August 9, 2022 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on 53-year old La Habra man riding bike killed in Sunday hit-and-run; teenaged boy and father arrested next day
Three crashes. Three deaths. Three counties. Two hit-and-runs.
All in less than 20 hours.
A horrible weekend for the bicycling community continued with the second of three innocent victims, who died just because they rode their bicycles on Southern California streets.
According to the La Habra police department, a male bicyclist was found lying in the roadway in the 500 block of West La Habra Boulevard around 4:43 pm Sunday.
The victim, identified only as a 53-year old La Habra resident, was taken to a local hospital in critical condition.
Police described the suspect vehicle as an extended cab Chevrolet Silverado pickup, white with stock rims and a construction rack in the truck bed, with damage to the center grill, hood and driver’s side headlight.
The 17-year old La Habra boy was booked on charges of felony hit-and-run and possession of a stolen vehicle, while his father, 35-year old La Habra resident Mario Popsuc, was arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle, and aiding and abetting in the collision.
Anyone with information is urged to call La Habra police at 562/383-4305.
This is at least the 53rd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the tenth that I’m aware of in Orange County.
Eighteen of those deaths have been hit-and-runs.
My deepest prayers and sympathy for the victim and all his loved ones.
The fact that Dac was in the crosswalk suggests he had been riding on the sidewalk. That means he wouldn’t have been riding against traffic, since both the sidewalk and crosswalk are bidirectional.
Although drivers don’t always look for anyone coming from the opposite direction, even though they should.
The driver remained at the scene. Police do not believe intoxication played a role in the crash.
Anyone with information is urged to call the traffic bureau of the Fountain Valley Police Department at 714/593-4481, reference incident #22-22611.
This is at least the 48th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the eighth that I’m aware of in Orange County.
That puts us on track for nearly 100 SoCal bicycling deaths this year.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Dac Them Kieu and all his loved ones.
June 21, 2022 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Updating traffic violence news, Healthy Streets LA turns in 120,000 signatures, and OC applies for bikeway grant
Happy first day of summer! And belated Juneteenth and Father’s Day greetings!
Maybe one of these days I’ll actually catch up to the calendar.
………
Let’s start by updating a pair of tragedies we mentioned yesterday.
Lionel Mares forwards photos from Saturday’s ride along the LA River with LACBC and California Sate Senator Maria Elena Durazo and LACBC Executive Director Eli Akira Kaufman.
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
Denver area sheriff’s deputies are looking for a man with a long criminal record who allegedly swerved his pickup onto the shoulder of a highway to attack a group of bicyclists Sunday morning, critically injuring one woman; deputies found his abandoned truck that night, after he had stopped briefly to dislodge a bicycle stuck underneath it.
The star of the documentary Q Ball was released from prison after 24 long years; he had been sentenced to life behind bars for his third strike conviction after Long Beach police found him in possession of a gun when they stopped him for riding his bike without a light. Otherwise known as a pretext stop, giving cops an excuse to stop and search someone.
File this one under bad ideas. President Biden is considering a temporary pause in the already too low federal gas tax, which hasn’t been raised in 29 years. There are better ways to address the pain of high gas taxes than cutting funds that support transportation spending. Like tax rebates funded by a windfall profits tax on oil companies.
A Portland man has filed suit against the city, alleging he was injured by a flashbang grenade and beaten by police during the 2020 racial justice protests, and unable to reclaim his bicycle after it was seized by officers.
This is who we share the road with. Six people were injured, three critically, when a New York cabbie hit a bike rider after rounding a corner, then jumped the curb, slamming into several pedestrians and pinning two women against a wall; once again, police suspect the driver may have suffered some sort of medical episode.
And once again, a bike rider is a hero. If only to our feathered friends.
This little pigeon walked right up to me as I was getting my bike out of the car and jumped up on to my arm. Seemed to be seeking shade and since it’s hot I filled a cap from my WD-40 can with my mix of water and cranberry juice I drink on rides, and now he’s a happy avian! pic.twitter.com/JaUOJZtVui
He was taken to a local hospital, where he died from his injuries.
The driver remained at the scene, and police don’t suspect they were speeding or under the influence.
The intersection is controlled with a traffic signal in each direction, with bike lanes on Bristol above Edinger. There’s no word on who may have had the green light in the moments before the crash.
Anyone with information is urged to call Santa Ana PD Cpl. W. Hadley at 714/245-8216.
This is at least the 44th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and already the seventh that I’m aware of in Orange County.
Forty-year old Capistrano Beach resident Joshua Gene Cervantes was riding north on Avenida La Pata near Avenida Pico when he was run down by an unidentified driver around 1:25 am.
The driver fled after the crash, abandoning his car a short distance away.
There’s no word on how the collision occurred, or whether Cervantes was struck while riding in the bike lane on Avenida La Pata, or while crossing the intersection.
March 5, 2022 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Fullerton man riding DIY ebike killed in possible hit-and-run; 5th Southern California bike death this week
Please make it stop.
After a terrible start to the year — and one of the worst weeks in memory — yet another bike rider has lost his life on the mean streets of Southern California.
Borstens was discovered suffering from serious injuries, next to a mountain bike that had been converted to an ebike.
He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police are investigating the crash as a possible hit-and-run, but acknowledge it’s possible that Borstens may have fallen off his bike for some reason.
Officers stressed that Borstens’ bike had been modified to add an electric engine, rather than manufactured as an ebike. There are any number of conversion kits on the market that can turn any bike into an ebike.
Anyone with information is urged to call the Fullerton Police Department at 714/738-6812.
This is at least the 23rd bicycling fatality in Southern California already this year, and the sixth that I’m aware of in Orange County. It’s also the fifth SoCal bicycling death in just the last week.
If this turns out to have been a hit-and-run, it would be the eight fatal bike hit-and-run since the first of the year.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Ivars Borsteins and all his lived ones.
Aguilar, the 2017 MotoAmerica Superstock 600 Champion, was rushed into surgery to relieve bleeding on the brain, but suffered catastrophic brain damage due to a lack of oxygen.
Raw video provided by County News shows the van, with relatively minor front end damage, coming to a stop on 1st, with what appears to be a commuter bike sprawled in the roadway.
(I’m not embedding the video, because it shows blurred views of the victim’s body lying in the center lane near the bike, which is not something his family or friends need to see.)
The victim’s death can likely be blamed on the lack of a crossing signal or crosswalk at Figueroa, which should have provided a safer alternative to busy Harbor Blvd. But clearly didn’t.
Two deaths so close together, both in terms of time and distance, suggests serious problems on the deadly corridor.
This is at least the 16th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and already the fourth that I’m aware of in Orange County, which would usually have less than half that number so early in the year.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.
February 13, 2022 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Bicyclist killed in Santa Ana hit-and-run; half of all SoCal bike victims this year killed by hit-and-run drivers
Once again, someone riding a bicycle has been killed by a heartless hit-and-run driver.
Despite the efforts of first responders, the victim, who was has not been publicly identified, died at the scene.
Police believe the victim was riding east in the bike lane on West First when the driver of a red Kia sedan ran them down from behind, then fled the scene.
Unfortunately, there’s no further description of the car or the driver. But whoever did it should face a murder charge for making a deliberate choice to leave an innocent victim to die in the street.
Anyone with information is urged to call Santa Ana Police Investigator Bao at 714/245-8223.
This is at least the 12th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the third that I’m aware of in Orange County.
Half of those SoCal victims have been killed by drivers who didn’t have the basic human decency to stick around afterwards.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his or her loved ones.
