life Time Grand Prix YouTube channel.

 

Finally…

That feeling when Wired rates bike helmets, which is kinda like Bicycling rating rack servers. Or when you set off on a fundraising ride around the world with only the most essential gear — like your pickleball paddle.

And how to ride a bike with your dogs — and how not to.

I tried to ride a bike with our corgi, but her feet didn’t reach the stoker’s pedals.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Bike rider killed in South LA hit-and-run last month; LAPD just now bothering to tell us and ask for our help

May 8, 2025 / / No comments

Once again, someone riding a bicycle was killed by a hit-and-run driver weeks ago.

Yet somehow, we’re only learning about it now.

The LAPD is just now getting around to asking for the public’s help in finding the driver, nearly three weeks later.

The victim, who still has not been publicly identified, was riding their bike north on Central Avenue near 120th Street in South LA around 10 pm on Sunday, April 20th, when they were run down from behind by a speeding driver.

The victim died after being rushed to the hospital.

And that’s all we know.

There’s no description of the suspect vehicle or the driver, or not even the age or sex of the victim. We don’t even know whether the victim has been identified, and if so, why the identification is being withheld.

Which gives us absolutely nothing to go on, other than the time and location, after the police inexplicably waited to release any information until the trail was so cold you could almost see your breath.

And didn’t bother to use the hit-and-run alert systems approved by the city and state a decade ago to try to reduce the epidemic of fleeing drivers.

It also raises the question of how many other people have been killed riding a bicycle — or walking or driving — that they haven’t bothered to tell us about.

And just who decided to keep us in the dark, and why.

Anyone with information is urged to call the LAPD’s South Traffic Division at 213/677-9791, or 877/527-3247 evening or weekends.

As always, there is a $50,000 reward for any fatal hit-and-run in the City of Los Angeles. Although it’s unlikely anyone will collect, given the dearth of information and such an extensive delay in asking for the public’s health.

This was at least the 13th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and just the second that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County. And it’s the first we know of in the City LA, which seems highly unlikely this far into the year.

This is also the fourth SoCal bike rider killed by a hit-and-run driver since the first of the year.

Someone needs to investigate this crap to find out what the hell is going on here.

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

Arrest in South LA hit-and-run of 15-year old bike rider, and bike-riding teens swarm market and assault gay couple in car

April 24, 2025 / / One comment
Day 114 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

They got one, for once.

The CHP announced an arrest in the hit-and-run crash that injured a 15-year old boy as he rode his bicycle on a South LA sidewalk.

The driver, identified only as Krunal Jigneshbhai Dhanani, faces felony hit-and-run charges for driving up on the sidewalk and hitting the kid, in what appeared to be an intentional act.

But police evidently didn’t think so, because it wasn’t charged that way.

………

It’s happened again.

A mob of around 30 bike-riding teens swarmed a grocery store near USC, before assaulting a gay couple and hurling homophobic slurs.

The teenaged boys, who looked to be middle school-aged, rode up to the Ralphs market on South Vermont Ave around 4:30 Saturday afternoon, running out with bottled cocktails, Gatorade and other items.

At least one of the boys was pepper sprayed by a security guard, after the kids threw things at store employees.

They then swarmed the gay couple as they tried to enter their car and drive off, honking their horn to clear the way, as the kids shouted slurs.

After one of the boys slammed himself on the side of their car, the couple got out holding pepper spray and a stun gun, chasing the group off before they approached once again, hitting the car window with a rock as they drove off.

This follows numerous other similar robberies where kids would ride up to a store on their bikes before swarming the aisles, overwhelming the staff and emptying shelves.

There have also been at least three instances of teen bike riders swarming cars and attacking the vehicles and their drivers.

………

The LAPD has identified the suspect accused of riding his bicycle through DTLA while chopping down trees with an electric chainsaw.

According to the Los Angeles Times, 45-year old Samuel Patrick Groft was taken into custody about 90 minutes after police released a flyer with pictures of the then-unknown suspect.

