Tag Archive for Los Angeles County

Nine injured when LA driver jumps curb, LA County considers cutting speed limits, and leaving drivers in your dust

June 13, 2022 / / Comments Off on Nine injured when LA driver jumps curb, LA County considers cutting speed limits, and leaving drivers in your dust

Today’s common theme is the recognition that people aren’t safe from drivers anywhere.

Like the nine people who were injured in LA’s Westlake District Saturday morning when a driver jumped the curb at Wilshire and Alvarado, plowing through pedestrians and street vendors gathered on the sidewalk.

Fortunately, no one was seriously injured. Police discounted the driver’s claim that he lost control when someone pointed a gun at him.

Or the two people who were killed, including an eight-year old boy, and another woman injured, when a speeding motorcyclist went off the shoulder of a New York State roadway and slammed into a group of pedestrians standing on a bike path.

Seriously, something is wrong when people who aren’t even in the roadway still aren’t safe from drivers and their deadly machines.

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The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will consider a motion tomorrow to reduce speed limits on some streets.

https://twitter.com/ActiveSGV/status/1535466515981488128

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More proof that driving usually isn’t the best way of getting there.

Wherever there is.

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BikinginLA sponsor Richard Duquette offers a brief recap of Saturday’s Giro Di San Diego Grab Fondo.

IMG_2487.jpg

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Great idea from the UK. Now let’s do it here.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bike just keeps on going.

No bias here. A Scottish automotive journalist is calling for bike riders to be required to have compulsory training, licenses and insurance before being allowed on the road, apparently confusing the risk to others posed by cars for the negligible risk posed by someone on a bicycle.

No bias here, either. A gay Londoner was snubbed by his date after he arrived on a bicycle. If the guy can’t appreciate a bike, he’s better off without him.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

A New York resident took matters into their own hands, posting DIY signs to remind scofflaw bike riders not to ride on the sidewalk. Not to mention skaters, rollerbladers, scooter and skateboard riders.

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Local

No news is good news, right?

 

State 

Heartbreaking news from La Jolla, where a 90-year old man was killed riding an e-scooter when he was struck by an 80-year old driver. Once again raising the question of how old is too old to drive.

Now you can be the proud owner of 20 years worth of classic T-shirts from the Redlands Classic, with all 58 shirts for just twenty bucks.

 

National

People For Bikes’ Final Mile program proves that cities can build out bike networks faster, more efficiently and more equitably, with Austin, Texas and Denver, Colorado building over 100 miles of bike lanes in just two years.

Electrek says you can buy an ebike on Amazon for the cost of five tanks of gas if you own a truck or SUV, or seven if you own a car. Or less of you live in California. You’ll probably be happier, too.

Forbes recommends what they say may be the best ebike for under $1,400.

Portland unveiled a new bicycle ambulance based on a Tern e-cargo bike. Although the lawn chair bolted onto a wooden bike trailer to transport patients leaves something to be desired. 

The last remaining segment of Seattle’s oldest long bike path just turned 125 years old.

Good idea. A Utah law allows bike riders to sue in small claims court for up to $11,000 to force insurance companies to quickly replace bicycles damaged in collisions for their full value, without affecting the victim’s right to file a separate injury claim.

A tragic warning to use extra caution in hot weather, as a Colorado man died after running out of water while riding a mountain bike trail in 100° weather; three other riders who tried to help him had to be rescued when they ran out of water, too.

A Colorado man lovingly restored the 1982 Colnago owned by the late Breaking Away and American Flyers screenwriter Steve Tesich, who passed away in 1996.

The manhunt — or woman hunt, in this case — continues for Kaitlin Marie Armstrong in the shooting death of elite gravel cyclist Mariah “Mo” Wilson in Austin, Texas last month.

Hundreds of bicyclists and pedestrians gathered with community leaders to demand safer streets in Chicago, after a two-year old boy was killed crossing the street on a scooter, and a three-year old girl was killed riding on the back of her mother’s bike.

A volunteer firefighter in Upstate New York was the victim of a hit-and-run driver as he rode his bike to respond to a call; fortunately, he was uninjured, but his bike, not so much.

