Richard served two years of a 44-month sentence after accepting a plea, and is now free on supervised probation, and still must serve 200 hours of community service.
Scott was initially hospitalized with a severe brain injury, and spent the next three years in various long-term care facilities. At best he was able to gesture with her thumb, and struggled to say the name of her husband of 35 years.
She died November 27 when she was disconnected from life support after developing an infection.
Michelle Scott will be buried at Miramar National Cemetery, thanks to her husband Don’s military service; a celebration of life is planned for January 4th.
This is at least the 81st bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 12th that I’m aware of in San Diego County.
Scott is also at least the 26th bike rider to die as a result of a hit-and-run in Southern California since the first of the year.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Michelle Scott and all her family and loved ones.
December 19, 2022 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Update: 71-year old man riding bike killed by hit-and-run driver in San Diego’s Valley Center neighborhood Saturday
Go ahead and call it murder.
Because once again, a heartless coward has left an innocent victim to die alone in the street.
The victim, identified only as a 71-year old Valley Center man, died at the scene.
The driver fled, leaving behind their right front headlight; police are looking for a Ford Expedition SUV or F Series pickup, no model year or color given.
There’s no word on how fast the killer driver was going at the time of the crash, or how long the victim lay in the street before paramedics arrived. Or whether he could have been saved if the driver had called for help after the crash.
But clearly, whoever was behind the wheel didn’t care enough find out.
A street view shows one lane in each direction, with left and right turn bays leading west to Horse Creek Road. Sadly, there is a bike lane on the recently repaved southbound side of Cole Grade, but not on the northbound side where the victim was riding.
Anyone with information is urged to call the Oceanside Area CHP office at 760/643-3400.
This is at least the 80th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 11th that I’m aware of in San Diego County.
At least 25 of those have been killed hit-and-run drivers.
The Oaxaca, Mexico native leaves behind his son and daughter, as well as six grandchildren. Family members are trying to return his body to Oaxaca for burial.
Lucero was killed on his way home, shortly after stopping at his favorite restaurant after work.
His 20-year old granddaughter wonders if he could have survived if the driver had stopped and called for help.
Good question.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Mario Lucero and all his family and loved ones.
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Twenty-one-year old Savaughn Jojuan Colon Barnes of Hemet is being held on $100,000 bond on suspicion of voluntary manslaughter and hit-and-run resulting in death for killing Castro.
We are trying to help my mom bury her son. Please share, support this gofundme page: https://t.co/nVGXnJUfay
Hopefully we’ll learn more soon, because that’s almost all the information we have right now.
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Somehow, I don’t think LADOT’s favorite little car-ticker plastic bendy posts would have the same, uh, impact.
Although it’s hard not to watch this icy demolition derby without admiring the person on a bike who’s not letting the snow slow him down, let alone stop him.
Sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
In an example of how hard it is to get bad cops off the job, a former San Antonio bike cop still carries a badge, despite being twice fired for giving a homeless man a literal shit sandwich, and spreading his and another cop’s crap over a toilet seat in the station’s women’s restroom. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.
An Arkansas man got a well-deserved 15 years after he was arrested with a long knife while riding his bike to his girlfriend’s house after threatening to kill her. Having a boyfriend who rides a bike is a good thing, but something tells me she might want to rethink her taste in men.
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Before we go on, I received a very nice email over the weekend from an American expat now living a carfree life in Berlin.
However, he raised one concern about the section above. I often include links to stories in which someone used a bicycle to get somewhere to commit a crime or make their getaway. But as he points out, if we focused on a criminal’s mode of transportation, we could fill this site every day with people who drove to or from their crimes.
So what do you think? Should we keep mentioning people who only incidentally used a bike as transportation to commit a crime, or drop stories like that unless the bike actually had something to do with their crime?
Streetsblog’s Joe Linton offers actionable transportation ideas for new Los Angeles Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez, who defeated incumbent Mitch O’Farrell in the November election; Linton’s suggestions include a call to revisit the lane reductions and bike lanes cancelled by O’Farrell on Fletcher Drive and Temple Street, as well as a proposal to remove cars from Hollywood Blvd.
In yet another example of keeping a driver on the road until it’s too late, a 63-year old man riding a mountain bike was seriously injured in a hit-and-run in San Diego’s Rancho Penasquitos neighborhood; police arrested the 93-year old driver after witnesses gave them the car’s license number. Once again raising the question of how old is too old to drive.
