Police are investigating whether he was drunk or stoned at the time of the crash, which seems highly likely.
Video from the scene shows a mangled cruiser bike with plastic baskets front and rear, and a large amount of debris strewn in the street, suggesting the victim may have been homeless or collecting recyclables.
However, that is just speculation at this point.
Anyone with information is urged to call Huntington Beach Police Accident Investigator B. Atkins at 714/536-5666, or Investigator A. Turner at 714/536-5670.
This is at least the 16th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the third I’m aware of in Orange County; two of those three deaths have been hit-and-runs.
Update: The victim has been identified by his mother as 33-year old Ray MacDonald, who lived in the Huntington Beach area for the past three years; he was killed the day after his birthday.
He leaves behind a daughter, and a loving family and friends.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Ray MacDonald and all his loved ones.
According to the paper, 78-year old Huntington Beach resident Charles Kam was riding on an unidentified street in the city when his bike was struck by a vehicle at 8:42 am Sunday.
Kam was taken to a local hospital, where he died Tuesday night.
No other information is available at this time.
There’s no word on how or where the crash occurred, or on the identity of the driver. Or if the vehicle that struck Kam even had one, for that matter.
Hopefully the Huntington Beach police will release more information soon. Because frankly, anyone who’s still riding at 78 deserves more than just four sentences in the local paper.
This is at least the 49th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the seventh that I’m aware of in Orange County.
David Drexler strikes a cautionary note in warning about the dangers of even the best cable locks. Even when firmly attached to your car in public spaces.
They almost had my bike yesterday.
Parked in the In-N-Out Burger on Beach Blvd in Huntington Beach for 30 min. Parked right in front in a high traffic area at the entrance .
My hybrid bike was on the hitch rack with the tires and the downtube clamped in. For added security I wrapped the pictured thickest Kryptonite cable through the tires and the rack frame.
Hanging by a thread
In the time I was in the store, thieves unlatched the two tire clamps and cut the cable pictured, in one more minute they could have had the bike but something scared them off?
Brazen for them to be working in such a high profile visible location.
He added this in a follow-up email.
Sunday was a real wake up call—I let my guard down and left my hybrid bike on a rack unattended twice for more than 30 minutes each time with just a cable lock on it. I would never do that if it was not on a car rack. I felt comfortable in Huntington Beach in a high profile parking space and cable locked. I did not believe that someone would approach my car with tools and attempt to take a bike in a busy parking lot with me close by inside. The rack is new—just got it three weeks ago and I will adjust my security accordingly. The bike will be both cable locked and u-locked on the rack if I need to leave the bike unattended–same as I do when locking it up around LA and the OC to go in stores.
Bike chained to car rack
What the thieves were after
It seems like overkill sometimes, but I try to keep my bike with me whenever I can.
If not, I field strip my bike, removing anything that can be easily stolen. Then take off my front wheel, and lock it to my rear wheel with a heavy U-lock through the frame, then wrap the whole thing with a cable lock.
Wesley Reutimann forwards word of an informational meeting to discuss the proposed Union Street Cycle Track in Pasadena next week.
Want to weigh in on the Union Ave Cycle Track project? The City of Pasadena will be hosting two meetings on the same day Tuesday August 16th (one AM, one PM), following a request by the Pasadena Playhouse District Association.
Union Street Cycle Track Informational Meeting
Pasadena’s newly-adopted Bicycle Transportation Action Plan identifies a two-way cycle track along Union Street between Hill and Arroyo Parkway. Learn about project design, implementation, potential impacts, and funding at meetings hosted by the City of Pasadena.
WHERE: Pasadena Presbyterian Church, Gamble Lounge, 585 E. Colorado Blvd. Pasadena, CA 91101
WHEN: Tuesday, August 16, 2016
TIMES: 8:30 – 9:30 am or 5 pm – 6 pm
If you are unable to attend the meeting but would like to participate in the process, please contact Rich Dilluvio, Pasadena Department of Transportation, at (626) 744-7254 or rdilluvio@cityofpasadena.net.
