Once again, a man has died following a violent hit-and-run while riding his bike in South Los Angeles.
And once again, the LAPD doesn’t seem to think the public needed to know about it.
According to KCBS-2/KCAL-9, 37-year old South LA resident Jorge Guerra was struck by a hit-and-run driver while riding home from the park with his two young children on July 8th.
Fortunately, his two-year old son Nathan and four-year old daughter Madelyn weren’t seriously injured; their father wasn’t so lucky.
Guerra was rushed to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, but lapsed into a coma after arriving; he died of organ failure on July 16th.
The driver continued north on Wadsworth, crashing into several parked cars before stopping just south of Manchester Blvd. He ran off, leaving the damaged car behind.
Police are still looking for the suspect, who hasn’t been identified; unsurprisingly, the car he was driving was stolen. As always, there is a standing $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the driver.
Now Guerra’s wife is faced with raising her kids as a grieving single mother while in the middle of a pandemic.
Unfortunately, like the death of Melvin “Peanut” Frye last month, the LAPD apparently failed to inform the public at the time of the crash — or alert them to a dangerous car thief hiding in their midst. Even though both Los Angeles and California have Yellow Alert systems to get the word out as quickly as possible.
There’s no explanation for why the LAPD continually refuses to use them; evidently, they’d rather wait until the trail goes cold and people have forgotten key details before asking for their help. Which could be one reason why hit-and-run drivers continue to get away with it here.
This is at least the 35th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the seventh that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County. Over half of those deaths in the county have been hit-and-runs.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Jorge Guerra and all his family and loved ones.
Frye was run down by an unknown motorist as he was crossing Main Street at 103rd Street in the Broadway-Manchester neighborhood; he was riding west across Main while the driver was headed south.
He died at he scene.
The driver kept going, without stopping or identifying themself as required by law. Authorities are looking for a black or dark-colored Dodge Durango; no description was given for the driver.
No announcement appears to have been made at the time.
Then again, Frye’s family wasn’t even notified until more than a week later, after frantically calling hospitals and checking jail bookings before they were finally contacted by the coroner’s office.
The press conference was held to request the public’s help in solving the crime. The city offers a standing $50,000 award for information leading to an arrest and conviction for any fatal hit-and-run, regardless of whether the reward has been announced by the police.
Mishy Frye said people have called her to relay information about the type of car involved, “and then nobody can give the detectives no information.”
“I’m just shocked, because you guys know him,” she said. “Everybody know him in this area. Everyone. It’s not right…”
“I want justice for him, not through you calling me, but call the detectives,” she said. “Holding onto a secret makes you no better than the person that hit him.”
In addition to LA’s citywide hit-and-run alert system, California has approved a statewide Yellow Alert system to notify the public in the event of a hit-and-run. Both are intended to alert the public as quickly as possible to watch for the suspect vehicle in the event of a hit-and-run, and encourage witnesses to come forward while the event is still fresh in their minds.
Not a month later.
Had the police released information about the crash at the time, along with announcing the standing reward, someone might have come forward by now.
And maybe Frye’s family could have been spared the pain of not knowing what had happened to him for ten long days after the crash. Let alone knowing that the heartless coward who killed him is still out there.
Anyone with information is urged to call LAPD Detective Keith Gonzales at 323/421-2500, or 323/421-2577 after normal business hours.
This is at least the 34th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the sixth that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.
Half of those deaths in LA County have been hit-and-runs.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Melvin “Peanut” Frye and all his loved ones.
Authorities asked anyone with information is urged to call Riverside County sheriff’s deputies at 951/210-1068.
This is at least the 33rd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the eighth that I’m aware of in Riverside County; it’s also the sixth in the county since mid-June, which suggests a serious problem.
Simply put, there is no excuse for failing to have the basic human decency to stop your damn car, and leaving another human being to die alone in the street. Ever.
Period.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Steve Baxter and all his loved ones.
Just one day after reporting on two bicycling deaths in Southern California, another man was killed riding in Desert Hot Springs sometime overnight.
And no, the coward behind the wheel didn’t bother to stick around. Or even call for help.
According to the Desert Sun, the victim was found lying next to his mangled bicycle around 5:45 this morning on Two Bunch Palms Trail near Cholla Drive in Desert Hot Springs. However, police were unsure on exactly when or where the crash occurred.
