Tag Archive for Lincoln Heights

Mother of five dies after she’s taken off life-support, 10 days after collision while bicycling in Lincoln Heights

May 9, 2021 / / Comments Off on Mother of five dies after she’s taken off life-support, 10 days after collision while bicycling in Lincoln Heights

Too often, we never learn what happens after someone riding a bicycle is taken to the hospital.

If we ever hear about it in the first place.

That’s what nearly happened late last month, when a woman died days after she was struck by a driver while riding her bike in Lincoln Heights.

Make that a young mother, who leaves five young kids behind.

The first clue came with a post on Nextdoor, which Michael Shifflett forwarded to me this morning.

 

Unfortunately, there was no confirmation about the crash, let alone her death. And searching the LA County coroner’s office turned up nothing.

Because they misspelled her name.

According to information Shifflett was able to gather speaking with witnesses and members of her family, 31-year old Adriana Rodriguez, otherwise known as Fishy, was hit by a driver’s car at N. San Fernando Road and Humboldt Street on April 18th.

She was hospitalized for ten days afterwards, and died April 28th after being taken off life-support.

Her death was confirmed by the coroner’s office, which mistakenly spelled her first name as Andriana, which is why I couldn’t find it.

The driver stayed at the scene following the crash. No word on whether he or she was ticketed, but no arrest was made at the scene.

Unfortunately, no other information is available at this time.

However, a poignant, slightly truncated post from one of the first people on the scene following the crash captures the needless tragedy.

A GoFundMe campaign posted before Rodriguez’ death has raised a little more than $1,100 of the low $7,000 goal at the time of this writing.

Let’s see if we can boost that a little for those kids who will now grow up without a mother.

And yes, I gave, too.

This is at least the 25th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the eighth that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County; it’s the third I know of in the City of LA.

It’s also a reminder that too many stories like this never make the news. And we’ll never know how many other victim of traffic violence we may not have heard about.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Adriana Rodriguez and all her family. 

Thanks to Michael Schifflett and Chris By Bike for the heads-up.

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , ,

Update: Cyclist killed riding wrong way in Lincoln Heights collision

May 4, 2016 / / 13 comments

Once again, riding on the wrong side of the road has claimed the life of a Los Angeles bike rider.

The Eastsider reports a bike rider identified only as a Latino man in his early thirties was hit and killed in Lincoln Heights early this morning.

The victim was riding south on Humboldt Street on the wrong side of the road when he was struck by a driver traveling north on Avenue 26 at 1:30 am. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

No other information is available at this time. The site notes the investigation is ongoing.

A street view shows an intersection with four lanes on 26th, with an offset crossing at Humboldt controlled by a stop sign.

While some people believe riding against traffic is safer because they can see cars coming, it’s actually one of the most dangerous things you can do. According to the LAPD, riding salmon is leading cause of serious bicycling collisions in many parts of Los Angeles.

In this case, the victim would have been hidden from view by the upholstery shop on the right side of the street, as well as any cars parked on the lot until the last moment — particularly if the vehicle was traveling at speed, which is likely given the hour. And the vehicle would have been hidden from his sight, as well.

This is the 36th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 12th in Los Angeles County; it’s also the third in the City of Los Angeles.

Update: The Eastsider has updated its story to identify the victim as 22-year old Los Angeles resident Giovanni Cali.

He was riding with a companion who saw the car and was able to avoid it; unfortunately, Cali did not see it in time. The driver remained at the scene, and was not under the influence.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Giovanni Cali and his loved ones.

Thanks to Patrick Pascal for the heads-up.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities, Update / Tags: , , , ,

Yet another teenage bike rider killed in shooting. Does it matter?

July 18, 2011 / / 11 comments

Last April, a 17-year old cyclist was hit and killed by a speeding car on a busy Valley boulevard. The driver roared away without even slowing down, leaving Alex Romero to die in the street.

Last Saturday, another 17-year old was killed while riding his bike, this time in Lincoln Heights near Downtown L.A.