Thirty-nine year old Semmie Williams was found competent to stand trial in the stabbing death of a 14-year old Florida boy who went missing after going out for a bike ride, despite Williams previous diagnosis of schizophrenia.

 

International

A Vancouver man is dead after an exploding ebike battery caused him to fall off a window ledge.

London’s edition of the World Naked Bike Ride drew over 1,000 people riding nine different routes to call for better safety, while keeping photo editors at the tabloids busy blurring the naughty bits.

Led by a Kharkiv priest, 20 Good Samaritans are riding bikes to deliver food and medicine to 700 elderly residents of the devastated Ukrainian city.

A 44-year old South African man will spend the next 25 years behind bars for the murder of former South African cycling champion Etienne van Wyk; the brutal crime went unsolved for 15 years.

A young Indonesian man arrived in Saudi Arabia for the Hajj, following a 3,600-mile journey by bicycle to visit Islam’s Three Holy Mosques.

Three bicyclists were hospitalized, one in the ICU, when a drunk driver slammed into a group of 14 riders in Singapore; the driver was arrested for DUI.

Sad news from Thailand, where a well-known Thai bike rider was killed when he was struck by the driver of a semi, who claimed he never saw him; 53-year old Nirantra Phramthong gained famed after riding through several countries.

 

Competitive Cycling

Slovenian pro Primož Roglič set the stage for next month’s Tour de France by winning the Criterium du Dauphine stage race on Sunday.

Colombian cyclist Juan Sebastián Molano was disqualified from the Dauphine for punching another rider in the head at 43 mph, then continuing the dispute — and the punching — after crossing the finish line.

Italian road champ Elisa Longo Borghini refuses to get caught up in the hype, saying it’s great that there’s now a women’s Tour de France, but it’s just a bike race like any other anywhere else.

Thirty-two-year old Russian pro Ilnur Zakarin called it a career after his Gazprom-RusVelo team shut down following the ban on Russian cycling teams.

Former pro Peter Stetina claimed the Asheville NC Belgian Waffle Ride, while Sarah Max won the women’s race after a disappointing finish in the Unbound Gravel race.

 

Finally…

Your toddler can now ride his or her own electric Kawasaki. Maybe don’t trust someone named Scurvy to deliver your new beach cruiser.

And evidently, a bicycle is something a gorilla shouldn’t monkey with.

Although maybe he just needs a better bike fit.

https://twitter.com/IfsSamrat/status/1534384931698364416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1534384931698364416%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.firstpost.com%2Findia%2Fgorilla-rides-a-bicycle-throws-it-away-after-falling-off-video-leaves-netizens-in-splits-10783261.html

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , ,

Update: AIDS/Lifecycle rider dies in solo crash in LA’s Fairfax District yesterday; 2nd ride participant killed in LA this year

June 12, 2022 / / 2 comments

I could just cry.

Late this morning, AIDS/Lifecycle confirmed rumors that one of the participants in the 545-mile San Francisco to Los Angeles ride died after an apparent fall at the conclusion of the ride.

According to the group, Glen Brown, an experienced bicyclist and a first-time participant in the fundraising ride, was killed in a single-bike crash.

According to Streets For All’s Michael Schneider, it happened on the 800 block of North Ogden, in LA’s Fairfax District, which likely means Brown was riding home after finishing the ride.

There’s no word yet on what may have caused him to fall, or what injuries he may have suffered.

This is the second death associated with the ride in Los Angeles in less than 60 days. Five-time ride participant Andrew Jelmert was killed by an alleged speeding, DUI driver on Crystal Springs Drive in Griffith Park at the conclusion of an April AIDS/Lifecycle training ride.

The AIDS/Lifecycle ride is a fundraiser for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and Los Angeles LGBT Center, who appear to be blameless in both of these tragedies.

It raised over $17 million for the two groups this year.

This is at least the 41st bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 15th that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County. It’s also the eighth in the City of Los Angeles.

And a sad reminder that things like this can happen to even the most experienced riders, and the best among us.

Correction: I originally wrote that the ride was 450 miles, rather than the actual distance of 545 miles. 

