The victim, who has not been publicly identified, died after being taken to a local hospital.
The driver stayed at the scene, and cooperated with investigators.
Unfortunately, that’s all we know at this time.
This is at least the 48th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 14th that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County; it’s also the fourth person killed riding a bicycle in bike-friendly Long Beach in 2023.
Update: At least now we know what happened.
According to KCBS-2, the victim was riding across Pacific Place north of Wardlow when he was struck by a pickup driver traveling east on Pacific. He was struck with the side of the pickup, despite the driver’s attempt to swerve.
Based on the description, it seems likely he was attempting to leave the Metro station, with no traffic signal or crosswalk to get across the roadways safely.
The driver, identified only as a 43-year old Long Beach resident, remained at the scene and attempted to resuscitate the victim before paramedics arrived. She reportedly cooperated with investigators, who said she did not appear to be distracted, impaired or speeding at the time of the crash.
Anyone with information is urged to call the Long Beach Police Department at 562/570-7355.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his family.
October 18, 2023 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Disappointing new LA bike lane totals, Angelenos suffer from car blindness, and Long Beach needs bike count volunteers
It just keeps getting worse.
I’m told someone was killed riding a bike yesterday on Fountain Ave in East Hollywood.
Today’s photo, in contrast with too much of the day’s news, is a very happy corgi enjoying a pedicab ride over the new 6th Street Bridge during Sunday’s CicLAvia.
And finds the current results underwhelming, with far too many disappointments including truncated mileage, downgraded facilities, long delayed timelines and false claims, just to name a few.
Or as we call that here in Los Angeles, Wednesday.
As noted in past posts (FY21-22, FY20-21, FY19-20), not all bikeway miles are equal. Quality protected bike lanes and bike paths serve riders aged 8 to 80, while sharrows serve almost nobody. New bikeway mileage expands the network; upgrades to existing bikeways do not. Among upgrades, some are significant (protecting unprotected lanes) and others are nearly meaningless (adding a buffer stripe to an existing lane).
In recent years, around a quarter of the city’s output consists of these less than newsworthy facilities. Among the city’s FY23 totals are about 6 miles of new sharrows and 5 miles of buffer stripes added to existing bike lanes.
The city’s FY22-23 total of 45.2 miles breaks down into 27.7 miles of newbikeways and 17.5 miles of upgrades to existing bikeways. This represents a slight improvement over last year, which saw 26.6 new bikeway miles and 12.5 upgraded miles.
That’s a far cry from the city’s commitment to build 50 miles of bike lanes a year when the current bike plan was approved. Which was quickly cut in half when the city switched to measuring by lane miles, which counts bike lanes on each side of the road separately.
Then reduced further, when they decided sharrows count, too.
Adding disappointment, on disappointment, on disappointment.
We are car blind in Los Angeles; as a City, we seem to have accepted cars as essential for society to function, and we overlook their downsides and harms they cause on our society.
Have you heard? There are sea turtles in the San Gabriel River! BikeLA is hosting a Cruise + Connect ride on Oct. 28 to visit the turtles. Sign up here: https://t.co/AVjcmMfpICpic.twitter.com/lERDjoN5OS
Check out this sea turtle in the San Gabriel River, spotted yesterday while scouting our upcoming Sea Turtle Ride! Join us on Oct. 28 to ride the river trail and watch the sea turtles. Get more information and sign up here: https://t.co/AVjcmMfpICpic.twitter.com/cnphDz59aD
SAFE offers a reminder that bike riders aren’t the only vulnerable victims of traffic violence.
Asia & Ryan were killed by a speeding driver. We recently placed a Ghost Tire memorial in honor of Asia and Ryan, surrounded by their family and friends.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A San Mateo bike rider was arrested for brandishing a weapon after a woman tried to pass a large group of bicyclists in the downtown area; he raised his shirt to show the weapon in his waistband when a group of riders surrounded her car and started beating on it.
Accused killer Kaitlin Armstrong’s recent failed escape attempt was apparently premeditated, as a Texas site notes that she exercised vigorously for months and wore civilian clothes in advance of a doctor’s appointment; Armstrong is accused of fatally shooting gravel cycling star Moriah “Mo” Wilson over an imagined love triangle.