Instead of a careless, heartless and overly aggressive driver, this young man, still not publicly identified, encountered a group of gang members who opened fire as he attempted to ride away; he died a short time later at USC Medical Center.

Should we care about one, and not the other?

Thousands of cyclists and other Angelenos have been deeply affected by the death of Romero, as well as Danny Marin, another rider killed in a similar collision.

And neither begins to compare with the outpouring of grief demonstrated for Connor Lynch, the 16-year old runner from the valley’s exclusive Notre Dame High School killed by a young driver who fled before turning herself in a few blocks away

Yet when we see the words gang shooting, we turn our heads and look the other way.

Just one of those things. One of those people. Yet another victim of a community that long ago learned to live and die with violence.

Yet this young man had as much of a future as Romero, Marin and Lynch.

Maybe he had more challenges to overcome, maybe less. We don’t even know who he was yet, let alone why he was killed.

Maybe he was in the wrong gang. Maybe he was just wearing the wrong colors, or dressed the wrong way. Maybe he was someone they knew.

Maybe he was just an innocent victim, in the wrong place at the wrong time.

We may never know. The press usually doesn’t have much interest in cases like this; just another gang shooting, another young victim of the streets. No follow-up likely, unless something unusual turns up or, for some reason, the public happens to care.

Yet this young man’s future was still unwritten, and like the others — and every young person— full of near infinite possibilities that will never be fulfilled.

And family and friends who are undoubtedly devastated by the news, and wondering how they will ever go on without him.

A death is a death, whether it comes from a bullet or the bumper of a car.

Does it really matter how or why?

He was on a bike.

He was one of us.

……..

According to KTLA-5, the shooting occurred in front of a closed business on the 300 block of West Avenue 33 in Lincoln Heights around 8:30 pm Saturday.

Detectives believe the victim encountered a group of gang members, who opened fire as he tried to ride away; responding officers found him laying in the street suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detectives J. Rios or Cary Ricard at (323) 342-8959. During non-business hours or weekends, calls may be directed to 1-877-LAPD-24-7.

This is the 6th fatal shooting of a bicyclist in Southern California this year, and the 5th in Los Angeles County. His was the 43rd confirmed cycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 17th in L.A. County.

And most likely, far from the last.

Category: Injuries and Fatalities, Violence & Crime / Tags: , , ,

15-year old Lincoln Heights boy murdered anyway after surrendering his bike

August 29, 2010 / / 9 comments

Sometimes, the news just doesn’t make any sense.

It just too tragic to contemplate, too senseless to comprehend. And this is one of those times.

According to the Los Angeles Times,  two men approached a pair of boys riding their bikes on North Mission Road near North Broadway in Lincoln Heights and demanded their bikes. And even though 15-year old Miguel Machuca complied with their demands and surrendered his bike, they shot anyway, killing him and injuring an 11-year old girl.

Both were taken to L.A. County ­– USC Medical Center, where Machuca was pronounced dead; the girl is reportedly in stable condition.

This comes just four months after a pair of cyclists narrowly escaped death at the hands of pair of Koreatown bike thieves. In that case, the cyclists fought back; this time, Machuca did exactly what he should have done by giving up his bike.

Yet they shot him anyway. And a young life is ended for no reason.

There’s just no excuse.

And no words to describe someone who could do something like this.

Anyone with information is asked to contact LAPD’s Hollenbeck Homicide detectives at 323/342-8957.

Update: The LAPD Blog adds a little more information. Miguel Machuca was at Lincoln Park with a friend  when they were approached by two suspects; one described only as a male Hispanic fired several shots with a handgun, striking Machuca; however, the report only describes a single wound to the upper torso. The 11-year old girl, who apparently not with the two boys, was hit in the back by a stray bullet.

Police ask for the public’s help in identifying a suspect.