Groft stands accused of felony vandalism for chopping down at least 13 trees in less than ten days in downtown Los Angeles, as well Glassell Park and Westlake.

Eight of the those trees were estimated to be worth $347,000.

Groft has an extensive record, including DUI, assault with a deadly weapon, vandalism and a hit-and-run. He has been living on a streets for several years, and was found with the chainsaw in his possession.

In California, felony vandalism carries a penalty of up three years behind bars and a fine of up to $50,000 if the damage exceeds $10,000.

Which means if the DA charges each tree as a separate crime, Groft could be looking at more than three decades behind bars, and $650,000 in fines.

Good luck collecting that.

………

Hats off to the The San Fernando Sun, which appears to be the only Los Angeles news source that bothered to report on the Griffith Park protest marking the third anniversary of the fatal, high-speed hit-and-run that killed 77-year-old cyclist Andrew Jelmert

The paper also noted the protesters’ complaints over red tape needlessly holding up the fully funded and shovel-ready safety improvements promised for the park.

Which are two more reasons — the lack of progress and news coverage — explaining why people continue to die on our streets.

And the latter has a lot to do with the former.

………

Streets Are For Everyone, which held that Griffith Park protest, celebrates ten years of fighting for safer streets on July 12th.

https://twitter.com/StreetsR4Every1/status/1915137601587249361

………

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

It’s happened again, part two. A British ebike rider lost consciousness and suffered serious facial and eye injuries when he struck a rope that was deliberately strung across the trail he was riding on; police blamed a “group of youths” for the “deliberate and highly dangerous act” that could have led to “even more catastrophic” injuries.

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

A British man has been banned from bicycling for ten years and sentenced to 19 months behind bars, after failing to convince the court that riding his bike up behind women and grabbing their butts was a harmless prank, as opposed to serious sexual assault. Schmuck.

………

Local 

Streetsblog explores a half-mile of new parking protected bike lanes on San Vicente in the Mid-City area.

Burbank invites you on a walking or biking tour to gather input for the Burbank Rancho Neighborhood Specific Plan on May 10th. Although it sounds like you’d be welcomed on horseback, too.

 

State

The Los Angeles Times examines the new process to apply for a California ebike incentive voucher this Tuesday.

Bingo. San Diego’s KGTV-10 says the city’s spending patterns shows its mobility priorities, spending three times more on repaving streets than it does on making them safer.

This is who we share the road with. A Fresno judge dismissed all the charges against a hit-and-run driver who ran down and killed a homeless woman, and dragged her body eight miles under his car — then ended up with permanent brain damage after jumping out of a top floor window trying to escape the police, leading the judge to rule he would never be competent to stand trial.

Alameda residents turned out to explore a pair of greenway popups slated for completion next year.

 

National

Um, sure, let’s go with that. Police arrested a Colorado man for attempting, and failing, to kidnap a 12-year old girl as she was bicycling with a friend, telling police he tried to stop the girl’s bike from falling, and she just happened to fall into his arms.

A Minnesota magazine considers the best biking apps and online communities, although the later has a distinctly Minnesota focus.

Streets Minnesota recommends this year’s “must-do” bike rides for the state.

If you’re missing a vintage bicycle from your childhood, you’ll have one last chance to buy it before a man who’s been restoring and selling them for the last 30 years holds his final bike auction. But you’ll have to go to, yes, Minnesota to buy one. 

Tennessee is putting old tires to use as armadillos marking a protected bike lane.

One of my pet peeves remains lazy headline writers, like the one who says a North Carolina man rode his bicycle 4,000 miles coast-to-coast “for” breast cancer, rather than to fight the disease. And yes, I acknowledge that peeves make lousy pets. 

 

International

Momentum recommends the best upright commuter bikes to sit up and enjoy the ride this spring, most of which clock in at under $600.