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Thanks to Dave R for forwarding this video offering six ways to greet a fellow cyclist, which garnered nearly 60,000 views in its first day online. And is sure to bring a smile to even the most curmudgeonly rider.
I’m a master of the quick nod and handlebar hand raise, myself.
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The head of UCI, bike racing’s governing body, says don’t blame us for the dangerous road course in Rio, blame all those injured bike riders for screwing up, although others may beg to differ. Then again, safe courses reduce the risk of rider error. Not to mention it couldn’t hurt to allow a few practice runs on the course without having to share the roads with vehicular traffic.
Cycling Weekly questions whether Peter Sagan did the right thing in dropping out of Saturday’s road race. Greg Van Avermaet’s victory says no, while the injuries to van Vleuten, Geraint Thomas and Vincenzo Nibali, et al, say yes.
New York Magazine says doping is only going to get harder to detect, especially when gene splicing becomes a thing in the very near future. Although that sounds a lot better than dosing with whiskey, egg whites, and strychnine.
Long Beach officially cuts the ribbon on the first segment of what will eventually be two miles of parking-protected bike lanes on the city’s North Side.
State
Orange County puts its money where its mouth is, approving nearly $20 million to fund 13 bicycle corridor projects in the county and six OC cities; an additional bicycle boulevard in Huntington Beach could be funded if they can keep the cost of the project below $488,000.
Anaheim’s draft bike plan calls for 120 miles of additional bikeways. Of course, as we’ve repeatedly seen in LA, any plan is only as good as the city’s commitment to it.
A proposal would give Stockton Street in downtown San Francisco a bike and people friendly makeover, converting it “from yet another auto sewer into a car-free pedestrian-transit-bicycle mall.”
Forget making America great again. The new director of the UC Davis Bicycle Program wants to make riding a bike fun again. They also offer a smart program to store students’ bicycles for the summer, safe from thieves and out of the elements, for just $20.
Bike riders on Hawaii’s Big Island are turning to bike cams for protection, in a story that reads like a press release for the Fly6 and Fly12 cams, which it probably is. Seriously, they could have at least mentioned any of the other numerous bike and helmet mountable action cams on the market. GoPro, anyone?
I want to be like her when I grow up. A 77-year old Minnesota woman rides 660 miles to attend her 60th high school reunion in Cheyenne WY. Except I have no interest in attending a high school reunion. Or living in Minnesota.
A federal appeals court rules against a Michigan woman who sued Target for selling her a bike with defective brakes after she fell off and hurt her shoulder; the court said she’s entitled to a fair jury, but “not one that believes whatever she says.”
Drivers using bike lanes as de facto passing lanes seems to be a universal problem, even in Greensboro NC.
No bias here. A Miami bike rider gets the blame for colliding with a police cruiser, even though the cops were making a U-turn in the middle of a causeway.
International
OMG! The Brit press freaks out when One Direction’s Harry Styles is caught riding without a bike helmet, which is perfectly legal in the country. And perfectly safe, as long as you manage to stay upright.
A Dublin woman calls on the city to make immediate safety improvements after too many near-death experiences riding her bike to work. The photo illustrating the story of a rider squeezing between city buses is truly terrifying.
After carrying them nearly 25,000 miles around the world, an English couple’s bikes go missing at Ireland’s Shannon Airport, along with the rest of their belongings.
Caught on video: Copenhagen somehow manages to keep a bikeway open next to a construction site, despite a road crew lifting hundreds of pounds of dirt over riders’ heads. Maybe they could teach us something about being a less litigious society, as well as being more welcoming to bike riders. Because something like that would never fly here.
Schultz was unconscious and suffering from a serious head injury; he died at 2:45 pm after being taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange.
He appears to have somehow lost control of his bike and fallen, perhaps after striking a fixed object; police investigators say no other vehicle appears to be involved. Of course it’s always possible that a passing car or truck, or some other action, could have caused him to lose control.
