Tag Archive for Pacific Beach

Driver asleep at the wheel in mass bike crash, criticizing criticism of criticizing reporters, and quitting bicycling because of bike rage

May 12, 2026 / / No comments

I guess that makes it okay then.

The Florida Highway Patrol says the pickup driver who plowed into a group ride in Deland was “asleep or fatigued,” at the time of the crash, which left three of the victims in the hospital awaiting surgery for potentially “life-changing” injuries.

After all, what possible option could someone have when they’re too tired to operate their vehicle safely?

It’s not like they could, you know, just not drive or something.

And if plowing through eight people on bicycles like they were bowling pins is the cost of people carrying out their God-given right to drive no matter what condition they’re in, we just have to accept that.

Right?

………

He gets it.

A Pacific Beach resident offers an “unsolicited response” to a recent piece in one of San Diego’s least bike-friendly publications criticizing the criticism of journalists for their reporting on bicycle crashes, and saying bike riders should just “try safety first.”

In it, Paul C. LeBlanc argues that her central premise is off the mark.

The author contends that, rather than “lecturing reporters on how to do our jobs,” attention should be directed toward instructing cyclists to safeguard their own lives. That framing invites a more fundamental question: are journalists not themselves subject to critique? Thoughtful scrutiny of language and framing is not an affront to journalism; it is one of its necessary companions. Reporting, particularly on matters of public safety, carries an obligation to be precise, neutral, and grounded in evidence. To question how incidents are described is not to lecture, but to engage.

This discussion is not about absolving cyclists of responsibility. Cyclists, like motorists, are bound by traffic laws. Rather, it concerns the implications of language that may assign fault before facts are established. Words matter. They shape perception, and perception often precedes understanding. Precision, therefore, is not a luxury in reporting; it is its discipline.

LeBlanc goes on to make the argument that roadway design can have a significant influence on collisions, bike and otherwise. And that “sensible policy addresses conditions, not merely conduct.”

It’s worth reading the whole thing.

Because he makes a very good case that how articles about bicycling are framed makes a big difference.

………

Seriously?

A columnist for The Times of London says it’s not getting older that’s put him off bicycling, it’s the risk of unpleasant interactions with other bike riders.

Being 61 rather than 31 was the least of my reasons for quitting. The main factor was other cyclists. They made me feel unsafe and ashamed. I loathe their aggression and their entitlement. Many cyclists now behave as monstrously as the worst road-rage motorists, as if the rules don’t apply to them and the whole road (plus the pavement) should give them priority. Now I prefer a combination of train, bus and my own two feet. Once a bicycle evangelical, I’m now an apostate, like those people who were fans of Wham! or the Human League, but only their early stuff, before they got popular…

The anger and arrogance is extraordinary. Cyclists used to be mild-mannered hippies. Now they’re often foaming-at-the-mouth bullies, not caring who or what is in their path. Or they’re sneaky GoPro provocateurs, looking to film reactions incited by their own crazy manoeuvres. Then there are the Just Stop Oil zealots, bursting with self-righteous fury, deliberately holding up traffic by sticking to the middle of the road.

Because people never get into disputes with other people on buses or when walking or anything.

I’ve had my life threatened when bicycling, walking, riding a bus and writing this blog. But oddly, never by someone else on a bicycle.

In fact, I’ve had far more pleasant interactions with other bicyclists and pedestrians than otherwise. That even goes for drivers, too.

It’s just that we’re hardwired to remember the unpleasant interactions, which get replayed over and over in our minds, while the friendly ones slip into the mists of time.

So if he doesn’t want to ride a bicycle anymore, that’s his choice. But don’t paint all of us with the same dirty brush.

………

Streets For All is urging you to contact your legislators to oppose a bill that could outlaw a number of currently legal ebikes.

Sacramento is moving fast on e-bikes, and one bill could do serious damage.

AB 1557, currently advancing through the Assembly, would outlaw thousands of e-bikes that meet legal standards across the country — including cargo bikes and shared mobility services (like Baywheels and Lime) that San Franciscans (and Angelenos) depend on every day.

This legislation isn’t a solution to a real problem. A report from December 2025, required by a bill we supported, found that the vast majority of e-bike injuries and fatalities are caused by illegal high-powered e-motos, not legal e-bikes. The evidence points clearly to one fix: crack down on illegal devices and invest in protected infrastructure.

But AB 1557 does the opposite. It punishes legal riders, burdens the e-bike industry, and does nothing to address the actual danger on our streets.

Eight e-bike bills are moving through the legislature right now. Some are smart, but AB 1557 is not — and it needs to be stopped.

