Tag Archive for Redlands

Fallen Redlands bicyclist identified as teen visiting from Mexico, and some Streets For All PAC donations now deductible

December 13, 2022 / / One comment

Just 12 days left in the 8th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!

You know how fast time flies this time of year. Turn around, and it will be Boxing Day already, and it will all be over for another year.

Okay, who just applauded?

Let’s all take a moment to thank Terese E for a generous donation to keep all the best bike news and advocacy coming your way every day. 

And yes, she was the only one who donated yesterday.

So don’t wait. Donate today via PayPal or Zelle. Then relax and enjoy the holidays, knowing you’ve done your part to help keep this site up and running, and free for all.

And help keep a hungry spokesdog and chief fundraiser in kibble. 

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Tragic news from Redlands, where the victim of Thursday’s fatal bicycling collision was identified as a 16-year old boy from Mexico who was just vacationing in the city.

A crowdfunding campaign to send Juan Pablo Carrillo-Salazar’s body back to his family Zacatecas for burial has raised just $135 of the modest $6,000 goal so far.

If money’s tight this year, go ahead and skip the fund drive this year, and donate to this worthy cause, instead.

We’ll be back again next year for the 9th edition of our fund drive.

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You can now make a tax deductible donation to LA transportation PAC Streets For All for use on nonpolitical activities, thanks to the requirements of nonprofit tax law.

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Apparently, an abandoned bike helmet is pretty exciting stuff when you’re a toddler.

https://www.tiktok.com/@thearmfarklife/video/7165660871459491118?_r=1&_t=8XNUB3jeXiF&is_from_webapp=v1&item_id=7165660871459491118

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Why ride when you can fly?

https://twitter.com/jamshed_mohamed/status/1601661754911510529?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1601661754911510529%7Ctwgr%5E1923e3778c05579f6e02b5604a6eb0566bc4f5aa%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fd-37917973493830349893.ampproject.net%2F2211250451000%2Fframe.html

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Take a two and a half minute downhill break with Kiwi freestyle pro Vero Sandler. And her dog.

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‘Tis the season.

In a comment from yesterday, Center Line Rules author Michael Wagner reminds us about a couple of local bike builds he too part in recently, to ensure that 80 Fontana area kids will have new bikes under the tree this year,  as well as building more bikes with the Claremont Senior Bike Group, the Claremont Rotary Club, students from El Roble Middle School, Claremont High School and the Webb Schools.

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

Once again, a UK pedestrian has been killed by a bike rider, after an elderly woman walking on a pathway died two weeks after she was knocked down by a speeding hybrid bike — which apparently didn’t have a rider, judging by the story.

A South African cyclist learns the hard way that you can get banned from real racing for cheating at the virtual kind.

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Local 

A letter writer takes now-former Mayor Eric Garcetti — and implicitly, the Los Angeles Times — to task for the rising rate of traffic deaths in the city, and failure of his Vision Zero plan. And concludes that Garcetti’s pledge wqs indicative of his “’promise now, do nothing later’ approach to any difficult choice he had to make. That toothless, spineless approach will forever be his legacy.” Harsh, but sadly accurate.

Green Car Congress specifies the six Los Angeles active transportation projects funded by the California Transportation Commission, as part of nearly $1 billion in active transportation funding throughout the state.

A Long Beach man was the victim of a bike-by shooting; the same bike rider may have carjacked a woman a few minutes later, and crashed her SUV a few minutes after that.

 

State 

Encinitas will shut down the Coast Highway next month, opening it up to pedestrians and bike riders on January 8th.

 

National

Electrek suggest stocking stuffers for the ebike rider or regular bicyclist in your life, while Road.cc helps you avoid a festive faux pas by suggesting what not to get.

Road Bike Rider considers the difference between a touring bike and a roadie.

Christian singing star Amy Grant now says the bike crash that knocked her unconscious and put her latest tour on hold was a blessing that forced her to refocus on what she loved about performing to begin with.

Unbelievable. An Iowa man walked out of prison a free man this week, despite being sentenced to ten years for the drunken death of a 69-year old woman riding a bike, after the judge somehow decided the original sentence was too harsh and resentenced him to probation. Just in case you were wondering why people keep dying on our streets, or anything. 

An Arkansas man will serve a well-deserved ten years behind bars for the hit-and-run death of a bike-riding man who had just gotten married two months earlier.

Rail service was shut down in Pittsburgh on Sunday after a mountain biker fell 25-feet off a cliff, landing on the railroad tracks.

He gets it. A 75-year old Baltimore man says forget the myth that Baby Boomers have no use for bike lanes.

Sad news from Maryland, where a longtime bike shop owner was killed when an early morning fire broke out in the shop, where he was living with his dog, who was also overcome with smoke.