Bike Radar says no, gravel bikes will not replace endurance bikes.

A writer for the CNU Journal looks at the power of bicycles, especially ebikes, to transform 21st Century cities.

Velo takes you on a tour of Belgium’s bike-friendly culture, “exploring pathways, cafés, beer halls, and cycling museums” by city bike.

Clean Technica says a new “virtually bulletproof” ebike has the power to transform transportation in Africa.

Bicycling Australia marks Anzac Day, — an Aussie holiday commemorating the tragic WWI battle of Gallipoli — by considering the role of the “humble” bicycle in the war to end all wars, which didn’t.

 

Competitive Cycling

Say it ain’t so, Joe. Colombian cycling great and 1987 Spanish Vuelta champ Luis Alberto “Lucho” Herrera denied allegations that he was involved in the 2002 killing of four farmers who lived near him, allegedly hiring two ex-paramilitary men to kill the farmers because they wouldn’t sell their land to him.

No surprise here, as Slovenian cycling star Tadej Pogačar captured his second Flèche Wallonne by attacking on a steep climb, finishing 10 seconds ahead of France’s Kévin Vauquelin, with British rider Tom Pidcock in third; Dutch cyclist Puck Pieterse won the women’s Flèche, beating countrywoman Demi Vollering by two seconds, while Italy’s Elisa Longo Borghini came in third.

Cyclist looks forward to Sunday’s men’s and women’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

Motherhood is no longer a barrier to a successful cycling career.

 

Finally…

Forget bike lanes, now people are driving in underground bicycle parking garages. That feeling when you get a punishment pass from a fellow bicyclist in an empty bike lane

And your next bike could have big red balls instead of wheels, and go in any direction.

But if it’s a bicycle, why doesn’t it have any pedals?

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

New report spells out LA’s Vision Zero fail, and bike riders injured by drivers in South LA and Huntington Beach hit-and-runs

April 16, 2025 / / 2 comments
Day 106 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

No surprise here.

In a report that really shouldn’t surprise anyone, a new city audit has shown that LA’s Vision Zero program has failed miserably in ending traffic deaths by this year.

A detailed report conducted by consulting company KPMG, along with a separate LADOT analysis from Fehr & Peers, concludes that “the level of enthusiasm at City Hall” for Vision Zero has decreased since the program was launched, according to public radio station and website LAist.

In fact, half of the program’s 56 “actions and strategies” that were supposed to have been completed five years were still unfinished at the start of last year.

And probably still are.

According to LAist,

“Some of the reasons cited include the pandemic, conflicts of personality, lack of total buy-in for implementation, disagreements over how the program should be administered and scaling issues,” the audit said.

Never mind the city council’s failure to adequately fund the program, as well as efforts by councilmembers to block needed projects in their own districts.

Without political support and lack of communication from council members about the program, Vision Zero becomes less effective, the audit said…

The audit also pointed out that the city overly focused on infrastructure and engineering, to the detriment of public education and regular monitoring of the program’s progress.

To put it mildly.

In fact, traffic fatalities jumped 26% in 2024 compared to when then-Mayor Eric Garcetti signed the program sitting outdoors behind his bigass desk.

According to UC Berkeley transportation safety researcher Matthew Raifman, traffic fatalities in Los Angeles have gone up faster than the national average, with more bike and pedestrian deaths than the other four most populated US cities.

And yes, that includes New York, which has over twice the population.

All of which is exactly what we warned about since the inception of Vision Zero in Los Angeles, when the city conducted an extensive round of public meetings to gather input — and proceeded to ignore the findings, coming up with a plan that left nearly all of it out.

Then addressed the program with the previously mentioned lack of funding and a failure of political will, compounded by a lack of buy-in from, and coordination between, the city’s many siloed departments and agencies.

The report calls for a recommitment to Vision Zero in Los Angeles, while offering a long, long list of recommendations to halt injuries and deaths from traffic violence.