Streets For All is fighting back. Take 60 seconds to use our tool and contact your legislator today.

………

Calbike is hosting a webinar on May 27th to discuss their 2030 strategic plan.

Hello friend –  I invite you to join me, CalBike Executive Director Kendra Ramsey, and members of the Board of Directors for A Future Full of Bicycles: CalBike’s Strategic Plan for 2030, a coalition webinar at noon on May 27 about the work ahead. Register now.

We will dive into CalBike’s 2030 Strategic Plan is a roadmap for the next chapter of bicycle advocacy in California: safer streets, stronger local movements, long-term funding, and a broader coalition for change. Leadership will share where CalBike is headed, what we believe this moment requires, and how our coalition can move together toward a California where bicycling is safe, joyful, and possible for everyone.

Together, we will take a look at our main priorities through 2030:

– Priority 1: Create a built environment where biking and walking are safe and accessible choices in all communities
– Priority 2. Secure long-term active transportation funding to support the mode shift required to meet California’s climate goals
– Priority 3. Strengthen the power of the active transportation movement in California
– Priority 4. Elect bike champions to public office and work in partnership with them to create a policy landscape that prioritizes bicycling
– Priority 5. Strengthen CalBike

As we often say, the most important word in our name is “Coalition” that means you, friend. So please, bring your questions about what we can do together to create a future full of bicycles.

………

OB Cycler offers a visual reminder that it’s not always the person on the bike who’s at fault when a pedestrian gets hit.

Bluesky post

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

It’s happened again. A road-raging driver drove up on a Lewiston, Maine sidewalk to intentionally ram a man riding a bicycle following an altercation; fortunately, the victim was not seriously injured.

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

It’s happened again, again. A mob of teen “ebike” riders violently attacked a Huntington Beach man riding an e-scooter on a date night with his wife, apparently because he asked them to slow down, or maybe just because he tried to navigate through a few hundred teens hanging out on the beach and boardwalk. Although judging by the photos, those ebikes look more like illegal e-motos and dirt bikes; hopefully, they can find the attackers, who should be held accountable legally and civilly.

………

Local 

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton reports that Los Angeles has resumed street repaving, rather than just “large asphalt repair,” but apparently nothing large enough to trigger the requirements of Measure HLA, leaving “Angelenos on track for failing bumpy unsafe roads for years ahead.”

This is where your bike or other stuff ends up if you leave it on an LA Metro bus or train.

 

State

A correction to yesterday’s story, as Amazon voluntarily removes “hooligan” ebikes from their website in California, banning anything in the state that travel faster than 28 mph, rather that 40 mph as we said yesterday.

When a bobcat is catnapping on a California bike park, you might want to find another place to ride. Just saying.

A 12-year old San Diego boy remains in a medically induced coma, more than a week after he was struck by a driver while riding an ebike, and his helmet came off when he struck the car’s windshield.

Le Mesa moves forward with a ban on ebike use for kids 11 and under.

A Palm Springs active transportation subcommittee considers a number of bicycle and pedestrian issues, from downtown wayfinding to a proposed bidirectional bike lane.

A Santa Barbara writer says a Vespa and an out-of-class ebike pose the same risks, but only one requires a license and registration. Except the real difference is that one is street legal, and the other isn’t.

Sad news from Woodside, where a 75-year old man died ten days after he was struck by a driver while riding a bicycle.

 

National

Momentum reminds CNN that there are other ways to commute besides driving, as gas prices continue to rise due to Trump’s little “excursion” in Iran.

The rich get richer. My Platinum level bike-friendly Colorado hometown continues to make improvements for bicycles, on streets I used to ride and streets that didn’t exist when I was a kid. I was also today years old when I learned there’s something called a “Michigan turn.”

A writer for Cycling West recalls bike touring through Yellowstone last September.

Sad news from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where a local website writes in remembrance of a kindhearted local bike advocate who refurbished and gave away hundreds, or possibly thousands, of bicycles; ironically, he had stopped by the website’s offices last week to remind them of Bike Month events, including next week’s Ride of Silence.

Baltimore will build 17 miles of new bike lanes over the next three years, which will put the city over the 300 mile mark. Although it doesn’t say whether those are centerline miles or lane miles, which would count each side of the road separately, resulting in half the amount of actual roadway.

 

International

Cycling News examines how seriously professional bike racing is taking sustainability. But you’ll have to be a member if you want to know the answer, because apparently it’s a secret. 

A German website explains what’s true or false about seven “bicycling myths.” Surprisingly, none of the myths turn out to be true. 