A Bay Area letter writer asked how to get a dangerous driver to give up the keys, after trying to get an older woman with poor eyesight to stop driving; she only quit after she crashed into someone on a bicycle, injuring them.
Life is cheap in Louisiana, where a 31-year old man will serve just three years behind bars for the drunken hit-and-run crash that killed a man riding a bike, after the judge suspended seven years of the original ten-year sentence.
Manchester, England unveiled the country’s first bicycle roundabout, leading to immediate confusion and comments that it only serves to endanger pedestrians and inconvenience less able-bodied people.
An Aukland, New Zealand man will spend an additional three years behind bars for kidnapping and terrorizing a delivery van driver, on top of the five years and one month sentence he’s already serving for killing a bike rider while fleeing from police; the judge warned he will “almost certainly” re-offend once he gets out.
Also this weekend, the Velo Sport’s Center in Carson is hosting a full weekend of track cycling, hosted by the Los Angeles Racing Velodrome Association. Thanks to David Huntsman for the tip.
A bike race by any by other name is a bike race, and the Holiday Carnival promises to be a doozy! Join us next wknd (Dec 16-18) for our ‘22 finale which will incl Omniums in all categories, a Women’s Invitational, and a fast-action Madison Cup! Details and reg: LAVRA link in bio. pic.twitter.com/Z6JsMyGMfS
December 7, 2022 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on 31-year old Margarito Castro killed riding bike in high speed San Jacinto hit-and-run; driver arrested for voluntary manslaughter
Evidently, Sunday was a bad night for bike riders in the Inland Empire.
Barnes was traveling south on State “at a high rate of speed” when he crossed into the center lane, striking Castro before speeding away.
Castro died at the scene.
Barnes was taken into custody at an apartment building four miles away on the 1900 block of Acacia Ave in Hemet, after a witness to the crash gave police the license plate number of his car.
He’s being held on $100,000 bail, after being arrested on suspicion of voluntary manslaughter and hit-and-run resulting in death.
Anyone with information is urged call the San Jacinto Sheriff’s Station at 951/654-2702, or dispatch at 951/776-1099.
This is at least the 77th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the tenth that I’m aware of in Riverside County.
Castro is also the 26th SoCal bike rider killed by a hit-and-run driver since the first of the year.
Update: I just got this response from Castro’s older sister.
A Chino Hills newspaper is reporting that a man riding a bicycle was killed in the city Sunday night.
Unfortunately, that’s all we know right now.
According to the Champion Newspapers, the victim was struck by a driver on Grand Avenue west of the 71 Freeway around 10:48 pm.
There’s no information about the victim or how the crash occurred.
However, raw video from the scene shows a body covered with a sheet, suggesting he died at the scene. It also shows a mangled road bike crumpled in the street.
There’s no mention in the story of whether or not the driver remained at the scene after the crash. But the video shows the driver of a BMW who crashed into a power pole support wire about a mile way, with the windshield shattered, reporting that it was the same car involved in the earlier crash.
It also shows what appears to be a young woman still behind the wheel.
Hopefully we’ll learn more soon.
Anyone with information is urged to call Chino Hills Police at 909/364-2000.
This is at least the 76th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the tenth that I’m aware of in San Bernardino County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim, and all his loved ones.
December 2, 2022 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on CC election could hinge on one vote, mayor-elect’s daughter hit-and-run victim, and SUV murder weapon in man’s death
The unnamed daughter of Mayor-elect Karen Bass escaped serious injury when she was struck by a group of men in a white SUV while driving in the West Adams neighborhood.
Four men fled from the car, abandoning it on the street as they ran away.
Just one more example of the city’s out of control hit-and-run epidemic. Which no one in City Hall seems to take seriously.
Just one more example of someone allegedly using his vehicle as a weapon — one with no background check or waiting period.
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Stop by during Sunday’s CicLAvia, and tell CD9 Councilmember Curren Price, Jr. it’s time for safer streets in South LA.
As part of this open-streets event, #TeamPrice will be coordinating a resource fair at my District Office (4301 S. Central Ave.) alongside a host of City Departments and local organizations. Did I mention we’ll have a DJ and other goodies? (3/3) pic.twitter.com/tM1P5Wx5GZ
Sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A road raging Salt Lake City bike rider could face charges for breaking a bus driver’s hip in an altercation that began when the rider apparently complained about the way he was passed by the bus. Which serves as yet another reminder that violence is never the answer, as tempting as it may be in the moment. And only serves to transform you from victim to perp.
