January 21, 2022 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on 52-year old man killed riding bike on PCH in Huntington Beach; 2nd Orange County bicycling fatality in past 6 days
SoCal’s killer highway has claimed yet another life.
The driver, who has not been identified, remained at the scene. Both he and his wife suffered minor injuries, and were taken to a local hospital.
Police don’t believe he was under the influence.
Investigators say only that Carrington was in the roadway when he was killed, making it unclear whether he was riding in the traffic lane or crossing the roadway.
It’s also possible that he was riding on the shoulder, and only briefly entered the lane to avoid some obstacle.
Anyone with information is urged to call Huntington Beach traffic investigator Doug Demetre at 714/536-5670 or investigator Vishal Rattanchandani at 714/ 536-5231.
This is at least the sixth bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the second that I’m aware of in Orange County.
January 11, 2022 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on At least 83 people killed riding bikes in SoCal last year, no more “car oopsies,” and Sartre and Hackman are one of us
As we noted, 18 people were killed riding bicycles in Los Angeles last year, a 20% jump over the year before. And ten more than the eight we had counted.
That news confirmed that running total of bicycling deaths maintained on this site was a dramatic undercount. Because too many tragedies on our streets never make the news, and the LAPD is often too slow in releasing reports of bicycling deaths.
If they ever get around to it at all.
Adding those 10 extra deaths to our totals comes out to 35 bicycling deaths in Los Angeles County last year, which compares to 34 in 2019, and around 30 in 2020, when we saw a similar problem confirming bicycling fatalities.
Orange County showed just seven deaths last year, which again seems like an undercount compared to 15 in 2020, and 13 in 2019.
San Diego County suffered through a horrible year, with 17 bicycling deaths, compared to just seven in 2020 and four in 2019.
The nine deaths in Riverside County fell in line with previous years, with ten in 2020 and eight in 2019.
The same is true for San Bernardino County, where seven people lost their lives riding bikes last year, compared to five in 2020 and eight the year before.
Ventura County showed a significant jump, with eight deaths in 2021, double the total of four for 2020, and six in 2019.
Finally, there appeared to be no bicycling deaths in Imperial County last year or the year before, compared to two in 2019. Although it’s easier to get light out of a black hole than news from Imperial County, so take that with a grain of salt.
But bear in mind these are only rough estimates, based strictly on reports in the press or announced by the police, the coroner or some other credible source.
Each death included here has been confirmed, eliminating any risk of an overcount; if anything, this is more likely to be an undercount. I’ve heard of several bicycling deaths over the past year that I haven’t been able to confirm, and so haven’t included them in these totals.
That leaves us with at least 83 people killed riding bicycles in the seven county Southern California region last year.
Eighty-three mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, friends and loved ones who were not here to greet the new year.
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
No bias here. And apparently, no sense of irony either, as a proposed new Virginia law would would charge people on bicycles twice as much as motor vehicle drivers for rolling a stop sign, despite the people in the big, dangerous machines posing a much great risk to others. And just try impounding people’s cars for a simple traffic violation.
At least they’re honest about it. The BBC backtracks on an earlier story claiming new bike lanes are responsible for making London the world’s most congested city, correcting it to lay blame on a number of factors; a reporter admits that the “anti-cycling angle ‘gets more readers.'”
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
San Francisco Streetsblog says a fix to the formerly unprotected bike lane used by an SUV driver to bypass stalled traffic last year, killing a pedestrian in the process, still wouldn’t stop anyone with its new car-tickler plastic bendie posts. Although that may not be quite the way they phrased it.
A German sociologist concludes that bicycles are becoming status symbols, since poorer people are more likely to drive to show they can afford it, while bike riders tend to be wealthier and more educated, and more likely to send a message by choosing to ride. Methinks he’s full of scheisse.
An Indian man learns the hard way that if a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is, as he orders a $600 bicycle from a discount site for just $155 — and gets a box full of scrap.
No surprise here. A Singapore report shows an average of 560 serious crashes involving bicyclists in each of the past five years, compared to just 90 a year on bike paths and park connectors. Meanwhile, the island city-state requires ebike and e-scooter user to pass an online test and carry a certificate with them when they ride. And no, I don’t know what a park connector is, either.
Sad news from Laguna Beach, where a prominent local resident was killed while riding his ebike.
According to the Laguna Beach Independent, 73-year old Norman Rest was found lying in the roadway bleeding profusely Monday evening, after apparently crashing his ebike into a dumpster.
The collision took place sometime before 5:44 pm near Canyon View Drive and Buena Vista Way. Rest reportedly went into full cardiac arrest as he was being treated by paramedics, and died after being taken to a nearby hospital.
