That’s all KABC-7 devoted to reporting that a man riding a bicycle was killed by a hit-and-run driver in Paramount Thursday night. According to the station, the victim, who was not publicly identified, was riding near the Rosecrans Boulevard onramp to the 710 Freeway around 11:40 pm Thursday.
Apparently, they mean Rosecrans Ave and the 710. Judging by the map, if the crash actually occurred in Paramount, that would mean the onramp to the northbound 710 from westbound Rosecrans.
There’s no word on how the crash occurred, or whether the victim died at the scene. Although the divided roadway means the driver was most likely turning right onto the freeway, and either struck the victim from behind, or right-crossed him as he was riding on the sidewalk.
There’s also no description of the heartless coward who drove away, or the suspect vehicle, and Sheriff’s investigators and the CHP say they don’t have any leads.
This is at least the 51st bicycling fatality that I’m aware of in Southern California this year, and the 17th we know about in Los Angeles County; this is also the third bicycling death in Southern California in the last three days.
At least 16 of those SoCal deaths have been hit-and-runs.
My News LA reports De la Torre’s body was found on the onramp to the 710, but he may have been struck while riding on Rosecrans, and knocked onto the onramp.
There’s still no description of the suspect or the vehicle.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Melchor De la Torre and his loved ones, who deserved better.
Then the first news to pop up yesterday was a Long Beach man killed in a right-hook crash by a hit-and-run truck driver, in what oddly wasn’t called a hit-and-run. That was followed by a 13-year old on an ebike killed by a driver fleeing the police in Menifee.
But at least I don’t have to write about that one.
All this just days after LA advocates stormed City Hall on Tuesday with a demand to declare a State of Emergency on Traffic Violence, which I’d much rather be writing about.
And yes, I recognize the irony in being unable to write about a demand that drivers stop killing us because drivers won’t stop killing us.
Sigh.
So let’s start with the tragedy in Long Beach, if only because it happened first.
The Long Beach Post reports that a 68-year old Long Beach man, whose identity has not been made public, was struck by the driver of a semi-truck as he was riding on the sidewalk on PCH near Canal Ave on September 4th.
Yes, two weeks ago, and we’re just now finding out.
The crash occurred shortly after 11 pm as he was riding west on the south sidewalk, which should have been the safest place to ride along SoCal’s killer highway, but wasn’t. Because as he approaching a parking lot driveway, the semi driver pulled out from the parking lot, and turned right directly in front of him.
The victim stopped his bike, but trailer of the semi still struck him, knocking him to the ground — and presumably, under the truck’s rear wheels.
He was taken to a hospital, where he died a day later, according to My News LA, although the medical examiner didn’t bother to inform the Long Beach Police Department until September 10th.
And they still didn’t tell us for another week.
Nearly two full weeks after the collision, they still haven’t found the driver, and there is no description of the truck. Yet for some reason, the cops aren’t calling this a hit-and-run, apparently on the questionable assumption that the driver may not have been aware he hit someone.
My News LA reports the driver was leaving a restaurant parking lot; the only restaurant on the south side of that block is the Golden Star Restaurant at 1560 PCH.
Anyone with information is urged to call LBPD Detective Paredes at 562/570-7358; anonymous tips can be made through Crime Stoppers at 800/222-TIPS (8477).
This is at least the 47th bicycling fatality that I’m aware of in Southern California this year, and the 16th we know about in Los Angeles County. At least 13 of those SoCal deaths have been hit-and-runs.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and all his loved ones.
A man was killed by a pickup driver while riding an ebike in El Monte Monday night.
But what happened still isn’t clear. Nor is it clear whether the victim was riding a ped-assist bicycle, or some other kind of electric bike.
To be honest, I wasn’t planning to write about this crash, because the mangled bike lying in the roadway appeared to be very heavy with wide fat tires, looking more like an electric motorbike than a bicycle.
But video from KCBS-2 clearly shows the bike had operable pedals, so the victim, identified as 48 year-old Estaban Martinez, could have been riding an electric bicycle when he was killed.
All we know for certain is that Martinez, who went by Steve, was found lying unresponsive on the sidewalk on the on the 4100 block Richwood Ave near Bryant Road around 10:45 pm Monday, with his bike and shoes in the street next to him.
He was pronounced dead at the scene, despite the efforts of paramedics.
The pickup driver remained at the scene until she was taken away by police, possibly for blood alcohol test, according to the station.
Unfortunately, that’s all we know with any certainty at this time. Neighbors say Richwood and Bryant has been a problem intersection for some time, with motorists frequently running the stop sign.
There is a name briefly visible on the side of the bike as it was loaded onto a truck to be taken away, but I’ve been unable to make it out, even with magnification.
Family members remembered Martinez as the father of five children, aged 7 to 30, and a proud grandfather.
According to KCBS,
“He was just so loving. He joked around a lot, played with the kids a lot,” said Martinez’s sister, Josefina. “When we had parties, he was always the one interacting with the kids. The kids loved him; my kids love him.”
They say that Martinez had just gotten the e-bike for his birthday recently, and that he had left his home a few blocks from the crash Monday night to visit a friend.