Southern California News Group reporter Josh Cain looks at deadly Ortega Highway, the winding 90-year old roadway connecting Orange and Riverside Counties, where 214 people have been killed in less than eleven years — making it the deadliest non-freeway in Southern California.
A Menifee boy suffered a major head injury when he was struck by a driver after allegedly riding his ebike through a red light on the wrong side of the street; thankfully, however, he’s expected to recover. Although from the description, it sounds like the victim may have been riding in the crosswalk, where there is no right or wrong direction, marked or otherwise.
He gets it. San Francisco Streetsblog’s Roger Ruddick calls on the city’s transportation department to stop calling bike lanes separated by car-tickler plastic bendy posts “protected,” saying that “makes as much sense as gluing the posts to the front bumpers of cars as a way to protect cyclists.” Now someone explain that to LADOT.
Sports Illustrated looks at the best bike helmets for kids and adults. Although they wouldn’t mind if you use the included links to buy them, so they can get a little kickback on it.
New York is improving safety on Queens bike lanes by “hardening” the green lanes with protective concrete barriers. Proving that a) existing bike lanes can be made better, and b) it’s possible to offer actual protection instead of the car-tickler plastic bendy posts favored by a certain SoCal megalopolis.
NPR discusses the play Straight Line Crazy, which explores the legacy of legendary New York planner Robert Moses, who was singlehandedly responsible for inflicting the city, and the country, most of the auto-centric road designs we’re struggling to undo today.
Cycling Weeklylooks at the problem of exercise addiction, after a British man working in Germany died of a heart attack, just days after telling the magazine he felt addicted to bicycling, despite suffering chest pains.
Amazon is expanding their ebike delivery fleets in the UK, enabling the retail giant to improve deliveries to residential areas, while lowering operating costs and improving sustainability.
You absolutely must watch (with sound) Lamborghini's latest debut video. If you make it to 25 seconds, there's no turning back. pic.twitter.com/ZCBVDH2L8S
November 17, 2022 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Romero guilty of murder in Huntington Beach DUI bike death, and wrong-way driver injures 25 LA sheriff’s cadets
Romero faced the murder charge after signing a Watson notice following a 2012 conviction for DUI, specifying that he could be charged with the crime if he killed someone while under the influence anytime in the future.
And he did.
Romero started the deadly chain of events by crashing into a bar owner’s car as he left a parking lot, before smashing into MacDonald’s bike and speeding off without slowing down, then fleeing on foot after finally crashing his car into a tree.
He had been drinking at a pair of Huntington Beach bars, and got into a fight with someone in the parking garage next door, which his lawyer bizarrely argued meant Romero was not responsible for his actions after suffering a brain injury.
Fortunately, the jury didn’t buy it.
He now faces 15 to life when he is sentenced in February.
Adding to the tragedy, MacDonald had just finished celebrating his 33rd birthday, and was towing a bike trailer loaded with gifts across the street when Romero ran him down.
And in case anyone still thinks hi-viz is the key to bike and pedestrian safety, all 75 recruits on the run were wearing reflective vests, in addition to running in four columns accompanied by two black-and-white patrol vehicles and eight road guards.
Needless to say, it was not well received by readers of the sites.
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Nice to see LA marking Sunday’s World Day of Remembrance for victims of traffic violence.
Los Angeles City Hall is lit in yellow this week (nights of 11/14 – 11/18) to commemorate World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims on Sunday, 11/20.
We ask you to take a moment to REMEMBER, SUPPORT, and ACT for the 245 lives lost as a result of traffic violence in LA. pic.twitter.com/pn5HWM45FC
Georgia senatorial candidate Hershel Walker somehow derided his opponent, incumbent Senator Raphael Warnock, for “letting” President Joe Biden ride his bike.
a snippet from a Herschel Walker stump speech: "We got people in Washington that have gotten too weak. All they want to do is let people ride their bike. That's what Sen. Warnock is doing. Let Joe Biden ride his bike." pic.twitter.com/GUgMsBj4rw
In what could be good news for bike riders, CD13 Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell conceded his re-election effort to challenger Hugo Soto-Martinez, who has promised to complete many of the bikeway projects O’Farrell had blocked until recently, along with pedestrianizing parts of Hollywood Blvd.