The story notes that he was riding without a light, but it’s not clear at this time how long he may have been lying there after crashing his bike.
Canyon View appears to have a steep hill; if he was riding downhill, he could have picked up considerable speed before slamming into the dumpster.
It’s also possible that he could have been crowded off the roadway by a passing car, or that the dumpster could rolled into the street or been hidden behind a curve or some other obstacle.
Rest embarked on a career as a builder after building his own three-story home in Laguna Beach when he was just 21-years old. He went on to found a local sailing club with his father, and was co-owner of Lido Paddle Sports.
That led to co-founding a nonprofit organization with his wife last year dedicated to using paddle boarding to promote mental health for military vets and first responders.
This is at least the 60th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the seventh that I’m aware of in Orange County.
The last bicycling death in the county was also a solo crash, after a young mother of two crashed her ebike while riding with her family on the San Juan Creek Trail in San Juan Capistrano.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Norman Rest and all his family and loved ones.
The woman was riding with her husband on the San Juan Creek Trail north of Creekside Park around 8:30 pm, when she somehow lost control of her bike, and tumbled onto the rocks.
Her children, who had been riding in front and rear bike seats, were also thrown onto the rocks. However, they are expected to fully recover.
An Orange County Sheriff’s sergeant indicated that, unlike her children, Macy was not wearing a helmet, though there’s no indication at this time that she suffered a head injury.
Tragically, Macy’s husband was riding behind on his own ebike, and reportedly watched the crash that took his wife’s life, and nearly his entire family.
This is at least the 50th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 6th that I’m aware of in Orange County.
The news likes to blame e-bikes for everything, but in this case it’s not wearing a helmet that probably killed the woman, while helmets saved her two kids. They were returning from the Ohana Music Festival (Pearl Jam, Beck, etc) at the beach, and it was dark. San Juan Creek Trail there is wide and flat but is bounded by boulders lining the channelized creek below, and it seems she fell over and hit her head on them. Ironically they had passed the most dangerous part of the path, where it dips steeply under Stonehill Dr and speeds accelerate down the hill. I am a frequent user of that important trail, it’s a bicycle highway to Doheny State Beach for thousands of Orange County residents. I agree there is a problem with speeding e-bikers on this trail, especially kids on their Class III speeders, but there’s also plenty of non e-bikers in their kits racing through there. There are a few posted 10 mph signs that no one pays attention to. It seems too slow for a trail like this, 15 mph would be more reasonable, including where the woman fell over.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Jennifer Lee Macy and all her family and loved ones.
September 14, 2021 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Former Corona Del Mar baseball coach John Emme died Monday, 10 days after suffering critical injuries riding bike
A popular Orange County coach has died, more than a week after he was critically injured while riding his bike.
Unfortunately, we know almost nothing about what happened.
According to the OC Sports Zone, longtime Corona del Mar baseball coach John Emme suffered life-threatening injuries on Saturday, September 4th, in what was described only as a “bike accident.”
He died on Monday, after ten days in intensive care.
Richard Dunn added a little more information on Twitter, revealing that Emme had succumbed to a head injury.
Twitter post
However, there’s no word on how he was injured or where, whether Emme was struck by a driver, suffered a solo crash, or was injured some other way.
As the news spread, John Emme was fondly remembered for his 21-year tenure as coach of the baseball team at Corona Del Mar High School, leading his team to two CIF state championships.
Heartbreaking news from Huntington Beach, where a man was killed and his elderly wife seriously injured when a driver slammed into their tandem bike Sunday morning.
The Orange County Tribune reports both people were taken to a local hospital, where the 74-year old man died from his injuries; his 82-year old wife was hospitalized, but is expected to survive.
According to investigators, they were apparently riding north on Magnolia when they were struck by a 30-year old woman driving her SUV west on Hamilton.
She remained at the scene, and police did not suspect drug or alcohol use.
Anyone with information is urged to call Huntington Beach Police Traffic Investigators D. Demetre at 714/536-5670, or V. Rattanchandani at 714/536-5231.
This is at least the 40th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth that I’m aware of in Orange County.
The Orange County Register identifies him as Huntington Beach resident John Crouch, while placing the time at 1:38.
Investigators allege Crouch was attempting to cross the six lane highway against the red light when he was run down by a 23-year old Bloomington man, who has not been publicly identified.
Crouch was unresponsive before being taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The driver stayed at the scene, and was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence; no word was given on whether he was suspected of being drunk or stoned
There’s also no word on whether there were any independent witnesses who saw Crouch run the light; however, the intersection was likely to be busy at that hour, which raises the possibility that it was seen by multiple people.
This is at least the 27th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year; however, it’s just the third that I’m aware of in Orange County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for John Crouch and his loved ones.