Update: I’ve learned that Glen Brown wasn’t riding home after the end of the AIDS/Lifecycle ride, after all. 

According to an email from Bryan J. Blumberg, the last few blocks of the final day’s route took riders east on Santa Monica Blvd, then turned right on Ogden Drive for 4 blocks before entering Fairfax High School, where the ride ended.

Tragically, after 545 miles, Brown died just a block and a half from the finish. 

Blumberg also forwarded an email from AIDS/LifeCycle Ride Director Tracy Evans, who reports that Brown, who came out from Chicago for the ride, was rushed to Cedars Sinai, where he died of his injuries. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Glen Brown and his loved ones.

Thanks to Zoe Kurland and Bryan J. Blumberg for the heads-up.

 

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

Wrong way bike rider killed in early morning Long Beach crash

May 21, 2022 / / 3 comments

A man was killed riding his bike against traffic in Long Beach early today.

According to the Long Beach Police Department, the victim was riding east in the westbound lanes of Anaheim Street near Coronado Ave around 12:15 am Saturday, when he was struck by a driver traveling west on Anaheim.

He was pronounced dead at the scene. He has been identified only as a 32-year old Long Beach resident.

The driver remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators; at this time, police don’t believe they were distracted, speeding or under the influence.

Anyone with information is urged to call Long Beach Police Department Collision Investigation Detail Detective Kevin Johansen or Detective Jeff Meyer at 562/570-7355.

This is at least the 38th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 14th that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and her loved ones.

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

Update: 28-year old Duarte man riding bicycle killed in DTLA assault just after midnight Tuesday

May 17, 2022 / / One comment

A man on a bicycle was murdered when he was assaulted in Downtown Los Angeles early this morning.

According to My News LA, the victim was riding near the intersection of Seventh and Flower in DTLA when he was pulled off his bike by an unknown assailant, striking his head on the pavement.

He died at the scene.

There’s no word on whether his bicycle or anything else was taken, or if there was some other reason for the attack. Or any reason at all.

KTLA-5 identifies the victim only as a man in his 30s.

Anyone with information is urged to call 877/527-3247.

This is at least the 36th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 13th that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County. It’s also the eighth in the City of Los Angeles.

Update: The victim has been identified as 28-year old Duarte resident Oscar Gaytan.

Update 2: Gayton’s family reports he had attended a game at Dodger Stadium, and was likely headed to the nearby Metro station to catch a train home when he was attacked.

Police are looking for a suspect described only as a man in his 30s. 

A crowdfunding page to help pay funeral expenses for the professional nurse has raised slightly less than $10,000 of the $25,000 goal. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Oscar Gaytan and his loved ones.

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

Update: Man killed riding bike near Santa Clarita in Canyon Country; victim ID’d as popular Rapha ride leader

April 30, 2022 / / 16 comments

Please make it stop.

The deadliest year in memory got even worse, when someone was killed riding their bike in Canyon Country this afternoon.

According to KTLA-5, the victim was struck by a driver around 12:45 pm on the 21500 block of Sand Canyon Road near Santa Clarita.

They were pronounced dead roughly 45 minutes later, apparently the result of head trauma.

There’s no word on the identity of the victim, or what may have caused the crash. There’s also no information on the driver, raising the possibility they may have fled the scene.

Hopefully we’ll learn more soon.

This is at least the 33rd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 12th that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.

Update: This story is still developing. I received the following email from Hamid Valai with additional information contradicting much of. the earlier reports.

Hi Ted, thank you so much for reporting on our deadly streets.  I rolled on the accident scene in Santa Clara today minutes after it had happened.

First, the news is wrong.  This did not happen in Sand Canyon.  It happened on the Santa Clara Truck Trail, about a mile south of Fire Department Camp 9 (who first responded to the scene).  Here is a Google maps link of the accident site.

I had just met this group minutes before the accident and talked to the victim while we were filling up our bottles at the Fire Department mentioned above.  I didn’t get his name, but he was a really nice guy who told me about all the trails in the area (I was visiting this area and not really familiar with it).  They descended The Santa Clara Truck Trail a couple of minutes before me.  I was devastated to roll on to the accident scene.