Collisions involving bicyclists and e-scooter users set a record high in Prague, Czech Republic last year, as the city failed to invest in bike infrastructure.

 

Competitive Cycling

Tejay Van Garderen says fellow former American pro cyclist Taylor Phinney can win gold in the ’28 Los Angeles Olympics at what will then be the ripe old age of 37, because Phinney “doesn’t do anything if he’s not ready to give it 100%.”

Canada pulls the plug on its women’s team pursuit squad due to a a lack of funding and fears they won’t be competitive in time for the ’28 Olympics, although the men’s squad will go on.

 

Finally…

That feeling when a favorite actor stars in a competitive bicycling psychological thriller in his “slutty little bike shorts.” Bike polo has gone international.

And that feeling when a collision leaves your motorcycle dangling from a traffic light.

I know it has nothing to do with bicycles.

But still.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Update: Man riding bicycle killed after allegedly running red light in San Diego’s Pacific Beach neighborhood early Tuesday

March 10, 2026 / / Comments Off on Update: Man riding bicycle killed after allegedly running red light in San Diego’s Pacific Beach neighborhood early Tuesday

For the second time already this year, someone has been killed riding a bicycle in San Diego’s Pacific Beach neighborhood.

But at least this time, it wasn’t a little kid.

According to multiple sources, a man was killed after allegedly riding his bike in front of an oncoming car early Tuesday morning.

The victim, who has not been publicly identified, was riding south on Fanuel Street at Grand Ave shortly before 1 am, when he attempted to turn right onto Grand and was struck by the westbound driver.

He died at the scene.

There are sharrows on Grand, which could have given him an illusion of safety.

However, there’s no explanation at this time why he turned in front on the oncoming motorist, although it’s possible that he may have gone into the traffic lane to avoid parked cars in the residential neighborhood.

Police said that alcohol was not a factor in the crash.

Anyone with information is urged to call San Diego County Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-888/580-8477; it’s not clear why they don’t want people to call the police directly.

This the 18th bicycling fatality that I’m aware of in Southern California this year, and the third in San Diego County.

Update: The victim has been identified as 60-year old Jamison Kimbrough. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Jamison Kimbrough and his loved ones.

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

Nationwide Unity Rides Saturday to honor Alex Pretti, and accused hit-and-run killer of 6-year old Hudson O’Loughlin arraigned

January 28, 2026 / / One comment

Alex Pretti was one of us.

The 37-year old Minneapolis VA nurse, who was fatally shot — okay, murdered — by ICE agents on Saturday was a lover of the outdoors, and an active mountain bike rider.

Which is just one reason the bike community is rallying behind him.

Minneapolis’ Angry Catfish bike shop, which claimed Pretti as a frequent customer, is helping to organize memorial Unity Rides rides across the country for this Saturday, starting with Minneapolis.

The Radavist is calling for the entire bicycling community to come together for healing and to honor Pretti, who he says could have been any of us. Although I’m not sure how many of us would have stepped up to help a stranger at the risk of our own lives.

Meanwhile, Minnesota-based Salsa Cycles is urging bike riders to contact their legislator and join in a Unity Ride to protest the recent fatal shootings by ICE agents in Minneapolis.

According to Cycling Weekly,

“Our neighbors are being unlawfully detained, harassed and murdered at the hands of the federal immigration enforcement agents,” Salsa Cycles wrote in its statement. “Now is the time to speak up and stand up…”

“Community is important in times like this,” Salsa Cycles states. “Alex Pretti was a member of our local cycling community…We encourage you to come ride with us, host a ride in your community, or simply go ride in solidarity on Saturday.”

Bike Portland reports other rides have been announced for Portland, Oregon, Richmond and Norfolk, Virginia; Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas, Texas; Bellingham, Washington; San Francisco, California; Wichita, Kansas; and Memphis, Tennessee.

West LA Bicycle will host a Unity Ride here in Los Angeles (click here in case the Instagram link below doesn’t embed properly).

https://www.instagram.com/p/DUCoEbDjDuR

Anyone interested in organizing a ride can contact Community@angrycatfishbicycle.com for more information.

Let me know if there are any other rides planned for Los Angeles or Southern California.

I honestly don’t care what your politics are.

No one should be killed for legally, and peacefully, exercising their 1st and 2nd Amendment rights.

………

Ten years hardly seems like enough.

Thirty-two-year old Tiffany Sanchez was formally indicted Tuesday on felony charges of vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run for killing six-year old Hudson O’Loughlin as he rode his bike with his family on a Pacific Beach sidewalk January 18th.