February 13, 2021 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Man killed in collision attempting to ride bike across Anaheim freeway onramp, CHP blames victim’s clothing
Freeway ramps are among the deadliest places to ride a bike.
That was driven home once again early Friday morning, when a man was killed trying to ride across an Anaheim onramp.
Before he could reach the pedestrian crossing, he was struck by a car attempting to enter the freeway, driven by a 67-year old Anaheim woman.
No word on whether he died at the scene, or passed away after being taken for treatment.
The driver remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators.
A CHP spokesman was quick to absolve the driver of responsibility, instead blaming the victim’s dark clothing, and poor visibility due to rainy conditions and the early morning darkness.
However, no mention is made of whether the victim had lights or reflectors on his bike, or whether the onramp itself was lighted.
There’s also no mention of how the design of the onramp may have contributed to the crash. Dual slip lanes that begin at the intersection with East Riverdale Ave could enable drivers to accelerate to highway speeds before ever entering the freeway, especially at that hour.
But it’s much easier to blame the victim’s clothing than to confront road conditions that not only made a collision more likely, but less survivable.
It’s also yet another tragic reminder to avoid freeway ramps whenever possible, which are seldom designed for the safety of anyone not encased in a couple tons of glass and steel.
This is at least the tenth bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the first that I’m aware of in Orange County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.
December 21, 2020 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on ‘Tis the season to give bikes to kids, LA delivery drivers turn bike lanes into parking, and dangerous PCH rumble strips
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Something to smile about in this plague-infected year is the outpouring of bike love we’re seeing, with groups all over the country giving their time, skills and money to make sure countless kids will have a bike under the tree this year.
On the other hand, Fayetteville, Arkansas’ annual Bicycle Man giveaway, which normally hands out up to 1,200 bikes each year, was cancelled due to the pandemic.
………
What do you call a Los Angeles-area bike lane filled with delivery vehicles?
Because even the best bike lock can be defeated by a determined thief with the right tools.
………
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes keeps going on.
A London man with a potentially life-threatening condition is suing to remove a bike lane in front of a hospital, claiming that potential congestion could delay his arrival at the hospital, and the removal of parking spaces means that his friend couldn’t park to bring him in. Never mind that his friend could always drop him off, and the bike lane could help countless others improve their health. For that matter, I have a potentially life-threatening condition too, as do countless other people who ride bicycles.
But sometimes it’s the people on to wheels behaving badly.
A 32-year old man was stabbed by someone on a bicycle in an apparent random attack while he was standing with friends on a bridge in San Diego’s Hillcrest neighborhood; fortunately, he’s expected to survive.
More than a thousand people took part in a virtual bike ride to honor the victims of the Las Vegas bicycle massacre that killed five experienced riders; the Zwift ride raised $15,000 for the victims.
Boston removed the concrete barriers protecting a bike lane, blaming them for causing drivers to crash. Evidently, the barriers must have jumped out in front of people in cars without warning; otherwise, the blame should go to all those people who couldn’t manage to drive safely next to them.
Six people are suing New York’s Citi Bike bikeshare, alleging they were injured when the brakes locked on the ped-assist bikes they were renting, throwing them off their bikes.
A witness began CPR before police officers responding to the crash took over until paramedics arrived. But despite their efforts, he was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
Fifty-nine-year old Long Beach resident Richard Lavalle was driving east on Arlington when he reportedly ran a stop sign, throwing Baskin several feet through the air.
Despite being under the influence — again, allegedly — and on parole, Lavalle remained at the scene.
He was booked on charges of murder and DUI, as well as a parole violation.
The murder charge suggests that Lavalle has a previous conviction for driving under the influence, and signed a Watson Advisement warning that he could be charged with murder if he killed someone while driving drunk or stoned in the future.
His passenger, 56-year old Artesia resident Lee Anna Diaz Murphy, was booked on possession of controlled substances and possession of unlawful paraphernalia.
Anyone with information is urged to call Costa Mesa Traffic Investigator Kha Bao at 714/754-5264.
This is at least the 63rd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 17th that I’m aware of in Orange County.
Update: Lavalle is being held without bail after he was charged with second-degree murder, and faces up to 30-years behind bars if he’s convicted.
My News LA confirms he was driving while stoned, and did receive a Watson Advisement following a 2013 conviction for driving under the influence in San Diego County; otherwise, he would have faced a manslaughter charge.
He could also be charged with a third strike after robbery convictions in 2009 and 2018, which could mean a possible life sentence.
His passenger, Lee Anna Murphy, has yet to be charged despite being found in possession of illegal drugs and paraphernalia.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Noel Bascom and all his loved ones.