New York officials blamed the increase in bicycling deaths on ebikes, with 62.2% of bicyclists killed in the city this year riding one, compared to 57.9% two years ago and 47.4% last year — but failed to provide any stats putting it in context, such as the proportion of ebike riders, or who was at fault in the crashes; meanwhile, 94% of this year’s deaths occurred on streets without protected bike lanes, calling into question the mayor’s failure to fulfill his campaign promise to build more.
A New Jersey man faces a manslaughter charge for allegedly pushing a 70-year old man off his bike, for no apparent reason; the victim died after hitting his head on the pavement and initially refusing treatment. A tragic reminder to always get checked out after hitting your head, because life-threatening injuries may not show up until hours later.
A British man will spend the next four years behind bars for killing another man with a single punch, after an argument over the sale of a bike, as he claimed the victim’s friend still owed him money for it. Yet another reminder than no bicycle is worth a human life.
My most humble apologies for neglecting to thank Megan L for her generous donation to support this site when my eyes were out of commission last month. As always, donations are welcome and very appreciated anytime, for any reason, even if I’m too blind to properly show my gratitude.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
He fled from the scene, crashing into several other cars and objects before finally coming to rest against a wall on Knapp Street, west of De Soto Ave, where he was finally detained by witnesses.
There’s no word on why he was charged with murder, which usually requires driving under the influence, after receiving a Watson advisement following a previous DUI conviction. That informs the driver that they could be charged with murder if they kill someone while driving under the influence anytime in the future.
The only other explanation for the murder convictions is that police investigators concluded the killings were intentional, but there’s been no suggestion of that in the press.
There’s also no word on why Rodriguez wasn’t charged with hit-and-run for leaving the scene of multiple crashes.
No bias here, either. Residents of a couple Baltimore neighborhoods rallied against traffic calming and expanding bike lanes, calling Complete Streets a “complete failure” that prioritizes special interest groups over the needs of everyday people. Because people who ride bikes or want safer streets aren’t everyday people, evidently.
Multiple North Carolina bicyclists went down when they were brake-checked by a road raging driver, who had honked and yelled over having to briefly slow down when the group of bike riders took the lane as they climbed a blind hill; no word on whether the driver will face charges, even though he used his vehicle as a weapon.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Electrek suggest Commerce-based ebike and electric motorcycle maker SONDORS may be the next ebike brand to fail, as all signs point to a serious financial meltdown at headquarters — in fact, their California headquarters appears to be permanently closed, and their website is no longer taking orders.
A pair of Tacoma, Washington brothers face murder charges for killing a man they had robbed less than two hours earlier, after the victim spotted the men and chased them down an alley to recover his stolen bicycle and necklace.
American Sepp Kuss is confirmed for the Vuelta, marking his fifth-straight grand tour in support of Primož Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard, as their Jumbo-Visma team looks to sweep all three of this year’s grand tours.
Let’s start with the frightening news that a Long Beach bike rider was deliberately murdered by a hit-and-run driver earlier this month.
According to the Long Beach Police Department, 29-year old Long Beach resident Leobardo Cervantes died this past Saturday, after he was intentionally run down by a driver on Sunday, July 9th.
Unfortunately, there’s no description of the driver, and the suspect vehicle is described only as a dark-colored sedan that fled east on Harding Street, after the crash near Harding and California Ave.
Shockingly, Cervantes is the third bike rider killed in a Long Beach hit-and-run this year, and the second just this month.
In fact, over a third of the year’s fatal bike crashes in Southern California have been hit-and-runs, and a full third of those have taken place in Long Beach.
A woman walking on a Newmarket, Ontario pathway was seriously injured when she was struck by someone riding a bicycle; people quoted in the story complained about bicyclists speeding along the trail, even though there was no suggestion the bike rider was going too fast in this case.
There’s a special place in hell for the thief who stole over a dozen adaptive bikes worth more than $100,000 from an Anchorage, Alaska disability nonprofit on Saturday; police charged a man with the theft after spotting a wanted woman on outstanding warrants, who was in possession of some of the bikes. Seriously, what kind of schmuck steals bikes from people who need them for disabilities?
Several people were injured on New York’s Manhattan Bridge bike path when four or five moped riders and bicyclists collided on the span, at least some of them were delivery riders illegally using ebikes or mopeds on the bridge; one victim was reportedly at risk of bleeding out from severe leg cuts before another rider used a sweatshirt to put pressure on his wounds.