The former carries a maximum of six years, while the latter has a max of just four years, thanks to California’s lax hit-and-run laws.

And that’s only if she is convicted on both charges, and gets the maximum penalties, to run concurrently.

Anyone want to give odds on that?

Sanchez is accused of knocking Hudson off his bike as she turned right into an alley, stopping briefly, then fleeing the scene and driving over the boy as he lay helpless on the ground.

According to 10 News San Diego,

“The defendant did not stop, she did not render aid, she did not assess the situation or try to help out, she didn’t, she did not call 911,” said Cassidy McWilliams, deputy district attorney.

Never mind that she hasn’t had a valid driver’s license for nine years, and shouldn’t have been on the road in the first place.

She was ordered into custody on $150,000 bond, and will be required to wear an ankle monitor and forbidden from driving if she manages to post it.

………

A new map from the San Francisco Chronicle shows the most dangerous streets and neighborhoods for bicyclists and pedestrians, based on traffic deaths from 2020-2024, as reported by law enforcement agencies to the Transportation Injury Mapping System at UC Berkeley.

According to the paper,

This analysis includes people walking, biking, using wheelchairs or riding personal conveyances such as rollerblades or skateboards. In total, nearly 6,500 people were killed while walking or biking across California during this five-year period, a toll that includes about 800 cyclists.

Fatalities climbed steadily for nearly a decade across the state, reaching a peak of 1,429 deaths in 2022, before receding to 1,208 in 2024. In comparison, the Bay Area has remained relatively stable. The number of fatalities has ranged between 150-180 deaths per year.

The map pinpoints the location of both pedestrian and bicycling deaths, while blocking out high-fatality hotspots.

The latter of which makes Los Angeles look like the hot mess it is.

………

Active SGV is hosting a free Learn to Bike class in El Monte on Sunday.

https://twitter.com/ActiveSGV/status/2015903927703646291

The group is also hosting an easy ride to Whittier Narrows next weekend.

Twitter post

………

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

A New Jersey legislator is “backpedaling” on his own proposal to require a $50 annual bicycle registration fee to make bike riders contribute to the cost of their own infrastructure, with public comments running 61% against. Because apparently, people who ride bikes don’t pay taxes like normal folks, and the proven societal and health effects of bicycling are worth nothing. And no, drivers don’t pay their own way; the overwhelming cost of building and maintaining roadways comes from general tax funds.

The simple act of bicycling without a helmet or hi-viz clothing could soon become a criminal offense in Ireland if a new government proposal is enacted; the president of an Irish bicycling organization calls it “performative policymaking,” arguing “there is no credible evidence” that it would significantly reduce collisions or fatalities. Meanwhile, an English author and columnist writing for the Irish Times says that “Anyone who thinks cyclists ‘come out of nowhere’ should not be in control of a vehicle.”

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

Carpenteria is becoming the latest coastal California city to crack down on ebikes without distinguishing ped-assist bikes from the electric motorbikes and illegal ebikes causing the problems, although they are capping ebike speeds at 28 mph, mirroring state law.

………

Local 

Metro will mark the birthday of civil rights icon Rosa Parks next Wednesday, aka Transit Equity Day, with free rides throughout the system, including Metro Bike; the agency is also conducting a survey to better understand the needs of neurodivergent riders.

UCLA is now requiring that every ebike and e-scooter kept on campus be UL-certified and registered with the school transportation department.

A Canyon Country bike rider was hospitalized with minor injuries as a result of a hit-and-run crash with a truck driver leaving a movie set. Which means the driver shouldn’t be too hard to find. 

He gets it. A personal trainer from Signal Hill says Long Beach residents don’t need another fitness trend, because all they have to do is go outside to enjoy one of the city’s most effective health resources, including the beachfront bike path.

 

State

Once again, a bike thief has been busted in Orange County, after stealing a bait bike worth over $2,000 in Huntington Beach, which makes it a felony. Meanwhile, the LAPD still won’t employ bait bikes because a former city attorney feared it could be construed as entrapment, even though similar charges have held up in other cities that do.

Laguna Beach city leaders are debating potential locations and designs for a pump track, though they haven’t made a commitment to building one yet.

A 71-year old man was critically injured when he was struck by a pickup driver in Indio Tuesday morning and knocked under the truck, suffering “significant” injuries; shockingly, the driver was unharmed. And yes, that’s sarcasm. 

Congratulations to San Jose, where traffic deaths dropped for the second straight year, declining ten percent from 2024 to the lowest level since 2012.

Bike-friendly Davis has released a new citywide bike map. Granted, it’s easier to build a connected bike network in a small city, but at least Davis has one. Los Angeles doesn’t. 