There’s no description yet of the suspect or the vehicle. There’s also no word on whether the victim had lights on his bike, or what kind of bike he was riding.
He was found lying in the eastbound lane on the lightly traveled road, leading a bicyclist passing by the crash scene to note that drivers can be blinded by the rising sun, which came up at 5:42 this morning — about the time his body was discovered.
With little traffic at that early hour, it’s likely the driver could have easily exceeded the posted 45 mph speed limit on the straight, unbroken roadway.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Palm Desert Police Officer Chris James at 760/329-2904, ext. 351, or the PDPD watch commander at 760/329-2904, ext. 302.
This is at least the 30th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the seventh that I’m aware of in Riverside County.
It’s also the fifth bicycling death in the county in the past 30 days.
Police are looking for a maroon 2006-2009 Lexus IS250 sedan, last seen heading west on Two Bunch Palms Trail. Which would suggest that driver was headed away from the rising sun, not towards it.
Investigators determined that the victim was riding in the middle of the roadway, though they don’t know which way he was going.
Presumably, they mean in the middle of the lane, rather than down the center line. However, with no shoulder on either side, there’s nowhere else to ride without hugging the edge of the road.
It’s also important to note that it can be difficult, if not impossible, to determine the exact point of impact in bicycle collisions; police often rely on where the victim’s body and bicycle landed, which can have little or no relation to where they were hit.
Due to rising #COVID19 cases all @CountyofLA beaches will be closing again temporarily this weekend, July 3rd through 6th. We had almost 3,000 reported cases just today. We cannot risk having crowds at the beach this holiday weekend.
As Hahn’s tweet states, the beach and bike path closures go into effect this Friday, and are scheduled to last through the following Monday, at least for now.
Although the sheriff says he won’t bother to enforce it.
BREAKING: L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva tells me he will NOT enforce the beach closure order for 4th of July weekend. Says LASD was not consulted, and they'll only enforce closing parking lots/traffic on PCH. Says "We are Care First, Jail Last" in shot at county. @FOXLA
As you can imagine, though not everyone is pleased. This is what one person, who asked to remain anonymous, had to say.
You don’t see me shoot profanities very often, but a re-closure of the bike path is pure bullshit!
Cyclists on a path are not the cause of increasing virus cases.
It’s bars, restaurant sit-ins, people socializing at people homes without masks, people I saw paying at parks together with no mask, people at the beach I saw often playing volleyball with no mask, it’s just stupid people who think they know better and don’t want to be told what to do along with a President that is not wearing a mask as an example of what everyone should do. Why is the President not on TV everyday with a mask telling people I wear mask and you should too.
We live in a country of A-holes and ignorants and that is why the virus is spreading.
Forgive my outburst — I can’t believe they need to punish cyclists and I needed someone to bitch to
That’s what I’m here for.
But make no mistake. The idea that Covid-19 would go away without severe restrictions has clearly revealed itself as the fairy tale it is.
And we’re likely in for a long, deadly battle that will touch most of us in some way before it’s over.
Photo of recent bike path closure by David Drexler
………
That wasn’t the only email I received from a concerned bike rider yesterday.
Another person who asked to remain anonymous said he was attacked by a stoned homeless man over the weekend.
Just a brief heads up for your readers — watch out at those underpasses on the San Gabriel bike path, especially the one at Imperial Blvd in Norwalk. Regular riders of that bike path know Imperial Blvd because of all of the graffiti.
I was riding early Sunday morning and had a transient try to knock me off my bike as I came up from the underpass (with a kick). Presume they may have been after my bike. Not too smart as they chose someone much larger than they.
I’m fine, no worse for wear, knocked off balance but not off my bike. I reported to 911, so hopefully, the sheriff will keep an eye out, too.
Crazy times.
Attacks like that aren’t common, but they do happen. So just be careful anytime you find yourself isolated and hidden from public view.
Riverside’s mayor invites you to join a family friendly, socially distanced 4th of July bike ride.
Hey Riversiders! Dust off those bikes & gear up in your patriotic best for a bike ride on July 4th. This will be a smooth socially distanced ride with a contest for the best decorated bike & most patriotic family.
— Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson (@MayorLockDawson) June 29, 2020
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LADOT will host a webinar tomorrow to discuss what will be South LA’s first protected bike lane.