In the end, maybe it doesn’t matter what Martinez was riding. Because once again, a loving father is gone and a family has been violently ripped apart because the victim chose to travel on two wheels instead of four.
Anyone with information is urged to call the El Monte Police Department Watch Commander at 626/580-2109.
This is at least the 46th bicycling fatality that I’m aware of in Southern California this year, and the 15th we know about in Los Angeles County — a number that is probably far higher, since the LAPD has stopped publicly reporting most traffic deaths.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Steve Martinez and all his family and loved ones.
The victim, publicly identified only as “her,” died at the scene. As in “the victim’s identity will be released by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner after her family is notified.”
The driver fled the scene, apparently on foot. Investigators somehow identified the suspect as 40-year old Walnut resident Daniel Chavarin, who was arrested on charges of vehicular manslaughter, hit-and-run, and driving under the influence.
Anyone with information is urged to call the West Covina Police Department at 626/939-8688 or LA Crime Stoppers at 1-800/222-8477.
Unfortunately, KTLA is the only source reporting on the crime so far, and that’s all the information we have at this time.
There’s no word on how the crash occurred, how police identified and located the driver, what Chavarin is suspected of being under the influence of, or why the victim was identified as a “family cyclist,” a term I have never encountered before.
So we’re left with a number of questions, which will hopefully be answered in the coming days.
Hopefully.
This is at least the 42nd bicycling fatality that I’m aware of in Southern California this year, and the 14th we know about in Los Angeles County. At least 12 of those SoCal deaths, or 28%, have been hit-and-runs.
Update: The victim has been identified as 36-year old Ashley Kilbourne, no city of residence given, and no explanation for why she was initially described as a “family cyclist.”
According to SGV City Watch, Daniel Chavarin is currently. being held in lieu of $100,000 bond, with his first scheduled court appearance scheduled for tomorrow in West Covina Superior Court.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Ashley Kilbourne and her loved ones.
The victim, identified only as a man, was taken to a local hospital suffering from major injuries, where he died.
There’s no word at this time whether the driver stayed at the scene, or fled. Or if there even was a driver, for that matter.
There’s also no word on how the crash happened, or what kind of vehicle was involved. It could have been an aircraft, for all we know.
Anyone with information is urged to call the Azusa Police Department’s Traffic Bureau at 626/812-3200.
This is the 37th bicycling fatality that I’m aware of in Southern California this year, and the 12th we know about in Los Angeles County.
Those numbers could be higher or lower, depending on how many of the people killed riding ebikes were actually on electric bicycles, or were riding e-motos or electric dirt bikes, since the police and media don’t seem to know the difference.
July 6, 2026 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Update: Man killed riding bicycle in Long Beach hit-and-run early Monday, 3rd Long Beach bicycling death this year
Police investigators concluded the victim, who has not been identified, was riding west on Cowles Street when he was apparently hit head-on by a driver turning east on Cowles from southbound Sante Fe.
He died at the scene, despite the effort of paramedics.
The driver fled in an unknown direction. There’s no description of the driver or the suspect vehicle at this time.
It’s not clear from the description whether the victim was riding on the wrong side of the roadway, or if the driver turned onto the wrong side. West Cowles is a relatively narrow, two lane street, so either one is possible.
Anyone with information is urged to call the Collision Investigation Detail of the Long Beach Police Department at 562/570-7355. Anonymous tips can be submitted through “LA Crime Stoppers” by calling 1-800/222-TIPS (8477), or visiting the LA Crime Stoppers Website.
This is the 36th bicycling fatality that I’m aware of in Southern California this year, and the 11th we know about in Los Angeles County.
Which means that drivers have fled the scene in just under one third of those SoCal bicycling deaths, and just under a third have been in LA County.
June 17, 2026 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on West Hollywood named one of 8 to Watch, fallen Ventura County bicyclists ID’d on Instagram, and Macron gives Trump a bike
Just a quick update today.
I have an early commitment in the morning, and I’m still having trouble seeing after having my eyes dilated yesterday.
On the plus side, though, I haven’t had to get a shot for retinal bleeding for over two years now.
West Hollywood has been making big moves for better biking in recent years. In April 2025, the city council unanimously committed to building only protected bike infrastructure on future street projects — the first city in the Los Angeles area to do so — and followed it up by painting all existing bike lanes green on Fairfax Avenue, San Vicente Boulevard, and Santa Monica Boulevard for improved visibility. With the 2028 LA Olympics on the horizon, West Hollywood’s premier location in LA positions it as a key corridor for the broader active transportation push underway across Los Angeles ahead of the Games.
On the other hand, WeHo compared very favorably to LA’s subpar rating of 32 compared to the national average of 36, ranking us 1350th in the US, and barely in the top 200 California cities at 195.
And no, Los Angeles is not a city to watch. Even if we have climbed from the nadir of 2023, when we scored a whopping 19.
However, they still haven’t been publicly identified by any official source, so I won’t name them here. But reading what others had to say about them, it sounds like we lost some very exceptional people.