But recommitment isn’t necessary. What is necessary is actually committing to it for the first time, because city leaders never did.

The LADOT report from Fehr & Peers includes an updated listing of the city’s High Injury Network, which is now called Priority Intersections and Corridors, for some unknown reason.

At least we know this report was sent directly to Mayor Karen Bass.

Although whether she’ll actually read it and act on it — or whether it will get buried under countless other priorities, from rebuilding after the Palisades Fire to the city’s massive budget shortfall — remains to be determined.

I wouldn’t hold your breath.

But as they say, hope springs eternal.

………

The LAPD is looking for a hit-and-run driver who crashed into a 15-year old boy as he rode his bike to school on a South LA sidewalk last week, in a collision caught on video.

Sebastian Carrillo was riding along Nadeau Street near Croesus Ave when the driver made a right turn directly into him, either turning short into a driveway or intentionally hitting him, as his father says it looks like attempted murder to him.

Carrillo was lucky to escape with a concussion, as well as cuts, bumps and bruises that required stitches. And no, he doesn’t appear to have been wearing a helmet, even though that’s required for anyone under 18.

The suspect vehicle is described as a newer black BMW, possibly a 2025, with front end damage from the crash.

The City of Los Angeles offers a standing $5,000 reward for any hit-and-run resulting injuries.

………

Huntington Beach police are looking for their own felony hit-and-run driver, after a man in a minivan left someone riding a bicycle lying in the roadway with “significant” injuries last month.

The victim was reportedly struck by a Hispanic man between 20 and 30 years old, while riding near Arnett Drive and Irby Lane around 11 pm on Saturday, March 29th.

The suspect vehicle is described as a possible Toyota Sienna or Honda Odyssey, metallic gray, silver or blue, with likely damage to the bumper, hood and windshield.

The license plate may have the characters 7, T, A and E, though not necessarily in that order.

Anyone was information was urged to call Huntington Beach Traffic Investigator V. Rattanchandani at 714/536-5231, or anonymously to OC Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP-OCCS.

But unlike Los Angeles, Huntington Beach doesn’t offer a standing reward for hit-and-run drivers.

………

Today marks the 3rd Anniversary of the hit and run that killed Andrew Jelmert in Griffith Park as he trained for the AIDS/LifeCycle Ride.

Yet three years later, Los Angeles has still not started a series of fully funded and shovel-ready safety improvements in the park, including a massive traffic calming project on Crystal Springs Drive where Jelmert was killed by a speeding driver, even though that construction was supposed to start last summer.

Streets Are For Everyone will be hosting a remembrance event, advocacy ride and protest this Saturday to call attention to the dangers on the road, as well as the needless red tape holding up the desperately needed work.

As we’ve said before, cars don’t belong in parks. And we certainly don’t need a roadway used by drivers traveling at highway speeds to bypass traffic on the nearby freeway.

………

Good for him.

A New Jersey judge tossed out a defense argument that the blood alcohol content of the hockey-playing Gaudreau brothers contributed to their own deaths.

The judge agreed the issue was moot under New Jersey criminal law, and upheld all of the charges against “allegedly drunken and enraged driver” Sean Higgins, including two counts each of manslaughter and vehicular homicide.

Witnesses to the crash told police that the brothers were riding their bikes single file on the side of the road when Higgins allegedly passed two other vehicles on the right, with two wheels on the grass verge, and slammed into their bikes from behind, killing them both.

Higgins faces a up to 70 years behind bars if he’s convicted on all counts; his lawyers have already rejected a plea of 35 years.

………

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

Authorities in Windsor, Ontario threw the book at a road-raging bike rider, filing a ten-count indictment against the 41-year old man for allegedly following a car full of people after an argument, damaging three vehicles belonging to them, then threatening them with a weapon when they confronted him.

………

Local 

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton spots a new bike lane on Bonnie Brae Street in Westlake, as well as partially-protected bike lanes being installed on Mission Road in Boyle Heights.