Anyone with information on this crime is asked to call Hollenbeck Homicide Detectives Chavarria or Rios at 323-342-8957.  During non-business hours or on weekends, calls should be directed to 1-877-LAPD-24-7.   Anyone wishing to remain anonymous should call Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477).  Tipsters may also contact Crimestoppers by texting to phone number 274637 (C-R-I-M-E-S on most keypads) with a cell phone.  All text messages should begin with the letters “LAPD.” Tipsters may also go to LAPDOnline.org, click on “webtips” and follow the prompts.

Update 2: Carlos Morales indicates that this killing may have been gang-related, rather than a random bike theft as it originally appeared. Easier to understand, perhaps, but no less tragic.

………

Mark Cavendish jumped to an early lead on day one of the Vuelta, as HTC-Columbia takes the team time trial. Day two saw Cavendish keep the red leader’s jersey, despite being outsprinted for the stage win by unknown Belorussian Yauheni Hutarovich; American sprinter Tyler Farrar took third. Frank Schleck says he can win it all this year.

In other bike racing news, Nino Schurter finishes second in the final race behind Jarolslav Kulhavy to win the 2010 UCI Cross-country Mountain Bike World Cup.

And former rising racer Saul Raisin makes a comeback of a different sort, hosting a fundraising bike ride and working towards a degree in physical therapy or speech pathology, four years after suffering a nearly fatal brain injury while riding in Europe.

………

An “avid cyclist” says Dan Maes, the Colorado GOP gubernatorial candidate/conspiracy theorist, is right, and that Denver’s new bike share program is nothing more than European-inspired politically correct window dressing that hurts local businesses, and masks more serious problems — like the birth rate in developing countries.

Or maybe it’s just a way to get more people on bikes.

………

Russ Roca, one half of the Long’s Beach biking expats touring the country for the past year, eloquently explains the beauty of riding without set deadlines or destinations. Photos from Friday’s Critical Mass. The L.A. Times looks at entrepreneurs catering to the urban cycling craze. Will seems to like the new Give Me 3 posters, but would like it more if drivers could see it; I saw several posters on the Westside over the weekend, most of which faced oncoming traffic. Pink rides through Venice on a red bike; doesn’t that clash? The designer of the proposed Agensys offices says a planned bike path across the Santa Monica property would “bring vehicles and cyclists in conflict;” yeah, like that never happens on the streets. Venice’s one-woman bike-riding anti-crime task force hangs it up and moves back to Boston. Missed him by that much…evidently, I shared the bike path on the beach with Zeke’s brother Dave on Thursday and didn’t know it. Evidently, bike lanes do make a difference. How to train dogs and cyclists to share a bike path; if you ask me, the dogs are easier to train. When his mom says he can’t have a BB gun, a 10-year old has a temper tantrum that ends in throwing his bike at a police car, resulting in $1300 damage; link courtesy of Tucson Velo. Albuquerque cyclists get a new $6.9 bike bridge over the Rio Grande. New Mexico authorities remove a ghost bike for a 19-year old cyclist killed in June. Oklahoma considers a new law to protect cyclists based on the Colorado Bike Safety Act; California could do a lot worse. Over 300 cyclists lead a funeral procession for a rider killed raising funds for cancer research. A Georgia cyclist’s life is going to be very different after he’s run down on a Okefenokee Swamp black road by a driver high on drugs and alcohol. Maybe those bike tubes I traded in awhile back will end up as a dog collar that doubles as a bottle opener. Bikes have replaced sports cars for middle-aged Kiwi men. Bike advocates call for bike lanes in Abu Dhabi. After a broken leg shattered his teenage dream of becoming a bike racer, leading designer Sir Paul Smith completes the circle by designing a new line of bikewear for Rapha. A Leicester cyclist rides down and tackles a bike riding burglar.

Finally, Nik Wallenda, 7th generation representative of the famous Flying Wallendas, set a new record for the highest high-wire bike ride at 260 feet above ground.

Without handlebars.

Category: General / Tags: , , , ,
 
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