‘Tis the season. An Ohio man is preparing for holiday bike giveaways, after spending the year collecting, fixing and donating bikes for kids who need them; he estimates he’s given away nearly double the 3,000 bikes from last year.
November 16, 2022 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on DA won’t prosecute deputies in Dijon Kizzee shooting, and drunken Huntington Beach hit-and-run death goes to jury
It looks like there won’t be any justice for Dijon Kizzee, after all.
Kizzee attempted to flee on foot, and was shot 16 times in the front and back as he ran away after picking up a gun he had dropped, suggesting the firing continued long after he was on the ground.
Never mind that Kizzee never pointed the gun at the deputies, or attempted to confront them with it.
His death came during the protests over the killing of George Floyd, which may have contributed to his decision to flee when the deputies tried to stop him.
His family has filed a $35 million claim against the county, which is a required precursor to filing a lawsuit. His family’s attorneys have called it a case of “biking while Black” in the largely Black and Hispanic neighborhood, where riding against traffic is a common response to dangerous streets.
And like the other cases, no action by Los Angeles Count District Attorney George Gascón, who ran on a platform of holding police accountable for their actions.
Romero was over twice the legal alcohol limit during a series of hit-and-runs, starting with crashing into the car belonging to the bar owner where he’d been drinking, and ending when he fled on foot after slamming his car into a tree.
Sandwiched between was MacDonald’s death as he rode his bike in a crosswalk on Beach Blvd at Adams Ave.
Romero’s public defender had bizarrely claimed that he wasn’t responsible for his actions, blaming a head injury sustained in a fight in the bar parking lot for his actions.
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People responded to yesterday’s call to turn out to oppose plans to remove bulb outs on Fair Oaks Ave in South Pasadena, would would make the street even more dangerous for anyone not in a motor vehicle.
A thousand shouts to @streetsforall and @runolgarun for driving so much engagement. Staff and commissioners were definitely shocked. Also to @JalbyMD for connecting us and bringing attention to this issue, and @bikinginla and so many others for amplifying.
UC Davis grad student Megan Lynch continues to question why the campus enjoys its newly renewed status as a Platinum-level Bicycle Friendly University.
Yet another ebike rebate program is kicking in before dysfunctional California can get its fully funded ebike rebate act together.
This time in Austin, Texas.
People with low incomes who participate in Austin Energy's Customer Assistance Program (which provides utility bill discounts) can get even bigger rebates. The details are in this memo. https://t.co/rU3jAKdSSdpic.twitter.com/owbVbdQXPk
No bias here. A leading Swiss economist says that people on bicycles can be up to four times more damaging to the environment than cars, accusing officials of using “creative accounting” and “official tricks” to hide the damage done by bikes — apparently because he somehow thinks all bike riders refuel with beef, and drivers evidently don’t.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
No surprise here, as the woman whose home was destroyed by actress Anne Heche in a drunken crash last August has filed a $2 million lawsuit against Heche’s estate; Heche later died from her injuries after falling into a coma once she was finally extracted from the fiery crash.
Let’s start with a quick recap of Tuesday’s election.
The short version is, nobody won.
Yet.
The large number of mail-in ballots received on and dropped off on Election Day means it could be more than a week before we have final results.
However, as things currently stand, Rick Caruso and Karen Bass are in a virtual dead heat for mayor, with Caruso holding a slight lead.
Meanwhile, bike rider and corgi dad Kenneth Mejia holds a seemingly insurmountable lead over termed-out councilmember and career politician Paul Koretz to become city controller and the first person of Filipino ancestry to hold elective office in the City of Angeles.
Bike-friendly Katy Yaroslavsky, daughter-in-law of longtime LA office holder Zev Yaroslavsky, has an 11 point lead to replace Koretz in CD5, which should mark a sea change for active transportation on the Westside.
Tracy Park holds a nearly 11 point lead over bike-friendly Erin Darling to succeed retiring Councilmember Mike Bonin in CD11.
Hugo Soto-Martinez has a tighter five point lead over incumbent Mitch O’Farrell in CD13; if he can hold the lead, it could be a major win for active transportation in the district, where O’Farrell blocked nearly all bike projects, and only came around to support Sunset for All to gain support as he battled for re-election.