Also, the driver did not flee the scene.  He was on the phone with 911 on speaker phone, while they gave CPR instructions to the cyclist’s friend.  He was probably in his late 20’s or early 30’s driving  a BMW convertible.  The front windshield was destroyed along with other front-end damage from the impact.

I did not see the accident.  I have no idea who was at fault.  All I know is that it happened around a tight bend in the road, where you have no idea who’s coming around the corner.

You can see my Strava post with some pictures and my description.

This was absolutely devastating.  A wonderful day or riding turned tragic.  I just attended the Andrew Jemel memorial ride last week in Griffith Park.  As an avid cyclist, this is very disturbing.  Thanks for all the help in reporting on cycling fatalities.

Update 2: The victim has been identified as 37-year old Los Angeles resident John Hermoso. 

Update 3: Phil Gaimon added this to what we know. 

Update 4: Unsurprisingly, it didn’t take long for the CHP to blame the victim. 

According to a CHP spokesperson, Hermoso was riding on the wrong side of the road as he rounded a blind curve, and slammed into the driver’s BMW, which was traveling at a sedate 15 mph. 

Yes, 15 miles per hour. Which seems pretty damn unlikely. 

It also doesn’t make sense that an experienced ride leader would take a blind curve on the wrong side of the road. Or that a collision with a vehicle traveling at 15 mph would result in fatal injuries, especially for a helmeted rider, unless he was traveling downhill at an extreme rate of speed. 

What makes far more sense is that both Hermoso and the driver were hugging the centerline, and traveling at far more than 15 mph. And that the CHP investigated with their usual windshield bias. 

But we’ll never know what really happened until we hear from the other people on the ride. 

And shamefully, Rapha Los Angeles has still had nothing to say about the tragedy. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for John Hermoso and al his loved ones.

Thanks to Hamid Valai and Michael Kim for the heads-up.

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

Update — Bike rider killed in Griffith Park AIDS/LifeCycle hit-and-run; driver may have been under the influence

April 16, 2022 / / 14 comments

News is just breaking that someone on a bicycle was killed in a hit-and-run in LA’s Griffith Park this afternoon.

According to KCBS-2, the victim, who hasn’t been publicly identified, was stuck by a driver shortly before 4 pm, in the 4600 block of Crystal Springs Drive.

They were dead by the time first responders arrived at 4:54 pm.

The driver fled on foot; KCBS reported on air that he or she had been captured by police.

There is no information on how the crash occurred.

Video from the scene shows two cars, one with a shattered windshield and apparently missing a wheel; a broken white road bike lies in the center of the street some distance up the road.

The station reports the victim had just left a bicycling event in the park, which may have been the AIDS/LifeCycle SoCal Day on the Ride. Another comment suggested he or she was just a mile from the finish line when he was killed.

Hopefully we’ll learn more later.

This is at least the 30th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the tenth this year in Los Angeles County.

Eleven of those deaths have been hit-and-runs.

Update: The victim reportedly was a man in his 70s. The driver appeared to be under the influence, following his arrest by park rangers. 

Update 2: AIDS/LifeCycle has identified the victim as Andrew Jelmert, a five-time participant in the annual fundraising ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles. 

UPDATE 3: WeHo Times cites participants in the AIDS/LifeCycle ride expressing shock at Jelmert’s death, with one saying the driver passed him at an estimated 80 mph just moments before the crash, despite the park’s 25 mph speed limit. 

According to the site, Jelmert had worked as a real estate agent and investor for over 30 years. 

 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Andrew Jelmert and all his loved ones.

Thanks to Lionel Mares and Metaverse HOA President for the heads-up.

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

Bike-riding man killed in El Monte hit-and-run; fourth fatal SoCal bike hit-and-run in three weeks

March 23, 2022 / / 4 comments

Another day, another bike rider murdered by a hit-and-run driver.

According to My News LA, El Monte police are searching for a driver who didn’t have the basic human decency to stick around after running down a man riding a bicycle.

The victim, identified as 59-year old El Monte resident Ruben Vicario, was struck at Lower Azusa Road and El Monte Ave around 9 pm Tuesday.