A satellite view shows a four lane roadway with bike lanes on either side; there’s no word on which direction he was riding.
Anyone with information is urged to call Accident Investigators Josh Page at 714-536-5670 or Bob Barr at 714-536-5663.
This is the second bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the first in Orange County. And it’s the fourth bicycling fatality in Huntington Beach in just the last eight months.
Update: An Orange County rider sent this in response to the Register article.
Curiously, the article states that the road was “free of hazards” and that no vehicles were involved. Both are suspicious statements. First, on Saturday morning, that’s an incredibly busy stretch of road. It crosses Beach Blvd (a stroad that Caltrans won’t let the city put bike lanes on). It’s right by the Walmart driveway, and westbound leads directly to Central Park, whose sports fields are slamming busy on Saturday mornings. Also, the westbound stretch borders the cemetery, so it’s kind of treated like a speedway, and a lot of motorists punch the gas when they see the pesky yellow light of the signalized “intersection” of the Walmart driveway, which can lead to a lengthy red light in letting a backed-up line of motorists exit the parking lot. As far as the “free of hazards” claim, DOUBTS. Hunny’s pretty good at maintaining a street sweeping schedule, but there’s been so much grit & gravel & puddles & leaves & mud & fronds & trash & hidden potholes thanks to the storms lately, it’s been harrowing riding pretty much everywhere. Not to mention, I really have no confidence in the ability of HBPD’s Major Incident Reconstruction Team to assess what counts as “hazards” to a bicyclist.
Update 2: According to the LA Times, he was wearing a helmet. That raises more questions, since it suggests that either the helmet failed, or the force of the impact somehow exceeded the design capacity of the helmet.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Richard Schultz and his loved ones.
That was the case last week, as the Orange County Register made a brief mention of a bicyclist who critically injured when he was struck from behind while riding in a Huntington Beach bike lane.
The 29-year old victim, who has not been publicly identified, was riding east on Warner Avenue at Springdale Street at 5:27 pm Tuesday when a driver veered into the bike lane and struck him from behind.
He was taken to UCI Medical Center, where he died on Saturday, four days after he was injured.
The driver remained at the scene, and police do not suspect drugs or alcohol use. No word on why he moved into the bike lane where the victim was riding; however, since the wreck occurred at or near the intersection, he may have been making a right turn.
A street view shows a typical six lane Orange County street with a center turn lane, and wide lanes built for excessive speed.
This is the 60th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 16th in Orange County; that compares with 74 in SoCal and 16 in the county this time last year.
It’s also the third bicycling death in Huntington Beach this year, and the eighth in just the last two years.
One was the Garden Grove death of Suzy Ramage and her dog, which had been mistakenly categorized as Los Angeles County, rather than OC. The other was an unknown rider also killed in Garden Grove a few weeks later, which I had neglected to add to my database.
As a result, I have corrected the totals above to reflect one additional fatality in Southern California, and two in Orange County.
I apologize for the error.
Update 2: A gofundme account has been set up for the victim. I’m told that his name won’t be officially released until his parents can arrive here from Mexico to identify the body.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.
She was hit with enough force to knock her into the southbound lanes, and was taken to Orange County Global Medical Center in Santa Ana, where she died.
The driver stayed at the scene and called police; police said he did not appear to be under the influence, and was not arrested.
A satellite view shows a four lane divided highway with a wide marked shoulder where the victim likely would have been riding, although she could have been forced into the traffic lane by parked cars or some other obstruction.
No word on whether she had lights on her bike nearly two hours before sunrise.
This is the 47th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 10th in Orange County. It’s also the 13th bicycling fatality in Huntington Beach since December, 2010.
Update: The victim has been identified as 31-year old Long Beach resident Nadia Silva.
Update 2: According to the Long Beach Press-Telegram, Silva was crossing the southbound lanes of PCH from the center median when she was hit, and places the location as between Seapoint and Goldenwest Streets.
