The victim was riding south in the crosswalk on Sepulveda Blvd at Roscoe Blvd when he was struck by a driver headed east on Roscoe.
He died at the scene before paramedics could arrive.
The driver continued without stopping, leaving his victim to die in the street.
There’s no word on who had the right-of-way on the signalized intersection or how fast the driver was going. Or whether the victim had the required lights and reflectors on his bike in the early morning darkness.
Police are looking for a dark-colored 2007-2011 Toyota Camry; there’s no description given for the heartless coward behind the wheel.
Anyone with information is urged to call 818/644-8022. As always, there is a standing $50,000 reward for any fatal hit-and-run in the City of Los Angeles.
This is at least the 13th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the second that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County, as well as the second in the City of LA.
Shamefully, seven of those 13 deaths have been hit-and-runs — as have both of the bicycling deaths in Los Angeles.
And if that makes you mad, it should.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.
A 46-year old bike rider is dead, the innocent victim of a speeding carjacker trying to make his escape through Downtown Los Angeles Saturday morning.
Now police are looking for the car thief and killer, who simply walked away after a second crash.
According to KABC-7, the series of events started when a passing pedestrian asked a newspaper delivery driver for a ride on the 900 block of Wilshire Blvd. When the driver refused, the man jumped into the running pickup while the man was stocking a newsstand.
Unable to get back into the truck, the delivery driver jumped into the back as the man sped off towards DTLA, then wisely jumped out a few blocks later, tumbling to the ground.
Witnesses saw the carjacker careening through the streets, weaving from side to side at a high rate of speed while driving on the wrong side of the roadway.
After turning onto eastbound 7th Street, he slammed into a man who was riding east just before 7th and Olive Street.
However, according to the police flier, the victim riding against traffic in the westbound bike lane — which means the driver rear-ended him while all the way on wrong side of the street.
The victim landed on the hood of the truck, and was carried nearly 100 feet before being thrown off, then tumbled another 150 feet before coming to a rest at Hill Street, a full block from where he was hit.
Paramedics attempted without luck to revive him, before declaring Finley dead at the scene.
Meanwhile, the driver continued east on 7th until he crashed into a pair of vehicles and took off on foot, melting away on the Downtown streets.
Bizarrely, he was walking barefoot and carrying a steering wheel, presumably from the truck he stole.
He was described as a Black man around 5 foot 6 inches tall and 150 to 160 pounds, and may have suffered a head injury from hitting his head on the windshield.
The suspect was last seen wearing a white hoodie and black pants, after removing the blue hoodie he was originally wearing.
As always, there is a standing $50,000 reward for any fatal hit-and-run in the City of Los Angeles.
Anyone with information is urged to contact LAPD Detective Juan Campos at 213/833-3713, or e-mail hm at 31480@lapd.online. During weekends and off-hours, call 1-877/527-3247.
This is at least the fifth bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the first that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County and the City of LA.
Three of those deaths have been the result of hit-and-runs.
“I still don’t even think it’s real. I feel like it’s a dream. Right now, it’s a nightmare, and I feel tomorrow I’m going to wake up and this day will never exist,” his daughter, Koi Finley, told ABC7.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Branden Finley and his loved ones.
He was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. He was described only as male, which could be an indication that police weren’t able to immediately identify him.
The driver continued north on Main without stopping; the suspect vehicle is described only as a dark-colored sedan.
There’s no other information available at this time. No word on how the crash happened, or whether the victim had lights on after dark.
Or if the driver did, for that matter.
Anyone with information is urged to call LAPD Detective Flannery or Officer Mitchell at 323/421-2500.
As always, there is a standing $50,000 reward for any fatal hit-and-run in Los Angeles, despite mention of just half that amount in the KTLA report.
This is at least the 59th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 16th that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.
At least seven of those deaths in LA County have been hit-and-runs.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his love ones.
