According to the Orange County Register, a 56-year old Aliso Viejo man was killed when he fell off his bike on Santiago Canyon Road on Wednesday.
The paper reports he suffered significant injuries when he fell west of the 241 Freeway, suggesting he may have been traveling at a high rate of speed.
He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Photos from the scene show around eight to ten other riders waiting as police investigate, suggesting he may have been on a group ride when he crashed.
This is the 47th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the eighth in Orange County. It’s also at least the third fatal bike crash on Santiago Canyon in the last six years.
Update: I’m told the victim was Aliso Viejo resident John Smith; reports indicate his front tire blew out after hitting a sharp rock at 40 mph.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for John Smith and all his loved ones.
According to the site, the victim was riding with other bicyclists near the intersection of State Route 133 and Lake Forest Drive when he was hit by a car around 10 am this morning.
Identified only as an adult man, he was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
No other information is available at this time.
If confirmed, this would be the 45th bicycling collision in Southern California this year, and the seventh in Orange County.
According to the Register, a 78-year old man was killed when he crashed his bike into the back of a car parked on the right shoulder while riding south on Laguna Canyon Road around 9:51 am.
He was on the club’s regular Tuesday morning ride when he crashed into a Caltrans truck that was stopped on the shoulder, possibly after suffering a medical emergency.
The group doubled back when they learned of the crash, and discovered a doctor had already stopped and was performing CPR, to no avail.
His neighbors Sandi and John Carpenter offered a remembrance and a photo of Thompsen.
Gary and Fern were married for 54 years. They have three children and two grandsons.
He was always athletic, played football in college, then began running and after
retiring from IBM he became an active cyclist. He loved working on bikes and decided to go to the Barnett Bicycle Institute in Colorado Springs Colorado and be certified. He volunteered at the Bone Adventure Dog Day Care Center for many years. He and Leigh loved to travel.
Gary being the kind, gentle person became our local go-to bike mechanic in the neighborhood as he was always willing to help. He was dubbed the “Fix bike for a beer” man.
He will be deeply missed by many.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Gary Thomsen and all his loved ones.
Thanks to Lois and John for the heads-up; thanks to Bill Sellin for the update.
The driver fled north on Brookhurst, and was last seen turning right onto Ellis.
Police are looking for a red 1990s Ford Mustang with damage to the front end. Anyone with information is urged to call the Fountain Valley Police DepartKent at 714/593-4485.
This is the 42nd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the sixth in Orange County.
It’s also the second fatal hit-and-run in Fountain Valley in the last three weeks, following the death of popular Orange County runner Juan Garcia; an arrest was made in that case.
Update: According to KTLA-5, 25-year old Huntington Beach resident Justin German was arrested later the same day after a tip from someone who recognized the car. Thanks to Peter for the heads-up.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Bihn Ngo and his loved ones.
This time the killer didn’t have a chance to sober up first.
The Orange County Register is reporting that a bike rider was killed by a hit-and-run driver in Newport Beach last night.
The driver, identified as 23-year-old Taylor Evans, fled the scene after striking two people riding their bikes on northbound Newport Boulevard near Industrial Way at 1:19 am.
One of the two victims apparently died at the scene. The other suffered undisclosed injuries.
Neither has been publicly identified at this time.
No word on how the collision occurred.
Evans was arrested a few blocks away at Newport Boulevard near E. 16th Street as he tried to push his damaged SUV out of the roadway. He was booked on suspicion of felony DUI with bodily injury, hit-and-run and vehicular manslaughter.
This is the 31st bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fifth in Orange County. This is also at least the 13th bicycling death in Newport Beach since 2010, an average of nearly two a year.
Update: The City News Service has identified the victim as 41-year old Costa Mesa resident Jose Vasquez-Perez. The story also places the location as Costa Mesa, though the crash is being investigated by the Newport Beach Police Department.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Jose Vasquez-Perez and his loved ones.
Quiroz was trapped underneath the car, which continued on to strike two parked cars. He was taken to UCI Medical Center after responding officers and bystanders lifted the car off him, where he was pronounced dead at 5:28 pm.
No word on how the collision occurred, though police don’t believe drugs or alcohol use was a factor.
A street view shows a narrow, two-lane residential street with parking on both sides.
Anyone with information is urged to call the Garden Grove Police Department at 714/741-5823.
This is the 29th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth in Orange County. He is also the 6th bike rider to die in Garden Grove since 2011.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Eliseo Quiroz and all this family.
According to a CHP spokesman, the driver had veered into the the bike lane where Munoz was riding, and fled the scene after striking him.
KCBS-2 reports Anaheim police later spotted the driver, 25-year old Riverside resident Jason Roy Rocha, when they tried to pull him over for an unrelated traffic violation. Rocha fled from the police, losing the officers, until he crashed his Ford Expedition into a fence at the intersection of Seal Beach and Westminster boulevards in Seal Beach.
Munoz leaves behind a wife and three kids. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help pay his funeral expenses; so far it has raised just $85 of the $25,000 goal.