Sad news from Lodi, where a 78-year old retired physician was killed by a driver while riding his bicycle in Amador County, southeast of Sacramento; he was called The Lone Rider by his bike club because he rode so much after his retirement 23 years ago.

 

National

Gadget Review ranks the fifteen best bikes from last year. Some of which actually are. 

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. The assets of bankrupt Seattle ebikemaker Rad Power Bikes were auctioned off in a fire sale for $13.2 million, following its recent Orange County warehouse fire — a 99.2% drop from its high valuation of $1.65 billion.

Once again, someone riding a bicycle has been collateral damage in a police chase, when a bike rider was killed by a speeding driver fleeing from the cops in Tucson, Arizona, who also crashed into a pedestrian before being shot by state troopers; the driver was hospitalized, while the pedestrian suffered non-life threatening injuries.

Winter bicycling rates are skyrocketing in Cambridge, Massachusetts, increasing over 400% in the past ten years, thanks in part to the city plowing snow from bike lanes.

South Carolina authorities are searching for a 15-year old boy who disappeared under “unusual” circumstances after leaving his grandfather’s house for a bike ride a week ago, and hasn’t been seen since.

 

International

A writer for Cycling Weekly says like it or not, of course there are barriers to bicycling for female riders, from the cost of an entry level bike to products designed for male riders, and threatening behavior from other road users.

A new Canadian study shows that nearly 3,600 kilometers — roughly 2,200 miles — of high-quality bicycling infrastructure was added across the country, but the increase largely bypassed areas with more children and older adults, which could benefit most from it.

The London Times asks if 2025 was the year London became a bicycling city, as even Timothée Chalamet embraced the city’s ubiquitous Lime bikes.

British Transport Police have reversed their recent announcement that they wouldn’t investigate the theft of bicycles left at train stations for more than two hours.

A British man completed a six-month, 14,000-mile trip from Melbourne to Melbourne, the former in the UK and the latter in Australia.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole a man’s wallet when he fell from his bike after leaving a nightclub in Turin, Italy, and was fatally struck by a hit-and-run driver while he was on the ground.

 

Competitive Cycling

Two-time Tour de France champ Jonas Vingegaard was lucky to escape serious injury when he crashed on a training ride, after he tried to drop an amateur cyclist who repeatedly tailed him and wouldn’t back off; amateur Pedro García Fernández posted video to Strava showing him riding on Vingegaard’s wheel, saying he couldn’t understand the pro’s anger at being followed by a fan. It used to piss me off when some stranger drafted off me, and I’m not even famous.

Chinese bikes have made it to the WorldTour, with the Quick Pro brand signing a new sponsorship agreement with the Euskaltel-Euskadi cycling team, after more than 30 years using Orbea bikes.

Ouch. Aussie Jay Vine finished the Tour Down Under riding with a broken wrist after getting caught up in the infamous kangaroo crash.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you give five grand from your insurance settlement to the driver who knocked you off your bike because the crash cured your back pain. We may have to deal with rabid LA drivers, but at least we hardly ever run into potentially rabid baby bats. Who needs a bike seat when you’re Ryan Seacrest?

And honestly, who wouldn’t want their very own lobster bike?

Bluesky post

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

 

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

Update: 6-year old boy riding bike with parents killed by hit-and-run driver in San Diego’s Pacific Beach; 32-year old woman arrested

January 18, 2026 / / One comment

Dear God, no.

For the third time in three days, someone has been killed riding a bicycle here in Southern California.

This time, it was just a little kid, murdered by a hit-and-run driver.

Multiple sources are reporting that a six-year old boy was killed when he was first hit, then run over by a woman while riding his bike in San Diego’s Pacific Beach neighborhood Saturday afternoon.

The victim, identified as Hudson Stephen O’Loughlin, was riding his bicycle with his parents on the sidewalk on the south side of Pacific Beach Drive around 3:44 pm, when he was right hooked by a driver as he crossed the alley at Ingraham Street.

The driver was turning right off Pacific Beach into the alley when she struck the boy, knocking him off his bike. She paused briefly without exiting her car, then accelerated south down the alley, running over Hudson as he lay on the ground in front of her car.

He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The driver, identified only as a 32-year old woman, was taken into custody after police located her car in National City.

Investigators said alcohol was not a factor in the crash, which does not make it better.

Especially considering that the boy might still be alive if she had just gotten out of her car and seen him there. Or even backed up instead of speeding forward.

Even worse, it’s likely that both his parents witnessed the crash that killed their son, according to 10 News San Diego.

