And that makes four.
Four bicycling deaths across the northern SoCal region, from San Bernardino County through Pasadena and, now, Camarillo.
All in just four tragic days. And all at roughly the same time of day.
The Ventura County Star reported earlier tonight that a 12-year old boy was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries after he was hit by a vehicle in a possible hit-and-run.
Now KABC-7 is reporting that the victim has died of his injuries; they also say that police have spoken with the driver.
The collision occurred at the intersection of Carmen Drive and East Edgemont Drive around 5:10 pm Sunday. No information yet on how the collision occurred, and the victim has not been publicly identified.
KABC-7 reports the victim was not wearing a bike helmet; California law requires one for any bike rider under the age of 18. Whether it could have done any good in this case remains to be seen.
This follows a pair of teenage riders killed in train collisions in Montclair and Upland on Thursday and Sunday, respectively, and a cyclist killed while riding near Caltech in Pasadena on Saturday. Oddly, each of the collisions took place between 5:10 and 5:30 pm.
This is the 35th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fifth in Ventura County since the first of the year; that compares to three bicycling deaths in Ventura County for all of last year.
My prayers and condolences go out to the victim and all his family and friends.
Update: Details are still sketchy, and no ID on the victim yet. However, KTLA-5 reports the boy was riding west on Carmen Drive with two friends when he tried to cross the street and was hit by a 2000 Toyota Avalon driven by a 79-year old woman.
Update 2: The Ventura County Star identifies the victim as 12-year old Joseph Johnson of Camarillo; unfortunately, any other details are hidden behind a subscriber-only paywall.
Update 3: A police report corrects the information in the KTLA report above. According to the report, Johnson and his friends were riding salmon, headed north on the southbound side of Carmen Drive, when he cut across Carmen at Edgemont Drive, where he was hit by the car.
Based on the description, it sounds like it may have been a difficult collision for the driver to avoid, as the bike would have darted across her path from an unexpected direction. And depending on the speed of the car, which is not noted in the report, a helmet may actually have made a difference in this case.
The report notes that the collision is still under investigation, and asks anyone with information to contact the Camarillo Police Department at (805) 388-5100.
Oddly, it also asks to hear from people who are “aware of anyone that might have been involved in the accident,” suggesting that there may have been another vehicle involved, which would explain the early reports that this could have been a hit-and-run.