Britain’s Daily Mail once again played the game of who’s at fault, after a bike rider was sideswiped by a motorist when they both made a left turn at the same time. Okay, the driver should have checked his mirror before turning, but the bike rider was a damn fool for not holding back until the driver had finished his turn. So there.
There’s no word on just how or where the crash occurred, or why LBPD investigators concluded the driver deliberately struck Cervantes.
Police are looking for the driver of a dark-colored sedan, who fled east on Harding. Unfortunately, there’s no description of the driver, or any other information about the suspect vehicle at this time.
Nor is there any word on a motive for the crash.
Anyone with information is urged to contact LBPD Homicide Detectives Donald Collier or Chasen Contreras at 562/570-7244, or anonymously through Los Angeles Regional Crime Stoppers at 800/222-8477.
This is at least the 27th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fifth that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County; it’s also the third fatal hit-and-run involving someone on a bicycle in Long Beach since the first of the year — and the second just this month.
And it’s at least the tenth fatal hit-and-run involving a SoCal bike rider this year.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Leobardo Cervantes and all his loved ones.
July 20, 2023 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on LBPD blames elderly tandem victim, learn about LA River path extension, and Metro chooses option 2 for bike/ped bridge
Gaylin Reese was riding with her husband when police say they sideswiped a stopped car while riding in the bike lane on 2nd Street near Marina Drive.
A more likely explanation, however, is that an impatient driver tried to cut into the bike lane to go around stopped traffic, and hit the pair’s bicycle — something we’ve all seen drivers do before.
LBPD investigators also handed the driver’s lawyer a perfect excuse, assuming they ever find them, by saying the driver may not have even known about the impact.
The free arts, film and community resource festival celebrating the LA River, hosted by the Friends of the L.A. River, aka FoLAR, takes place from 5 pm to 9 pm at LA State Historic Park in downtown Los Angeles.
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Speaking of Metro, Numble reports the county transportation agency has apparently chosen what’s behind Option Number Two.
The plan for the bridge over US-101 would connect bicyclists from Union Station to LA River Bike Path, using a switchback and long span connecting the bike path to the southwest walkway at Patsaouras Plaza.
Click through to go to Twitter to examine the slides, but you may need a Twitter account to actually see them.
April 2023 presentation on LA Metro’s US-101 Bike Bridge project (bridge over US-101 to connect cyclists from Union Station to LA River Bike Path). Looks like 3 options were narrowed down to 1 option (Option 2). Option 2 would have connection at Union Station’s Patsaouras Plaza. https://t.co/ZlIhCtAWkhpic.twitter.com/8mA0KLklkE
Glendale leaders joined with California Assembly Transportation Chair and Congressional candidate Laura Friedman to rally support for a proposed sped cam pilot program in Los Angeles, Long Beach and Glendale, as well as three NorCal cities.
The journal of the American Bar Association talks with bike lawyer Bob Mionske about the long journey from two-time Olympic cyclist to a leading authority on bike law.
This is who we share the road with. A 22-year old British man will spend the next 12 years behind bars for the violent, high-speed crash that killed a 38-year old woman who was 17 weeks pregnant; he filmed himself driving at speeds up to 123 mph before slamming into her disabled car at 93 mph. Three other children in the victim’s car somehow survived the crash.
A 76-year old woman riding a tandem bike with her husband was killed by a hit-and-run driver in Long Beach Sunday afternoon.
And police investigators apparently couldn’t hesitate to display their windshield bias.
According to a press release from the Long Beach Police Department, 76-year-old Long Beach resident Gaylin Reese and her husband were riding their tandem in the bike lane on eastbound on 2nd Street near Marina Drive when they allegedly sideswiped a car around 12:24 pm Sunday.
Police report there was heavy traffic at the time, and all the cars were stopped when they somehow a) left the bike lane, and b) hit the side of the car with enough force to knock both riders off their bike.
Sure, that seems likely.
Both victims were taken to the hospital, where Reese died on or before Tuesday; her husband, who hasn’t been named, was treated for minor injuries.
Investigators are also quick to absolve the driver of any responsibility for the collision, observing that they may not have even been aware of the crash. Which is certainly what their lawyer will claim now, even if the driver is found.
Police also note that both victims were wearing helmets, which clearly didn’t do any good in this case. There’s no word on whether Reese even suffered a head injury, or if she died from other causes.
What seems far more likely than the official police version is that Reese and her husband were riding in the bike lane when the driver became impatient, and tried to pull into the bike lane to get around stalled traffic.