 

State

Encinitas bicyclists may be breathing a sigh of relief, after the city’s traffic commissioner proposed replacing the concrete barriers protecting a bike lane on the Coast Highway with a wider, painted bike lane, after 19 recorded bicycle crashes from running into the barriers, including one death.

Police in San Diego are asking for the public’s help in identifying the drivers of two cars who struck a man riding an ebike, and left him in the street to die; they’re looking for a white car, possibly a 2015 to 2023 Dodge Charger with black-and-yellow license plates, and another car that could have been a Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan with a black or tinted glass-topped roof.

Forty Ontario kids got new bikes and helmets courtesy of Los Angeles Kings affiliate hockey team The Ontario Reign, as well as other local businesses and organizations.

Riverside County has jumped on the anti-ebike bandwagon, giving preliminary approval to an ordinance restricting where they can be ridden.

Velo looks at all the new and unreleased gravel bikes from last week’s Sea Otter Classic.

San Raphael is beginning the process of developing a new bike and pedestrian plan to cover the next five to ten years. Let’s just hope they don’t have to go to the voters to force the city to implement it, like a certain SoCal megalopolis we could name. 

 

National

Police in Oregon arrested a third suspect in the death of a Hood River man who was run down trying to stop the suspects from stealing his bicycle.

Life is cheap in Idaho, where a gravel truck driver was sentenced to just 150 days behind bars after pleading guilty to vehicular manslaughter, for killing a 14-year old boy as he was standing next to his bicycle on the shoulder of the roadway.

A Wisconsin man is riding his bike from Los Angeles to Denver to promote organ donations, as well as meet the two-and-a-half year old girl who received part of his own liver.

The driver who killed a Philadelphia pediatrician as she rode her bike to work at a children’s hospital pled guilty to vehicular homicide, DUI and involuntary manslaughter, among other charges; he swerved into the bike lane she was riding in while driving at twice the legal alcohol limit.

A Georgia state legislator pled guilty to reduced charges after prosecutors dropped multiple DUI charges for hitting a person riding in a bike lane;  he was originally charged with driving under the influence of both alcohol and multiple drugs.

 

International

Momentum explains what a road diet is, and why cities should embrace it — starting with improving safety for all road users.

Life is cheap in the UK, where a careless driver walked without a day behind bars for breaking a woman’s leg in two places as she rode her bike, after the judge sentenced him to community service and took away his license for a whole year.

Students at a Serbian university formed a bicycle inside a heart using their own bodies to show support for Serbian students who rode their bikes to Strasbourg, France to plead for support from European Union leaders for greater freedom in their country,

 

Competitive Cycling

Double Olympic champ Remco Evenepoel is returning to racing this Friday at Belgium’s Brabantse Pijl, after he suffered serious injuries when he was doored by a postal worker while on a December training ride.

Cyclist considers which men’s WorldTour teams are in danger of relegation when the current UCI points cycle comes to a close in a few months.

The spectator who hit Mathieu van der Poel with a water bottle during last week’s Paris-Roubaix said he had too much to drink, he’s really sorry and ashamed, and will take full legal responsibility.

 

Finally…

There may be hope for people who hate presta valves. If at first you do succeed in stealing an ebike from a department store, don’t try, try again.

And if your ex has a new boyfriend, don’t ride your bike over to shoot him. Or maybe don’t shoot him at all, regardless of how you get there.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Smilianska guilty in death of US National Team’s Magnus White, and hit-and-run driver posted online looking for killer

April 7, 2025 / / Comments Off on Smilianska guilty in death of US National Team’s Magnus White, and hit-and-run driver posted online looking for killer
Day 97 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

About damn time. 

For the first time in four full weeks, my wife and I both finally tested negative for Covid over the weekend. 

But I still missed yesterday’s Hollywood Meets Koreatown CicLAvia, as my diabetic body just doesn’t bounce back that fast anymore, and even just walking part of the route seemed like more than I could manage. 