A driver headed in the opposite direction lost control attempting to pass another vehicle and skidded across the roadway, hitting the victim head-on.
She was taken to Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, where she died.
Thirty-eight-year old Claremont resident Cheryl Becker was arrested for vehicular manslaughter. She also faces a charge of child endangerment because her children were in the car with her at the time of the crash.
Not surprisingly, police say speed may have been a factor.
A street view shows a two lane roadway on Mills, with a center turn lane and bike lanes in each direction. Police say there’s been an increase in unsafe driving on the street in recent months, including drivers exceeding the 40 mph speed limit.
This is at least the 56th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 15th that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.
Update: The victim has been identified as long-time Claremont resident Terri Wolfe Ingalls, who was killed less than a week after her 62nd birthday.
According to the Claremont Courier, she was run down just moments after leaving her home. Her final act may have been waving to her neighbor as she set out on her bike.
The paper describes her as a “thoughtful, lovely” mother of four, and grandmother of seven, who checked in on her elderly parents every day.
They’ll all have to find a way to get along without her now.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Terri Wolfe Ingalls and her loved ones.
According to the LA Daily News, two people were struck by the driver of an SUV while riding their bikes in LA’s Valley Glen neighborhood Sunday evening.
One victim, identified only as a woman, died at the scene. Her riding companion, who I’m told was a man, was hospitalized with what was described only as a non-life threatening injury.
The 35-year old driver remained at the scene; she was not arrested.
There’s no official word on how the crash happened. However, I’m told the victim was run over by the SUV, while the other rider was knocked to the curb.
This is at least the 50th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 13th that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.
Update: A ghost bike was installed for the victim on Wednesday, October 14th. I’m told she was named Ana, from Sun Valley, and the mother of four young children aged six months to 12 years.
All of whom will now have to now up without her.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Ana and her loved ones.
The driver was apparently headed west on Rosecrans when she slammed into the victim, then crashed into a pair of parked cars, telling police she lost control after hitting “an unknown item in the roadway.”
An unknown item that turned out to be a man on a bicycle.
The driver suffered some sort of unspecified injury; police planned to arrest her once she was released from the hospital.
Unfortunately, there’s no other information available at this time.
This is at least the 49th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 12th that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.
A bad weekend for SoCal bike riders continued to get worse Saturday morning.
Just one day after people were killed riding their bikes in Lancaster and San Diego, a woman apparently lost her life while riding in Carson, thanks to a heartless hit-and-run driver.
She was not publicly identified; the only description was an initial call of a female down.
There’s no word on how the crash happened, and no description of the suspect or the vehicle used to commit the crime.
As we’ve noted far too many times before, there is simply no excuse, ever, to flee the scene following a crash. The driver should face a murder charge for making a conscious decision to leave the victim bleeding in the street if an autopsy shows she might have survived if she’d gotten help sooner.
But probably won’t.
This is at least the 43rd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the eleventh that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and her loved ones.
There’s no word on whether the victim had lights on his bike two hours before sunrise, or if there was some other reason why the driver failed to see a grown man on a bicycle directly in front of him.
Sheriff’s deputies say the driver did not appear to be under the influence, and speed did not appear to be a factor.
Which is only partially correct; speed is always a factor in a fatal crash, even if the driver was not exceeding the posted speed limit; slower speeds make collisions both more avoidable and more survivable.
Anyone with information is urged to call Lancaster Sheriff’s Station traffic investigators at 661/948-8466.
This is at least the 42nd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the tenth that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.
The victim, identified only as a 40-year old man, was pronounced dead at the scene.
No word on whether he had lights on his bike, or if there was some other reason why the driver failed to see him. And no word on how fast the driver was going.
But at least he stayed at the scene.
A street view shows six lanes with a center turn lane on Rosecrans, with a frontage road on the south side. That suggests the victim may have been riding west on Rosecrans, if he was on the main roadway at the time of the crash.
This is at least the 39th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the ninth that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.