Police say speed doesn’t appear to be a factor. Which leaves the question of why Silva and the driver did not seem to see each other on the straight, unobstructed roadway.
My deepest sympathy for Nadia Silva and all her loved ones.
The Orange County DA’s office may not move fast, but they take traffic crimes seriously.
I’m told they just filed a felony charge of gross vehicular manslaughter while driving under the influence against Michael John Perez in the death of Michael Bastien one year ago today.
Bastien was riding in a Huntington Beach bike lane when he was run down from behind by the car driven by Perez, who was arrested at the scene on suspicion of DUI.
He now faces between four and ten years in state prison upon conviction.
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Great post from the Cycling Embassy of Great Britain, as they ditch the usual weekly blog roundup in favor of recent academic papers regarding bicycling. I don’t know about you, but this should keep me reading for the next week, at least.
Ryan Seacrest really is one of us now. He was sideswiped by a car while riding in the bike lane on San Vicente Blvd and knocked into another cyclist; needless to say, the driver claimed she never saw him. And apparently didn’t care. Sounds like an obvious violation of the three-foot passing law violation, along with a failure to yield.
Over a dozen bike riding firefighters roll through Malibu on their way to Santa Monica on the final leg of a 400 mile fundraising ride from Sausalito.
The California legislature’s second attempt to create a hit-and-run alert system using freeway signs now awaits Governor Brown’s veto pen signature; he vetoed a similar bill last year.
Caught on video: A San Francisco Critical Mass cyclist attacks a car with his U-lock after the driver bumps him when the rider blocks his car while riding on the wrong side of the road. Just Another Cyclist says this shows the time for Critical Mass has passed. Incidents like this only serve to convince the general public we’re all Critical Massholes, since most don’t seem to be able to distinguish the actions of one jerk on a bike from the rest of us.
A former bike messenger recalls the glory days of two-wheeled risk-taking delivery in the Bay Area.
A business group calls for reinstalling a third traffic lane on the undulating Richmond–San Rafael Bridge, which would force bikes into the traffic lane, rather than riding on the shoulder as they can now.
A Vacaville driver is arrested for a hit-and-run that left a bike rider with major injuries; a friend of the victim spotted the damaged truck in the trailer park where she lives.
Interesting idea, as Chicago allows developers to buy a new bikeshare station in front of their properties. Something like this could help LA’s nascent system expand faster than planned.
It’s the usual argument in Duluth MN, as bicyclists call for a protected bike lane on a major street, while business owners argue against a loss of parking spaces. Because no one on a bike ever spends money, right?
Seriously, don’t ride through a construction zone after dark or you might go off a cliff, as one Pennsylvania bike rider learned the hard way.
International
Make your plans for the first Gran Fondo in Havana this October, newly accessible to Americans thanks to the recent rapprochement between the US and Cuba.
A West London man will serve six months in jail after losing an appeal on his conviction for beating a cyclist with a baseball bat after the rider kicked his car during a dispute.
The unconscious victim, whose name has been withheld pending notification of next of kin, was transported to UCI Medical Center in critical condition. Sadly, he died earlier today, apparently without regaining consciousness.
HBPD officers had found him near a red and black Specialized road bike. They believe he was riding west on Skylark when he lost control of his bike for undetermined reasons and fell to the ground, striking his head.
He was not wearing a helmet.
The report says no other vehicle appeared to be involved, and the site was free of any obvious hazards; a street view shows a wide, flat and unobstructed street.
Of course, it’s always possible for a close pass by a car, or for an animal or some other object, to cause a fall, without actually making contact or damaging the bike.
Anyone with information is urged to call Huntington Beach Police Accident Investigator Josh Page at 714/536-5670 or Accident Investigator Bob Barr at 714/536-5663; call 714/960-8825 after hours or on weekends.
This is the 28th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth in Orange County; that compares to nine in the county this time last year. And also the 12th bike-related death in Huntington Beach since December, 2010.
Update: The victim has been identified on Facebook as Steve McDonald; a memorial ride will be held in his memory on Saturday.