So feel free to let me know how it went. 

And in other health news, I’m now on yet another medication that affects my balance, making my goal of finally getting back on my bike seem even more unlikely. 

Maybe I can find an ebike with a built-in gyroscope to keep me upright. 

Photo from USA Cycling website. 

………

Guilty.

A Boulder, Colorado jury convicted 24-year old Ukrainian immigrant Yeva Smilianska for the 2023 death of US National Team cyclist Magnus White.

Smilianska admitted running the rising 17-year old cyclist down from behind, drifting off the roadway to plow into him at highway speed, after reportedly falling asleep at the wheel.

However, White’s father complained that she didn’t show any remorse or take responsibility until she got on the witness stand, 615 days after the fatal crash.

Prosecutors showed evidence that Smilianska had partied with a co-worker the night before, despite both denying they had been drinking. They also posted a text Smilianska reportedly sent a friend admitting she was drunk at the time of the crash.

The jury convicted Smilianska of reckless vehicular homicide, which in Colorado carries a penalty of two to six years behind bars, after just seven hours of deliberation.

She will be sentence in June.

………

This is who we share the roads — and social media — with.

After a Tennessee man was killed in a hit-and-run while riding his bike, a 25-year old woman posted on Facebook to say how much the victim would be missed, and begging anyone who knew anything about the crash to come forward, adding that she couldn’t imagine leaving someone on the road to die alone.

You can probably guess what comes next.

Just hours after sharing her last post, she was arrested for the fatal hit-and-run, admitting she was drinking before the crash and drove to another county to get her car fixed in an effort to coverup the crime.

………

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

Houston bicyclists held a funeral for a protected bike lane, after the mayor had it ripped out because it inconvenienced drivers a little bit; a local letter writer says that’s the last straw, and they’re leaving the city because the mayor is making it less safe — although you’ll have to get past the paper’s paywall to read it.

No bias here. Residents of Grantchester, England have taken their fight against a new greenway all the way to London’s Royal Courts of Justice, arguing that the bike lane would ruin one of the UK’s most picturesque villages. Because as we all know, cars don’t ruin anything and only make villages more picturesque, right?

No bias here, either. A sign warns bicyclists using a Dublin bike lane to slow down for school children, posting that the village isn’t a racetrack. Yet no similar sign warns the people in the big, dangerous machines, who are more likely to treat the road like a racetrack, and can cause far more harm when they do.

Not even four-time Tour de France champs are immune from road-raging drivers, as Chris Froome angrily posted the license plate of a French driver he claims tried to intentionally drive into him as he tried to filter past on a training ride.

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

A Hong Kong veterinarian won widespread paise on the Chinese Weibo social media site after springing to action to perform CPR — including mouth-to-snout resuscitation — saving the life of a stray cat after it was struck by a bike rider.

………

Local 

West Hollywood will consider a proposal to paint bike lanes green throughout the city at tonight’s city council meeting.

Burbank is looking for solutions to the rising tide of ebike “incidents.” Once again conflating ped-assist electric bicycles with electric motorcycles and dirt bikes that can travel nearly four times as fast. 

Long Beach will close Willow Street and Santa Fe Ave in West Long Beach to cars on Saturday, May 10th for the next edition of the city’s Beach Streets open streets event.

Speaking of Long Beach, the city will allow e-scooters on the beach bike path, starting next month.

 

State

Your next hoppy pale ale could be developed in collaboration with the San Diego Velodrome.

A Redwood City woman is on the verge of becoming the first person known to have ridden every mile of bikeable roadway and trail in San Mateo County, completing a five-year project to ride all 2,800 miles.

Caltrans has once again delayed a decision on removing the protected bike lane on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, as they attempt to strike a balance between the needs of motorists and cyclists. Or rather, whether people in cars will get every lane on both levels of the two-lane bridge, or if bike riders can continue to hold on to one measly little lane. 