Something we’ve all seen countless times before.
They then hit the Reese’s bike with enough force to knock them both off, resulting in significant injuries to Mrs. Reese.
And unless the suspect vehicle was a large truck, it strains credibility to think the driver would have been unaware of the impact.
Yes, it’s possible that the collision occurred exactly as the LBPD investigators describe it.
It just seems pretty damn unlikely.
Anyone with information is urged to call LBPD Collision Investigation Detail Detective Joseph Johnson at 562/570-7355, or call anonymously at 1-800/222-TIPS (8477).
And needless to say, Southern California has a long, long way to go.
The national bike advocacy group rates cities according to the quality of each city’s bike network, assigning a Bicycle Network Analysis score, or BNA, on a scale of 0 to 100.
The good news, if you can call it that, is that no US city scored lower than a 2.
Provincetown, Massachusetts and Crested Butte, Colorado ranked #1 and #2 overall, respectively, with BNA scores of 88 and 87.
Although I’m sure many LA residents think riding here is #2. And sadly, PeopleForBikes seems to agree.
Which puts us in a class with such bicycling nirvanas as Santa Ana, Las Vegas, Laguna Niguel, Raleigh NC, and Krugerville, Texas.
Which probably wasn’t named after Freddy, even if it should be.
Bike-friendly Sacramento suburb Davis ranked #1 among medium-sized cities with a BNA score of 77, while Minneapolis, Minnesota ranked atop the large city listings with a score of 68.
Outside+ is on sale for $1.99 a month for the next year, including the Outside digital network and the new Velo site. No guarantee what happens to your rate after that, however.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on rolling.
New stories from Urbanize and Streetsblog examine Monday’s opening of the Venice Blvd Safety and Mobility Project, which upgrades 2.5 miles of existing bike lanes and adds 2.1 miles of dedicated busways, while leaving a few notable gaps. Correction: Originally I had written that the project added four miles of protected bike lanes, and 2.5 miles of bus lanes, which was a misstatement. Thanks to Joe Linton for the correction.
Bicycling examines plans to build an advisory lane in Kalamazoo, Michigan, referring to it as an edge lane, which creates a single traffic lane in the center of the street while allowing drivers to move into the bike lanes on either side to pass another vehicle. Read it on AOL if the magazine blocks you.
New York has cleared the final federal hurdle preventing congestion pricing; the city is now expected to begin charging drivers to enter midtown Manhattan sometime next year. Which should clear the way for Los Angeles to institute its much discussed congestion pricing plan, as well.
A new Australian report lists 50 distinct contributory factors leading to bike riders being struck by drivers, along with another 50 leading to near misses; the leading factors are drivers pulling out in front of bicyclists, driver non-compliance with road rules, and drivers failing to give way. Note the key word with all of those is “drivers,” not bicyclists.
On a personal note, my 75-year old adventure cycling, ex-Iditarod mushing brother is setting out today on yet another cross-country bike ride.
He’s taking a train to Oregon, then riding down the coast before turning east, and riding to Minnesota, up into Canada, and possibly on to Buffalo and New York City if conditions allow.
And yes, I want to be like him when I grow up.
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Congestion pricing could be back on the table for Los Angeles County.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Metro’s long-awaited study into the feasibility of instituting a congestion pricing scheme on local highways is expected to be released this summer, after it was allegedly delayed by Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins because she didn’t want it to become an issue in last year’s election season.
Years in the works, the plan promises cleaner air, smoother rides and more funds to the agency’s coffersin the future. Studies show it could reduce harmful air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions by pushing more commuters to use public transit, while making roads less hellish for those who pay to use them…
The pilot program is part of a larger push among major cities to rethink how to deal with traffic that eats up commuters’ lives and pollutes communities as vehicles creep along. California has been quietly setting the stage for road pricing for years.
The good news is that Metro is restoring its pre-pandemic route schedules, which should make transit marginally more attractive to current non-transit users, though the steady drumbeat of new of crime, homelessness and drug use on county trains could have the opposite effect.
The bad news is, with a few notable exceptions like DTLA, Santa Monica and Long Beach, the LA-area bike networks necessary to get defecting motorists on two wheels don’t currently exist.
And they’re not likely to be coming in the near future without a massive and unexpected investment in our streets.