He died at the scene.

The suspect vehicle was described as a red or burgundy 2019-2021 Toyota sedan; no description was given for the driver.

There’s no word on how the collision occurred.

Anyone with information is urged to call the El Monte Police Department at 626/580-2100.

This is at least the 25th bicycling fatality in Southern California already this year, and the eighth that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.

Ten of those SoCal deaths have been hit-and-runs, including the last four in a row.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Ruben Vicario and his loved ones. 

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

Update: Bike rider killed in collision with Long Beach city employee; 5th SoCal bike death in just 8 days

February 18, 2022 / / One comment

The bad news just seems to keep coming these days.

Because for the fifth time in just over a week, someone has been killed riding a bicycle in Southern California.

This time in Long Beach, at the hands of a city employee.

According to the Long Beach Post, the victim was struck by a city worker, driving a city-owned pickup, when the man on the bike allegedly ran a stop sign at 17th Street and Oregon Ave around 7:40 Friday morning.

The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Long Beach Press-Telegram reports the driver was headed south on Oregon, which would suggest the victim, who has not been identified, was traveling on 17th when he was struck in the middle of the intersection.

The crash was reportedly witnessed by another city employee, who remained at the scene with the driver. Police do not believe the driver was under the influence, speeding or driving distracted.

There’s no word on why the victim would have run the stop sign directly in front of an oncoming truck, which did not have a stop sign.

This is at least the 15th bicycling fatality in Southern California already this year, and the sixth that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County, in what has been a very bloody start to the year.

Update: The victim has been identified as 22-year old Long Beach resident Ayomipo Lawal. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Ayomipo Lawal and his loved ones. 

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

37-year old man killed in Highland Park collision while riding a bike on the 110 Freeway

February 17, 2022 / / Comments Off on 37-year old man killed in Highland Park collision while riding a bike on the 110 Freeway

Once again, someone has been killed riding a bicycle on a Southern California freeway.

The Citizen app reported last night that a man had been killed when he was struck by a driver shortly after midnight at South Ave 60 and the offramp to the 110 Freeway in Highland Park, although video from the scene appeared to show the highway.

Now The Eastsider confirms that the collision actually occurred on the northbound 110 itself, otherwise known as the Arroyo Seco Parkway. The website places the crash in the traffic lanes of the freeway between LA’s Hermon and Highland Park neighborhoods, north of Avenue 60.

The victim, publicly identified only as a 37-year old man, died at the scene. The driver apparently remained at the scene following the crash.

There’s no explanation for why the victim was riding on the freeway, where bicycles are prohibited, as they are on all freeways in the Los Angeles area. Let alone why he would have been riding in the traffic lanes.

This is at least the 14th bicycling fatality in Southern California already this year, and the fifth that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County. It also appears to be the third in the City of Los Angeles.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones. 

 

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

Man killed riding bike in Lancaster hit-and-run; heartless killer got out to look at victim before driving off and leaving him to die

February 8, 2022 / / Comments Off on Man killed riding bike in Lancaster hit-and-run; heartless killer got out to look at victim before driving off and leaving him to die

Once again, someone on a bicycle has been left to die in the street by a heartless coward.

According to the Antelope Valley Times, the victim, described only as a man in his 30s, was riding east on Avenue H east of Division Street in Lancaster when he was rear-ended by a pickup driver at around 9:02 pm Saturday.

He died at the scene.

The driver actually got out of his truck to examine his victim lying bleeding in the roadway, before simply getting back in his truck and driving away without attempting to aid the victim or call for help.

A witness attempted to follow the suspect, before losing him around Avenue E and 20th Street West.

The driver is described as a Hispanic man wearing a reflective vest and construction boots, while the suspect vehicle is described as a 1994-2000, dark colored GMC Sierra or Chevrolet Silverado, possibly red or green, with front end collision damage.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Lancaster Sheriff’s Station traffic investigators at 661/948-8466.

This is at least the tenth bicycling fatality in Southern California already this year, and the fifth that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.

Shamefully, drivers have fled the scene in four of those ten deaths.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and all his loved ones. 

Thanks to Joe Linton for the heads-up. 

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