An email identifies him as a Masters racer new to the 55/60 age group, and reports that the fall may have been the result of a broken chain.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Steve McDonald and his family.
Antonio Magdaleno was present in court. He was wearing a suit with a pale blue shirt & blue tie, and accompanied by three worried people who I assume are his family. His unease made him come across as younger, and I think he was holding his breath in between his almost inaudible answers the judge’s few questions.
Members of Liechty’s family were there as well. Sitting a few rows behind, one snapped a cell phone picture of the defendant. The bailiff (this particular one is very competent and absolutely humorless) actually missed it, but a few minutes later he marched over to sternly inform the guy to turn the phone off or leave the court room.
Magdaleno and his entourage left the courtroom to confer in the hallway, followed a few seconds behind by Matt’s family; the Liechtys’ chain-reaction rear-end pile-up indicated that they noticed this instantly, and they retreated.
From what his lawyer said, it sounds like Magdaleno has been working really hard at sobriety, so they’re going to use this as an indicator that he doesn’t deserve the maximum penalty.
Twenty-nine-year old Antonio Magdaleno is accused of running down Liechty from behind as he rode in a Huntington Beach bike lane, then fleeing the scene on just three wheels after losing one in the collision.
He faces felony charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, fleeing the scene of a collision and hit-and-run with permanent and seriously injury.
So that maximum penalty, if applied, could add up to a very long time behind bars.
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All that work on PCH is about to pay off, as Malibu hosts a ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the completion of the Pacific Coast Highway Bike Route Improvements Project and the first bike lane in the ‘Bu at 10 am on Wednesday, April 29th at PCH and Morning View Drive.
Which they will, since LA’s conflict-free city council seldom, if ever, votes down anything once it’s been approved by committee.
However, hit-and-run victims are still urged to attend to press their case before the council, and appear afterwards with Councilmember Joe Buscaino, who deserves a lot of credit for his efforts to end the hit-and-run epidemic.
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Local
CiclaValley offers up his origin story, and explains why he supports Finish the Ride, which rolls through the streets of Hollywood this Sunday. And thanks for the shout out.
Santa Monica’s California Incline closes on Monday, and will reopen next year in a new and improved version. With bike lanes.
It’s been awhile since we’ve checked in with Cycling in the South Bay’s Seth Davidson, who says instead of a study of bike helmet use, the state should study whether helmets could help prevent head injuries for everyone. And yes, he means everyone.
Cyclelicious looks at a superfluous proposal in the state legislature that would require bike riders to pull over on two-lane roads when there are five or more cars following and unable to pass, which we are already required to do, just like anyone else.
Two-time Olympic time trial champ Kristin Armstrong decides to un-retire for the 2015 Pan Am Continental Road Championships, and possibly the 2016 Olympics.
A cycling instructor in my hometown says cyclists everywhere run stops, but it’s not always dangerous. And maybe the law should be changed.
Houston bicyclists want drivers to know the city’s new protected bike lanes aren’t just green parking spaces.
Pro cyclists will be allowed to try out disc brakes for two months at the end of the summer; cycling scion Taylor Phinney’s long road back from a devastating racing injury may finally be complete just in time to try them out.
There’s something seriously wrong when Brit bike riders have to pair up to avoid being attacked.
Nice. Nearly 20 cyclists rode 55 miles from Auschwitz to Krakow last year to raise funds to send 30 elderly Jews, most survivors of the Holocaust, on a trip to Israel.
A former West Australian transport minister says cyclists are useless, and need to be taught the rules of the road to avoid being killed.
It’s been over a year since Matthew Liechty was run down by an allegedly drunk driver while riding in a Huntington Beach bike lane. The driver was arrested after fleeing the scene on just three wheels, leaving his victim to die where he lay.
Now Antonio Magdaleno Jr. is finally due to be arraigned this Friday on felony charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, fleeing the scene of a collision and hit-and-run with permanent and seriously injury.
Yeah, I’d call death permanent and serious.