This is the ninth bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, four of which have been hit-and-runs. He is the third person killed while riding in Orange County since the first of the year.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Encarnacion Salazar Munoz and his family.
The Orange County coroner reports he was taken to UCI Medical Center, where he died at 11:16 pm. He has been identified only as a man in his 30s.
The driver remained at the scene and called 911. She is not suspected of being under the influence.
No details are available on how the collision may have occurred; the Register says it is unclear if he was using a crosswalk at the time of the crash.
A streetview shows two lanes in both directions on La Palma with a center divider and left turn lane in both directions, with the same on Moody. There are curbside bike lanes on both streets.
This is the eighth bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the second in Orange County; he is the first bicyclist killed in La Palma since at least 2011.
Update: The Orange County Coroner has identified the victim as 52-year old La Palma resident David Garcia. Thanks to Bill Sellin for the heads-up.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for David Garcia and his loved ones.
Appalling news from Glendale, as police are looking for a hit-and-run cyclist who allegedly blew through a red light and crashed into a 64-year old woman as she was walking in the crosswalk.
The victim hit her head on the pavement, suffering “significant” but not life-threatening injuries. The man on the bike fled the scene, despite reportedly being fully aware of what happened.
He’s described only as a male wearing a dark jacket. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Glendale Police Department at 818/548-4911.
For anyone unclear on the concept, bike riders have exactly the same obligation to stop, render aid and exchange information that drivers do after a crash.
Which means they’re confident they’ve got the right person.
Thanks to Lois for the heads-up.
………
John Montgomery shares a stomach-churning close shave on 4th Street in Venice, first getting cut off in a pass that feels way too close, then forced to make a heart-stopping panic stop when he gets brake-checked seconds later by the same driver.
The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition has come out strongly against Measure S, which would impose a minimum two-year moratorium on most major building projects in the City of Los Angeles.
A killer Fresno drunk driver is asking a judge to allow him to rescind his no-contest plea that resulted in a 12-year prison sentence in the death of a seven-year old boy who was riding in a crosswalk with his family, blaming bad road design instead of his own high speed and drunken state. Sure, let’s go with that.
A habitually anti-bike Seattle radio host is convinced the city is throwing away millions spent on bikeways, as the bicycling commuter rate continues to drop. And yet it’s still at a level most cities would envy, including sunny Los Angeles.
Unlike Los Angeles, DC appears to be serious about reducing speeds to save lives as part of the city’s Vision Zero; a proposal from the DCDOT would lower the default speed limit to 20 mph, with a 15 mph limit around schools, parks, senior and youth centers from 7 am to 11 pm.
Caught on video too: A British cyclist is caught on security camera carving deep scratches into a couple’s minivan, causing the equivalent of $1,250 in damage; the victims had no idea why he chose their car, and questioned whether he targeted them by mistake. Let’s make this as clear as possible: No matter what they might have done, or how justified you might feel, vandalism is always wrong. Period.
Just three months and four days after Deborah Gresham was killed in a Stanton hit-and-run, another person riding a bicycle has lost his life to another fleeing driver, just two and a half miles away.
According to the Orange County Register, the victim, who has not been publicly identified, was struck by a vehicle at the intersection of Chapman Avenue and Beach Blvd in Stanton around 2:40 this morning by a driver who fled the scene.
He was transported to UCI Medical Center in Orange 17 minutes later, where he died shortly after arrival.
No word on how the collision occurred, if the victim had lights on his bike, or who may have been at fault. However, judging by the taco’ed rear wheel on the victim’s badly mangled beach cruiser, it appears he may have been struck from behind with considerable force.
Garden Grove police stopped a 44-year old man whose car matched the description of the suspect vehicle at 3:15 am. KCBS-2 reports he was arrested for an alleged probation violation, but as of midday, had not been charged with the hit-and-run, though an OC sheriff’s spokesperson said no other suspects were thought to be at large.
A satellite view shows a eight lane road with double left turn lanes on Beach Blvd, and four to five lanes with turn lanes on Chapman, depending on direction; the Register ranks it as one of the ten busiest intersections in Orange County.
This is the third confirmed bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the first in Orange County. It’s also the third in Stanton in less than 18 months, and the second on busy Beach Blvd.
To learn more about Deborah Gresham’s tragic death, read this heartbreaking piece by former Bicycling Magazine editor-in-chief Peter Flax.
Update: The Orange County Coroner has identified the victim as 38-year old Paul Hurst.
Update 2: The Orange County Register says Hurst was a transient; the area in which he was killed has a heavy homeless population, and a number of low cost hotels frequented by people with no fixed address.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Paul Hurst and all his loved ones.
Thanks to Mike Wilkinson and Robert Peppey for the heads-up.
He reportedly crossed over both lanes on the transition road and was struck by a car traveling at an estimated 70 mph. He was declared dead at the scene.
The driver, a 24-year old woman from Yorba Linda, remained at the scene. She was not cited or arrested.
No explanation was given for why Gutierrez was on the freeway; bicycles are banned from most urban freeways in the state.