Hudson’s mother, Juliana Kapovich, described her son over the phone as everything she could imagine – a fearless, confident child who was full of life. She said he loved his brother and science.

Kapovich said she and Hudson’s father were with him when he was riding his bike Saturday. Police say Hudson was hit and then run over by a car turning into a nearby alley.

A crowdfunding campaign describes the boy as a bright light taken too soon.

Hudson was a bright, curious child who loved all things science, and his energy was contagious. He filled every room with his spirit and had a passion for BMX, cycling, swimming, skating, and building with Legos. Whether he was racing on his bike, splashing in the pool, or creating new Lego masterpieces, Hudson’s adventurous and creative nature inspired everyone around him. Hudson attended school in North Park where he made many friends and touched countless lives. Hudson dreamed of becoming a military scientist one day, and his love for learning was matched only by his love for his family. In his short life, he brought so much joy, kindness, and wonder to everyone he met. One of the sweetest memories his mom holds close is how, as soon as the sun came up, Hudson would come into her room to ask for cuddles. Those quiet, loving moments were a daily reminder of the deep bond they shared.

As of this time, the page has raised more than $35,000 of the $100,000 goal.

Anyone with information regarding the incident is encouraged to contact the San Diego Police Department Traffic Division or Crime Stoppers at 888/580-8477.

This is the fourth bicycling fatality that I’m aware in of Southern California this year, and the first in San Diego County.

There’s just no excuse.

Update: The driver has been identified as 32-year-old Tiffany Sanchez. She was booked on charges of vehicular manslaughter and felony hit-and-run.

However, San Diego’s NBC7 reports Sanchez did not appear to be in police custody Monday, and it wasn’t clear if she had posted bail was posted or been released.

Fox 5 San Diego quotes Hudson’s father, Matthew O’Loughlin, describing how the crash happened. 

“My son is behind me, my other son and wife are about 10 feet behind us,” Matthew described. “No cars, I cross over, I’m fine…I look back to check on him and the lady just runs him over.”

He said his instinct was to capture the driver’s license plate…

“She ran him over taking off with no disregard for anybody, you wouldn’t even do that to an animal, she just left him die on the street,” Matthew said. “She just left.”

The UK’s Daily Mail offers a few more details about the crash. 

David Morrow, who was driving behind the woman at the time, recalled seeing her ‘cut right into the alley’ before running Hudson over ‘twice,’ he told the outlet.

‘Like, both wheels ran over the kid. She stopped right in front for about ten seconds. That’s when I pulled behind her and got her license number, and then she took off,’ Morrow added.

He noted that a bystander, who was possibly a paramedic, jumped in to help Hudson.

‘He got up at first and was standing there all in pain, and then they laid him down, and he stopped breathing right in front of me,’ Morrow said of Hudson. ‘It was sad, and then I left.’

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Hudson Stephen O’Loughlin and his loved ones. 

Photos from Go Fund Me page

 

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

Encinitas declares bicycling emergency, support for Pacific Beach Slow Street, and car death cult piece misses mark

June 29, 2023 / / Comments Off on Encinitas declares bicycling emergency, support for Pacific Beach Slow Street, and car death cult piece misses mark

About damn time.

Encinitas has joined its North San Diego County neighbor Carlsbad in declaring a state of emergency for “bicycle, e-bicycle and motorized mobility device safety” in the wake of the death of 15-year old Brodee Champlain-Kingman

Champlain-Kingman’s family announced his death on Saturday, after he was struck by the driver of a work truck on Thursday.

However, the planned state of emergency action items reported by San Diego’s NBC-7 seem a little lacking.

The local emergency allows the city quicker access to resources necessary for education and enforcement, if needed. Some actions that the city council hopes to accomplish include the rental of 10 messages boards that will be placed in high-visibility areas reminding both riders and drivers to share the road, 300 yard signs urging safety, additional work with schools to educate students on-campus and a bike safety video made in unison with the San Diego Sheriff’s Department that can be played at assemblies and meetings.

The declaration places the most of the onus for safety on the potential victims riding on two wheels, rather than the people in the big, dangerous machines.

Because yard signs and message boards aren’t likely to slow drivers down, and won’t do a damn thing for the distracted drivers who don’t even see them.

Yes, it’s a start.

But if Encinitas really wants to save lives, they’ll need to lower speed limits and redesign roads to prevent speeding, as well as crack down on any form of distraction behind the wheel.

And it wouldn’t hurt to work with other North County cities to improve safety along the entire coast highway corridor.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people turned out for a candlelight vigil to honor Champlain-Kingman.

