Just in time for this year’s Ride of Silence, yet another person has died while riding or walking a bicycle, this time in Redlands.
According to the Redlands Daily Facts, a man was killed when he was struck by a driver while lying in the roadway next to a bicycle.
The 21-year old driver was returning home from work around 2:30 am Tuesday when she spotted the victim lying in the southbound lane of Orange Street north of Pioneer Avenue in Redlands, but was unable to swerve in time to avoid him.
The victim, publicly identified only as a 31-year old transient, was declared dead at the site.
The driver remained at the scene, and was not suspected of being under the influence.
There’s no word on why the victim was in the street, or if he had been riding or walking his bike.
It’s possible that he may have fallen off his bicycle for some reason, or he could have been the victim of a prior hit-and-run.
The speed limit on that section of Orange was either 40 mph or 45 mph, depending on which side of Pioneer the crash was on despite being in a residential neighborhood.
Either way, an impact at those speeds is unlikely to be survivable.
This is at least the 28th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth that I’m aware of in San Bernardino County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and all his loved ones.
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Because of tonight’s breaking news stories, there will be no Morning Links today. We’ll be back tomorrow to catch up on anything we’ve missed.
If you’d like to remember the victims of this week’s crashes, or any of the other bike riders so needlessly lost to traffic violence over the past year, there will be Rides of Silence in Redding, Fullerton and Orange, as well as in Los Angeles and at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, and throughout Southern California.