The hearing is scheduled for 8:30 am in W12 DUI court at the Westminster courthouse, 8141 13th Street.
If you can make it, it would be good to have a few cyclists in the courtroom to show support for Matt’s family and let the court know we care about the outcome of this case.
I don’t know how much time Magdaleno faces, but it’s a lot less than what he sentenced his victim to.
Thanks to Michael Liechty for the heads-up.
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Apparently, the topic du jour is what, exactly, a bike lane is for.
It’s not for pedestrians, as a Chicago writer apologizes for her fellow bipedalists. Nor is it a parking spot, as a Houston writer goes to great lengths to point out.
On the other hand, California bike lanes could soon be for electric skateboard riders; the Weekly enjoys a moment of schadenfreude as they note cyclists could learn how motorists feel when they’re crowded out by bikes.
Now you can have that $500 full-face bike helmet that actually meets DOT standards for motorcycle helmets that you’ve always wanted; no word on whether SB 192 has been amended to require them for all bike riders.
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Thanks to my friends at CLIF Bar for sending me a care package of their new Organic Trail Mix Bars.
The bars are all certified USDA organic, gluten free, and 200 calories or less. And they have a low glycemic index, which means you won’t get that sugar rush followed by a crash.
They come in seven flavors — Coconut Almond Peanut, Cranberry Almond, Dark Chocolate Almond Sea Salt, Dark Chocolate Cherry Almond, Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter, Dark Chocolate Pomegranate Raspberry, and Wild Blueberry Almond — four of which I’ve tried so far, and all of them good.
There should have been seven bars in this photo, but I ate one. And it was good.
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Speaking of food, a group of chef’s will be riding for a great cause this summer.
Last year, celebrity chefs Jason Roberts and Allan Ng rode from New York to Washington DC with a small group to raise money for the No Kid Hungry campaign, to ensure that every child has access to healthy food where they live, learn and play.
This year, they’ve organized a group of 50 professional chefs for Chefs Cycle for No Kid Hungry to ride 300 miles in three days. One group will ride from New York to DC the weekend of June 7th through 9th, while a second will go from Santa Barbara to San Diego June 14th through 16th.
Maybe a Napa Valley Gran Fondo/progressive feast where you can ride along with well-known chefs, winemakers and former pro cyclists will inspire you to dig deeper.
In San Diego, cyclists sometimes have to ride half an hour just to go 644 feet. But at least the city has finally linked a pair of bikeways formerly separated by a block-long gap.
A Lodi paper offers a useful glossary of bike race terms for those new to the sport; I always thought Gruppetto was the guy who made Pinocchio.
National
A driver’s cone of vision narrows significantly with just a simple jump from 20 to 30 mph. Of course, it takes a pretty crappy driver to keep his or her eyes narrowly focused straight ahead, instead of scanning the full roadway like good drivers are trained to do.
Palm Beach zoo employees are biking to work to cut their carbon footprint and show what individual people can do to protect wildlife habitats.
It takes a serious schmuck to hit a little girl with his SUV while she rides to her school, get out and apologize, then drive off leaving her crying in the street.
A paper calls for protecting cyclists in a two-page editorial, but offers only one-and-a-half sentences calling for motorists to drive safely.
Police arrest a man for punching out a bicyclist because he — the puncher, not the punchee — heard someone was looking for him. And apparently, because he didn’t like the rider’s age.
A double tragedy, as a Russian truck driver hangs himself three days after killing a 72-year old cyclist who was riding across the country to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII.
A Kiwi bike rider was arrested when he got too aggressive with police who responded when he was knocked off his bike.
Finally…
Portland authorities are on the lookout for a hit-and-run cyclist who left a dying duck in his wake. Somehow, a Wisconsin cyclist goes flying over a car when a peddler is cut off by a motorist who failed to yield. Or maybe they mean pedaler, rather than an itinerant salesperson.
And a word to the wise: You might want to dump your dope and clear up those nagging outstanding warrants before you report a bike jacking to the police.