Thanks to Phillip Young and Marcello Calicchio for the heads-up.

………

These days, every street project that might possibly inconvenience someone is contentious.

Usually, needlessly so.

That’s certainly the case with the Slow Street project on Diamond Street in San Diego’s Pacific Beach neighborhood, where all of four — yes, four — people rose up at a recent Town Council meeting to complain about it.

Yet the local paper still headlined it as “Pacific Beach residents express displeasure over city’s traffic plans for Diamond Street.”

Did I mention that it was just four people who complained?

Fortunately, the local representative for the City Council Mobility Board, who was also the researcher who evaluated the project, wrote to the San Diego Union-Tribune to support the project.

…The benefits are staggering. The project led to an increase in walking and biking mode share, and children and older adults using the street. Driving mode share decreased by nearly 60 percent with a smaller impact on traffic on adjacent streets.

People reported a greater sense of community and well-being. Most were using the street for transportation and half planned to visit a business during their trip. Most importantly, there was overwhelming support for making the project permanent.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but “overwhelming support” is probably more than four.

A lot more.

She goes on to say that making Diamond a permanent slow street shouldn’t even be up for debate, since it gets San Diego that much closer to meeting its Climate Action Plan and Vision Zero goals.

Let’s hope the city council is listening.

………

Progressive magazine The American Prospect missed the mark.

A writer for the magazine makes the case against the “death cult of the American car,” noting the divergence between dropping traffic death rates in Europe, and rising rates in the US.

But he goes off track at the end in blaming neoliberalism of the 1980s and ’90s for the American failure, which he argues resulted in less government oversight, drawing a straight line leading to today’s massively oversized vehicles, overly wide roads and high traffic death rates.

The problem with that is traffic deaths prior to the ’80s were significantly higher than even the nearly 43,000 deaths in both 2021 and 2022, while today’s per capita deaths are just a fraction of the 1960s and 1970s.

There’s no arguing that traffic deaths are too high, and getting higher, and that poor road design and the ever-increasing size of motor vehicles are at least partly to blame, along with a dramatic increase in distracted driving.

But fondly remembering the good old days when traffic death rates were even worse doesn’t help.

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I have somehow miraculously recovered the ability to embed tweets.

Which comes in handy, with this must-read thread from People Powered Media regarding the poor conditions on the new bus and bike upgrades on Venice Blvd.

And yes, I’m including the links above in case the tweets below somehow disappear.

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I’m not sure if we shared this short film from Nimesh in Los Angeles when it came out last December.

So we’ll correct that possible oversight today.

In it, he argues that LA’s flat terrain and year-round Mediterranean climate should make it the bicycle capital of the world. But it isn’t, because Los Angeles makes biking in paradise a nightmare.

Thanks to Steven Hallett for the heads-up.

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Robert Leone forwards news that the Marines will apparently be blowing things up on Camp Pendleton again.

Which means that the popular bike path through the base will be closed from July 31st to August 4th.

So if you’re planning to ride south from Orange County, or north from San Diego County, you’ll have to use the shoulder of the freeway from the Las Pulgas Gate north to the tunnel under I-5.

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Some things don’t need translating.

Ralph Durham forwards a video for the proposed Complete Streets transformation of a Munich, Germany arterial.

Like he says, Google Translate is your friend. But I don’t make friends easily, so I’ll let him give you the shorthand.

I got a newsletter from the German Cycling Federation ADFC, and in this issue it shows a proposal to do a street makeover for a major arterial into the center of town. Next step is through the city council.

The numbers for users from 2011 to 2022 are amazing. The north end of the project runs into a nasty intersection that has been undergoing total renovation for the last 4 years. The existing situation shows 9,300 users on bikes daily. There are a couple of pictures of the existing bike lane. Unreal usage, but it is a main route direct into the city center.

It would be great if it gets through the city council.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on rolling.

This is who we share the world with. Even the bike-riding mayor of Emeryville has to deal with wannabe killer drivers. Unfortunately, though, this doesn’t cross the legal threshold for a threat, since it lacks a statement of intent — “I would” vs “I will.”

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

Police in Hermosa Beach are looking for a young man who rode off on a gas-powered beach cruiser after allegedly throwing fireworks into a crowd of people.

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Local 

This is who we share the road with. The LAPD is looking for a serial hit-and-run driver in a $90,000 electric Porsche Taycan who smashed into three cars in three separate crashes while driving on Main Street in DTLA at 3 am, before disappearing into the night.

West Hollywood will keep e-scooters on the streets for now, but calls on city officials to renegotiate provider contracts while imposing a 10 mph speed limit in the city.