Hats off to the Sausalito Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee, after every member of the committee resigned in protest because the city rejected a half-million grant to build bike lanes on its main thoroughfare.

Marin County has taken the “unprecedented” step of banning kids under 16 from riding throttle-controlled Class 2 ebikes, as well as requiring anyone of any age riding a Class 2 ebike in unincorporated parts of the county to wear a helmet; the local paper says the new rules make sense. Although while my understanding is they can legally do the first part of that under a bill signed by the governor last year, requiring anyone over 18 to wear a bike helmet exceeds their authority under state law.

 

National

A group of Anchorage residents rode their bicycles through the city wearing signs of support for the people Palestine, in a campaign that began with the Gaza Sunbirds, a group paracyclists who launched a community aid campaign in Gaza.

In what may be the ultimate open streets event, Yellowstone roads once again opened to bicycles over the weekend before cars are allowed in.

An Arkansas organization is recycling used bicycle tires for use as industrial fuel in place of coal, saying burning the recycled rubber chips is more environmentally friendly than allowing them to sit in landfills — although it seems like a far cleaner use is mixing them into paving materials, rather than releasing the carbon to the atmosphere.

Tickets are on sale now for an escorted, five-mile mile bike ride to the Indianapolis 500, benefitting an Indianapolis bicycle advocacy group.

One of the two hit-and-run drivers who fled after killing a St. Louis bike rider was arrested when a tracker placed on her SUV by the dealership placed her at the scene; she admitted to drinking and using marijuana the day of the crash. Two other drivers also hit the victim, but remained at the scene.

 

International

Momentum rates Germany’s most “beloved” long-distance bicycling routes, and says look past Amsterdam for nine underrated international biking destinations. None of which are Los Angeles, of course.

A British Columbia family took matters into their own hands, drafting their own map showing the safest routes for kids biking in their neighborhood, as well as highlighting safety concerns.

Women in the UK report being bullied off the road by motorists, with one woman from Northern Ireland stating that people often shout that she shouldn’t be on the road with her bike, while that rarely happens to her male partner.

A new German study says mountain bike tires are polluting the atmosphere, releasing an average of 3.64 grams of rubber per 60 miles of off-road riding — about a third of the rubber wear from motor vehicles over the same distance. But just imagine if they tried to burn them for fuel. 

Bollywood superstar Salmon Khan is one of us, riding his bicycle and hitting the gym despite suffering a rib injury filming his latest movie.

Tern North America GM and former LACBC board member Steve Boyd says the industry can’t survive Trump’s tariffs, which were raised from zero to 46% for ebikes, and 57% for standard bicycles coming from Vietnam, where Tern is assembled; meanwhile, a Boston professor says tariffs could upend imports from Taiwan, much to the chagrin of builders, golfers and, yes, bicyclists.

Must be nice. A Kiwi writer says she commutes to work by boat and bike every day.

A pair of Aussie university researchers consider the challenge of getting people to shift from private vehicles to walking and biking, arguing that safe infrastructure is critical.

 

Competitive Cycling

Three-time Tour de France champ Tadej Pogačar soloed to victory after attacking on the final climb of the Ronde van Vlaanderen, aka Tour of Flanders, on Sunday, winning the one-day classic for the second time; Belgian world champ Lotte Kopecky became the first woman to win the race three times.

Pogačar said he doesn’t follow social media, calling it “the cancer of our society.” So maybe save the online attacks for someone who cares enough to read it. 

Sad news from Belgium, where two of the 15,000 bicyclists participating in the Ronde van Vlaanderen Gran Fondo died of natural causes during the sportive, one day before the pros took to the course.

 

Finally….

We may have to twisted drivers, but sharing a bike lane with a sick sea lion is a new twist. That feeling when you get busted for speeding on your bike — in a triathlon.

And next time you ride your ebike, maybe leave the hidden stash of drugs and the jagged-edged sword at home.

Just saying.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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