Join us for a webinar this Wednesday as we discuss how we're getting to work on Broadway. The Broadway safety project prioritizes human life by implementing improvements that will reduce speed and save lives. Visit the link to register https://t.co/JJVulDQvDapic.twitter.com/xDr7rJyL5I
— LADOT Livable Streets (@LADOTlivable) June 29, 2020
No bias here. The British lawyer who calls himself Mr. Loophole for his ability to get dangerous drivers off the hook is back with yet another anti-bike rant. (Scroll down to second item)
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A US Army Band member rode his bike 500 miles in 33 hours to raise funds for a startup organization to mentor high school students to get into college; it took 250 laps around a two-mile Baltimore circuit to complete the ride.
Once again, an English pedestrian has died in a collision with a bike rider as he was crossing a bike lane. This time, the man on the bike stayed at the scene, but probably doesn’t know the 51-year old victim died later; police were never called to the scene, so they want to talk with him.
Minnesota relief groups are fighting soaring food insecurity with pop-up distribution sites to make access easier for those in need. https://t.co/EkpT6wXTSy
June 25, 2020 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on “Slight recovery” for Ramona’s Michelle Scott in 2019 hit-and-run, NYPD blames victim, and Tamika talks bikes & racism
The news on Ramona bike rider Michelle Scott is heartbreaking and hopeful at the same time.
The driver who put her there, 35-year old Chase Richard, faces trial on multiple charges next month, including two felony hit-and-run counts, and remains in custody on a $2 million bond.
But even if Richard is found guilty, he likely faces just four years behind bars.
Yet another example of the failure of our society to take traffic violence seriously.
And never stopped, despite witness reports that he had to know he’d hit someone.
Not surprisingly, the decidedly bike-unfriendly NYPD blamed the victim for the crash, even though the 20-year old bike messenger was an experienced bicyclist, and a New York bike lawyer says Hightman was probably doing everything right.
Which sadly doesn’t count for much in the auto-centric city.
Document Journalexamines the New York social justice cycling collective that brought 10,000 bike riders out to the streets of Gotham to support Black Lives Matter. Which is about 9,900 more than have ever turned out in Los Angeles, with the exception of Critical Mass.
She gets it. A Canadian columnist says if a Toronto woman is convicted of DUI, while already on parole and a ten-year driving ban for the drunken hit-and-run that took the life of a bike-riding man, she should never be allowed to drive again. Then again, she wasn’t supposed to be driving now, so the question is what are they willing to do to stop her.
He was run down by a southbound SUV while crossing the intersection while riding west on Skyline. Which means either he or the driver ran the red light.
But regardless of who was at fault, the driver is now wanted for felony hit-and-run.
Police are looking for a dark-colored Chevrolet Tahoe. Hopefully they’ll find the heartless coward who was driving it.
And his victim will make a full and fast recovery.
Lompoc approves plans to expand the city’s bike network in hopes of promoting it as a bicycling destination. Although as we’ve learned in Los Angeles, approving a new bike plan doesn’t mean you’ll ever see paint on the street.
Once again, authorities have managed to keep a dangerous driver on the road until it’s too late, as a Wisconsin man was booked for his third drunk driving offense for fleeing the scene after running down a teenage girl riding with her mother.
This is the cost of traffic violence. The son of a Miami rabbi, who was a star high school soccer player, died after clinging to life for nearly two months when he was struck by a driver while riding his bike.
The victim, who hasn’t been publicly identified, was taken to a local hospital suffering from major injuries; sadly, he was pronounced dead on Tuesday.
The driver didn’t bother to stick around.
The suspect vehicle is described as a white 2012-2018 Ford Focus sedan, missing its passenger side mirror; it was last seen driving west on Mission.
Unfortunately, there’s no description of the heartless killer behind the wheel, or any word on how the crash happened.
Anyone with information is urged to call Riverside County Sheriff’s Deputy Nancarrow at 941/955-2600.
This is at least the 27th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fifth that I’m aware of in Riverside County.
Authorities place the time of the crash around 11:54 pm.
Unfortunately, there’s no other information available at this time.
A street view shows a four lane road with a center turn lane in a business district, transitioning to a residential area a few blocks later. It would likely have been quiet and dark at that hour.
Anyone with information is urged to call Corona Police Officer David Dopson at 951/817-5845, or email David.Dopson@CoronaCA.gov.
This is at least the 25th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the third that I’m aware of in Riverside County.