Then again, we’re all exceptional in some way, to someone.
There’s also no word yet on the name of the accused driver, who should have appeared in court by now, which raises the question of why they’re holding back his identification.
………
Finally, someone in France must have a hell of a sense of humor.
There was no hot mic moment to detect the reaction of Trump, who is not known to bike and has joked about doing minimal exercise beyond regular golf outings.
Despite being called — or calling himself — the fittest, healthiest president in recent history, Trump has said he will never, ever ride a bicycle, and has mocked Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg and John Kerry for their two wheeled exploits.
I’m learning in real time that my body no longer responds like it did when I rode a bike every day, which seems like something I should have learned a long time ago.
Okay, so I’m a little slow.
There’s a limit to what I can do now before I just shut down. And trying to dig a little deeper like I did on m bike just makes it shut down harder.
Oh, and diabetes sucks.
That one I already knew. But still.
Today’s photo: Metro Bike is free today for Bike Day, no matter how many legs you have, and whether you fit on the seat or in the basket.
………
Happy Bike Day in Los Angeles County.
No, seriously, that sound you hear is me whipping out the noisemakers.
Metro and Metrolink buses and trains will be free today for anyone with a bicycle or a bike helmet, along with free Metro Bike bikeshare rides; some other bus lines will likely participate, but your mileage may vary.
Like other professionals that claim their sales are down after a bike lane goes in, the street walkers of Calzada de Tlalpan insist their earnings are down 70%, because the bike lane now covers the outer lane of the roadway where they used to stand and negotiate with customers.
And while bikes may be good for business, as a rule, they offer very little privacy.
Although they do travel at a slower pace, allowing riders more time to examine their, uh, options. And giving everyone more time to drive a hard bargain or lend a hand.
The former Los Angeles Times Opinion editor says forget about the polls, and vote for the candidate who most closely matches your values, while somehow managing to accurately capture the gist of each one in just a single sentence.
For example,
Vote for:
Xavier Becerra if you are happy with the way the state has been heading policy-wise and prefer a governor with unquestioning loyalty to the Democratic Party who is unlikely to make substantial changes…
Steve Hilton if you are a Republican or a conservative-leaning independent who is not super MAGA, but wants the state to abandon its climate-change objectives and focus on drilling and logging.
Matt Mahan if you want a business- and tech-friendly centrist Democrat as governor who will bring a flavor of San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie to the whole state…
It’s worth clicking through to read the entire, very brief, piece.
Because she nails it.
And she did more to clarify my thinking than two months worth of angry debates filled with gubernatorial wannabes shouting over one another.
But I remember when Los Angeles had trash cans on every corner of every thoroughfare, and people who actually came out and emptied them once or twice a week.
Ask your grandparents, kids.
And I, for one, can’t wait for people come here for the World Cup, and return home talking about the squalor they found on the streets of Los Angeles.
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
A New Jersey letter writer, who cites his experience founding a bike bus and as a Scouting Bicycling Merit Badge Counselor as his source of expertise, says opposition to New Jersey’s draconian licensing requirement for all ebikes is disingenuous, because it usually hinges on the benefits of ebikes for elderly people, who aren’t the primary buyers of ebikes. As if there aren’t multiple types of ebikes and users, with multiple motivations, and no possible options between no regulation and a heavy-handed crackdown.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A website devoted to odd stories lists 15 crimes involving bicycles that you didn’t know, even though it’s actually 14, and only 13 if you don’t consider Lance’s doping a criminal offense. And they apparently don’t know that the outlaw Harry Longabaugh was better known as the Sundance Kid.
April 27, 2026 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Update: Man riding ebike killed by hit-and-run driver in LA’s Jefferson Park neighborhood; 8th SoCal bike rider killed in hit-and-run this year
Another day, another person killed riding an ebike in Southern California.
The victim, described only as a man around 48-years old, was thrown onto a parked car with enough force to cause significant damage to the rear of the car.
He died at the scene.
The driver fled following the crash. No arrest has been made, and there is currently no description of the suspect vehicle.
There is also no word on how the crash occurred, or where the victim and the driver were located in relation to the intersection.
We also don’t know at this time what kind of ebike the victim was riding; whether it was a Class 1, 2 or 3 ebike, or an e-motorbike or electric dirt bike. An earlier report describes the bike as a motorized or motorbike, but that description was removed from the later update.
The earlier report also describes the victim as 38-years old.
This the 28th bicycling fatality that I’m aware of in Southern California this year, and the tenth in Los Angeles County; it’s also the fifth we know about in the City of Los Angeles.
Eight of those deaths have involved hit-and-run drivers.
As always, there is a standing $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of any fatal hit-and-run driver in the City of Los Angeles.
Update: The victim has been identified only as a 38-year old man, pending notification of next-of-kin, while police are now looking for the owner of a dark-colored Jeep Wrangler, no model year given.
Anyone with information is urged to call Officer Diaz and Sergeant Nily at 323/421-2577, or 1-877/527-3247 during non-business hours. Or call anonymously at 1-800/222-8477 or lacrimestoppers.org.