 

State

After a Garden Grove councilmember said he doubts there’s much demand for bike lanes in the city, a bike-riding writer responds by suggesting he try riding some of the really scary ones that separate bike riders from speeding drivers with just a thin strip of paint.

Carpenteria’s new Santa Claus Lane Bikeway will have a temporary opening this weekend in time for the 4th of July holiday; it will close again this fall for final installation of a permanent barrier rail.

Santa Barbara will keep a nine-block stretch of State Street closed to cars for at least the next three and a half years, while continuing to allow bicycles.

Streetsblog’s Roger Ruddick says don’t ride on San Francisco’s new Valencia Street protected bike lane because it’s unsafe.

 

National

US Magazine rounds up the summer’s best deals on ebikes. Although with emphasis on deals rather than the actual quality of the ebikes.

Bike Portland’s Jonathan Maus says we’re having the wrong conversation about ebikes, as people predictably point fingers at kids on bikes while calling for mandatory licensing after the death of a teenage bike rider.

A 45-year old Las Vegas man died nearly a month after he was struck by a speeding motorcyclist while riding his bicycle.

Any city can do Bike to Work Day. But my bike-friendly Colorado hometown hosts an annual Bike Prom.

Life is cheap in North Dakota, where an 88-year old driver faces a single misdemeanor hit-and-run charge for running down a pair of bike riders participating in an annual fundraising ride from Texas to Alaska, then fleeing the scene. Once again raising the question of how old is too old to drive. And suggesting that he may be on the wrong side of that line. 

The family of a 14-year-old boy pinned to the ground by an off-duty Chicago cop who mistakenly accused him of stealing a bike is suing the city and the police officer; Michael A. Vitellaro was acquitted of official misconduct and aggravated battery in the incident earlier this month.

New Orleans bicyclists demand change as deaths spike in the city with the highest per capita rate of bicycling deaths in the US.

Vermont relaunched what was the nation’s first statewide bike rebate program, but with just $150,000 available for ebike vouchers.

Over 1,200 people applied for ebike vouchers in just the first few hours of Connecticut’s ebike rebate program. Which offers a warning for California, which has only $7.5 million left for rebate vouchers when its program finally launches. 

An 84-year old Pennsylvania man faces charges for the hit-and-run death of a 64-year old bike rider, after his own dashcam turned on him. Again raising the question of how old is too old to drive. And once agains suggesting he may be on the wrong side of it. 

 

International

Momentum Magazine offers advice on how to stay cool and fresh while bike commuting in summer weather.

Off.Road.cc suggest eight tips to help motivate you to get back on your bike.

Yanko Design recommends the top ten accessories to upgrade your bike this summer, including zip-on knobby tire treads, and a face air filter that will make you look like Batman supervillain Bane.

Hundreds of Calgary residents called for keeping a popup cycle track after the city threatened to tear it out.

Here’s another one for your bike bucket list, as Cycling Weekly rides the 100-mile off-road Trans Cambrian Way through the least populated district of Wales.

A Scottish bike messenger founded Gay’s Okay six years ago to make “simply adorable apparel” while building more inclusive spaces for LGBTQ+ bike riders.

An Indian man has traveled through 180 countries on a globe-trotting, 120,000-mile bike ride to call attention to HIV/Aids, with just 11 more countries to go.

The hit-and-run epidemic has spread to Thailand, after a 47-year old man was found lying dead on the side of the road near his mangled bicycle, shortly after separating from his riding companion.

 

Competitive Cycling

Three-time world champ Peter Sagan escaped a DUI charge with a three-month suspended sentence, after he was stopped in Monaco last month riding a scooter while under the influence; the sentence will allow him to compete in what will be his final Tour de France.

British cyclist Tom Pidcock says he loves descending, but is having second thoughts after he was hit hard by the death of Swiss cyclist Gino Mäder during a steep descent on the Tour de Suisse.

We Love Cycling predicts Jonas Vingegaard will win the Tour de France – unless Tadej Pogačar does.

American cyclist Kristen Faulkner’s hopes of returning to this year’s women’s Tour de France and the Giro Donne are in jeopardy, after she suffered a “small” knee fracture when she was struck by a driver while training in California. Read the first link on AOL if Bicycling blocks you. 

 

Finally…

At last, mountain bike shorts for expectant mothers. Forget trendy dance moves, now you can watch Le Tour on Le TikTok.

And answering the burning question of whether accused killer Kaitlin Armstrong is related to Lance.

Um, no.

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Eid Mubarak to all those celebrating today. 

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

Oh, and fuck Putin.

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