There’s something seriously wrong when a woman can’t even walk her bike across a street without getting killed by an underage drunk driver.
That’s exactly what happened in Manhattan Beach last night, according to the Daily Breeze.
Thirty-one year old Manhattan Beach resident Amory Borgens was crossing on the 400 block of S. Sepulveda Blvd about 12:20 this morning when she was hit by a speeding car. She was taken to a nearby hospital, where she died.
The 20-year old driver remained at the scene, and was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving and vehicular manslaughter.
However, it’s unclear exactly where the collision occurred, since the story places it near Tennyson Street, which would be the 600 block of South Sepulveda.
A satellite view shows no crosswalks in a four block stretch of the busy six-lane street between Artesia Blvd and Longfellow Drive. Regardless, a crosswalk is presumed to exist at every intersection not marked by a No Crossing sign, whether or not one has been painted on the street.
Intentionally or not, the article, which was written by the City News Service, indulges in a remarkable degree of victim blaming, stating it was a “crash between Borgens and a speeding 2003 Toyota Corolla,” and “Borgens was in the roadway when she was struck.”
It’s hard to cross any street without being in it. And she didn’t crash into anything, she was run down by a speeding car.
It should also be noted that the legal alcohol allowed for anyone under the age of 21 is zero.
This is the 12th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth in Los Angeles County already this year. And it’s the first bicycling fatality in Manhattan Beach in at least the last five years.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Amory Borgens and all her loved ones.