Morash is a 41-year-old lighting programmer who works in the film and TV industry in Los Angeles, where he has lived for some 16 years. When he first arrived, he used to take his car everywhere, like most Angelenos. But the city’s traffic jams soon crushed any desire to drive.
After talking to a co-worker who cycled to work, he decided to try it. He never looked back. Now he always cycles the 12 miles or so that take him to most of his jobs.
Yes, cycling can be scary, he acknowledges. Drivers cut him off, text at the wheel, exceed the speed limit, open their doors without looking and park in the bike lane. “But I can’t imagine choosing to be in a car,” he said.
It’s worth investing a few minutes of your day to get to know someone who uses his bike and social media voice to make a difference.
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on rolling.
Houston police are looking for a group of young men who have been brutally attacking and robbing bike riders on a city bike trail, with five riders viciously beaten and another shot in the past two weeks; one man was tackled from his bike, pistol whipped and robbed of his wallet and phone, while another had his bicycle stolen after getting hit with a shovel.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
The LAPD had arrested an alleged bike-riding serial arsonist for setting up to 30 cars on fire in the Sunland-Tujunga area. Demonstrating once again that bicycles are the most efficient choice for whatever crime spree you have in mind. Thanks to Steven Hallett for the heads-up.
Closing arguments began Tuesday in the hit-and-run trial of a 43-year old Bakersfield driver accused of seriously injuring two people as they rode their bikes, while driving with a blood alcohol level over three times the legal limit; the defense attorney blamed the victims for riding in the traffic lane without the required lights and reflectors.
The Idaho Stop Law is slowly spreading across the US, as nine other states and Washington DC have adopted the law, although only three have adopted the full law allowing bike riders to treat stop signs as yields, and red lights as stop signs. California is once again considering a bill to legalize the Stop as Yield portion of the law; Governor Newsom vetoed a previous version of the bill.
Medical authorities in Florida have concluded that the man accused of brutally stabbing a Daytona Beach couple as they rode their bicycles home from the city’s motorcycle Bike Week festivities has regained his mental competency, and is now fit to stand trial for the March, 2022 murders.
British budget cuts could endanger the rise of the next generation of cyclists, as the country cuts spending for its under-23 program, potentially removing young Brits from the Nations Cup, the Tour of Britain and the Tour de l’Avenir.
The tool is designed to help city planners, advocates, and elected officials plan more equitable transportation investments targeting traditionally underserved communities.
Which may be a mouthful, but it’s badly needed to help correct the deadly inequities on our streets, where people in low income communities or communities of color are more likely to be killed while biking or walking.
Photo by David Drexler from Long Beach Beach Streets (see below).
The bill is intended to improve safety by allowing bike riders to roll through stop signs when there’s no conflicting traffic, and it’s safe to do so.
Assuming it can get past Governor Newsom’s veto pen this time.
AB 73 is another attempt to pass a bicycle safety stop-as-yield bill in CA. It has been shown to improve safety for people on bikes and reduce inequitable enforcement. @CalBike has a great information page https://t.co/ojgRbImp9L
“When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle & go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking.” -Arthur Conan Doyle#botd May 22, 1859 pic.twitter.com/JeIGsfNXV1
Look at the prizes prat thinking it clever to throw crap at me and my son riding down Manchester road earlier. Around 1pm wharncliffe side. pic.twitter.com/5Vg8Lvuk59
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Two Louisiana schools were put on lockdown when a man was seen carrying a rifle on his bicycle; police gave the all-clear when they determined he was just taking it to a pawn shop.
San Diego bike riders are dealing with a problem familiar to riders in other parts of the state, as trash and debris from a homeless camp piles up on an Ocean Beach bike path leading to the beach; a homeless advocate blames downtown sweeps that push homeless people to other parts of the city. Although as inconvenient as it is for people on bikes, not having a home is probably worse.
Unlike most other major US cities, San Francisco continues to improve safety for bike riders, as bicycling deaths dropped 58% over last year, averaging just 1.4 fatal bike crashes for every million residents. That compares to approximately 3.5 bike deaths for every million residents in Los Angeles last year.
A 62-year old Chicago man was the victim of a vicious attack when he was struck with a construction sign by another man while riding along a sidewalk, then beaten with his own bicycle, all for no apparent reason; he was hospitalized in critical condition.
A writer for the American Conservative says the outrage over the hospital worker who tried to wrest a bikeshare bike from a black teenager just reflects America’s “racism shortage.”