Tim McCosker has a seemingly insurmountable 30 point lead over progressive Daniel Sandoval to replace termed-out Joe Buscaino in CD15, following Sandoval’s wage theft scandal that effectively sank her prospects. I don’t have a feel for what McCosker’s expected victory will mean for bike and pedestrian projects in a district that stretches from San Pedro to Watts.
Career politician Bob Hertzberg holds a slim 1.5% lead over West Hollywood Councilmember Lindsey Horvath for LA County Supervisor; a Hertzberg victory would represent a significant conservative shift compared outgoing Supervisor Shiela Kuehl.
The collision that killed MacDonald was just one of three crashes 28-year old Victor Manuel Romero stands accused of on that March night, after getting drunk and into a fight in a bar parking lot.
Despite assuring police he would call for a ride, he instead got behind the wheel of his BMW and tore out of the parking lot, hitting the bar owner’s Caddy on the way out.
He then slammed into MacDonald, driving so fast an Uber driver waiting at the intersection felt his car rock as Romero blew by; MacDonald was like dead by the time he hit the pavement.
He then hit another car after blowing through a red light, and was arrested back near the bar after fleeing on foot.
Unbelievably, his attorney tried to blame his actions, not on being drunk or merely an asshole, but by claiming he suffered a concussion from repeated blows to the head while on the losing end of the fight, which somehow affected his decision making.
Sure. Let’s go with that.
Granted, even the worst client has a right to a defense. And his attorney can’t be blamed for throwing whatever Hail Mary he can in the face of overwhelming evidence.
But maybe he could come up with something even slightly more credible.
The South LA Expo Park to Watts CicLAvia will roll December 4th, on a route that will take it along Martin Luther King Blvd from Exposition Park to Historic South Central — the birthplace of West Coast Jazz — then along Central Ave to Florence-Firestone and ending on 103rd Street in Watts, the home turf of the East Side Riders.
The late date means the event will be subject to the whims of what passes for winter weather in Los Angeles. However, many people who have attended previous South LA CicLAvias have ranked them among the best events in the 12-year history of CicLAvia.
And it certainly offers some of the best food you’ll find anywhere in Los Angeles.
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Nothing like getting right hooked on a protected bike lane.
Traffic conditions forced me to ride in the deadly Venice bike lane today. Could easily have been thrown off my bike for the second time in a week! pic.twitter.com/YbLhD7nCUJ
State Senator Scott Wiener credits his SB288 with exempting the projects from CEQA review, forcing opponents to take it to a vote of the people, where it was resoundingly rejected,
Another fun fact: SB 288 is a key reason why San Francisco’s slow streets program has been able to continue for so long without CEQA lawsuits. Instead, our democratic process gets to make that decision — not whoever has the resources to file CEQA lawsuits.
This is why people keep dying on the roads. A British driver walked without a single day behind bars for using his car as a weapon to ram into a man on a bike in reverse, after the man slapped his car when the driver yelled for him and another bike rider to get out of the road. Adding insult to injury, he’ll get his damn drivers license back after a lousy six-month suspension, when it should have been revoked for life.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Police in Carlsbad are looking for a road-raging bike rider who attacked a car driven by a pair of teens by trying to open their door and punching a window, before smashing the windshield, then allegedly lying in wait for them down the road; the altercation reportedly began when traffic bogged down as the rider was crossing the intersection, which “got him all spun up and (one of the teens) retaliated at him and got upset at him.” I assume that last quote means something, but we may need a teen-to-English translation before it makes any sense. As we’ve said many times before, though, violence is never the right answer, no matter how justified it may seem at the time.
A fire at the El Segundo Chevron plant inevitably means Southern California gas prices will be going up. To which bike commuters seem oddly unconcerned.
The San Francisco Examiner explains California’s requirements for bike lights and reflectors. However, the law only applies if you’re riding after sunset or before sunrise, although police have been known to use daytime light checks as an illegal pretext stop.
Transport for America says education, enforcement and technology — the cornerstones of American Vision Zero programs — don’t make streets safer; what does is better roadway designs.
Residents of Provincetown, Rhode Island are just the latest to get ebike rebates before California’s long-delayed program goes into effect, with qualified buyers eligible for up to $1,200.
Road.ccrecalls bygone bike tech we’re well rid of. Although if we completely get rid of wing nuts, we’ll have to find another term for all those assorted whack jobs. Oh.