Once again, authorities somehow managed to keep a dangerous driver on the streets until it’s too late, as a North Carolina man faced charges for crashing into a bike rider while high on weed and heroin, a week after appearing in court for causing a freeway crash; he was still on the road despite 40 previous convictions and multiple DUIs.

The worldwide epidemic of bike shop closures continues, with the closure of a 62-year old Florida bike shop.

This is the cost of traffic violence. The owner of a Michigan bike shop was killed in a Florida traffic collision while delivering free bikes for kids displaced by Hurricane Ian.

 

International

Bicycling offers an overview of what year-end Strava data tells us, including that bike commuting is nearly back up to pre-pandemic levels, and you’re more likely to ride further with a friend when it’s cold out. Of course, it also only tells you about people who use Strava. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you. 

Bike Radar recommends their picks for the best ebikes for every type of rider. And adds an explanation of motor position, and why it matters. Meanwhile, Bloomberg offers their ebike picks, too.

 

Competitive Cycling

Bicycling takes a detailed look at the tragic life of Moriah “Mo” Wilson, whose star burned brightly over the world of ‘cross for a few short years, before she was allegedly murdered by the jealous girlfriend of pro cyclist Colin Strickland. Read it on AOL this time if the magazine blocks you. 

Belgian world champion Remco Evenepoel announced plans to compete in next year’s Giro.

 

Finally…

Your next ebike could be a naked Mercedes-Benz. Now you, too, can pedal a bike to power Rome’s Christmas tree.

And this pretty well sums up the whole sad situation.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

 

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

Update: Man killed riding bike in Redlands collision this morning; no details available

December 8, 2022 / / 7 comments

It takes a lot of effort to steel myself to write about yet another bike rider killed on our streets, sometimes.

I tell myself I’m just waiting for more information. But in reality, I’m working up the strength to confront another needless tragedy.

Especially when it’s the third time in three days.

That was the case today, when I received an email forwarding a report from the Redlands Police Department, which announced the death of a man riding a bicycle near 5th Ave and Marion Road, shortly before 9 this morning.

A response to the post indicated that seven people, including two doctors, struggled to save the victim’s life before paramedics arrived. He died at the scene, despite their efforts.

A street view shows a separated bike lane in both directions on 5th.

Unfortunately, that’s all the information we have right now.

This is at least the 78th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the eleventh that I’m aware of in Riverside County.

 

Update: I received the following comment from Amanda Frye in response to this crash, which I asked if I could share here — including the first indication that the victim may have been a 18-year old kid. 

Never mind that the crash still hasn’t seen a single word in the local press.

On the same day that the Redlands City Council voted to raise speed limits all over the city, Long Beach City Council voted to lower speed limits throughout their city to reduce accidents and save lives.

Two days later in Redlands, a 16 year old boy riding a bicycle near Moore Middle School was struck and killed.  The Redlands City Council justification for raising speed limits were based on an obviously flawed Engineering and Traffic Survey (ETS) conducted by a company from out of town.  The Engineering report contains obvious omissions including schools in the vicinity or residential area with bicyclists and pedestrians.  These engineering road condition omissions would have provided justification for lower speed limits in the vicinity where  the 16 year old was killed, Fifth Avenue was listed as 45 mph with no notation in the survey for a school in the vicinity.  Redlands’ Moore Middle School borders Fifth Avenue.  It appears that Redlands staff just rubber stamped the study with little to no review or oversight.  Other Redlands schools on streets included in the ETS were not noted either resulting in raised speed limits in residential neighborhoods with the public pointing out these omissions. Near my house the engineer missed the large bicycle symbols on the road as this is a popular bicycle route and failed to note a residential area with pedestrians and bicyclists or an open drainage channel.  How could these items be missed?

While residents were asking for lowering speed limits to make our roads safer for everyone, Redlands city council voted to raise the speed limit claiming the police said they had to raise speed limits in order to enforce them. The action and rationale lacked logic especially given the flawed Engineering and Traffic Survey. The California Vehicle Code provides the local authority the ability to lower speed limits to make our streets safer for all.

Update 2: The victim was identified by relatives as 16-year old Juan Pablo Carrillo-Salazar, who was just visiting Redlands from his home in Mexico when he was killed. 

A crowdfunding campaign to send Carrillo-Salazar’s body back to Zacatecas for burial has raised just $135 of the modest $6,000 goal. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Juan Pablo Carrillo-Salazar and his loved ones. 

Thanks to Kate Condon, Amanda Frye and Helen Salazar for the heads-up. 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

Bike rider killed in crash near Redlands; no details available

October 30, 2020 / / 2 comments

Another person has been killed riding a bicycle in Southern California.

And once again, almost no details are available.

According to My News LA, a bike rider was killed in a collision at 5:32 Thursday morning on San Timoteo Canyon Road at Redlands Boulevard in Redlands.

However, the location appears to put it in Riverside County, near the border with San Bernardino County south of Redlands.

A street view shows a heavily trafficked T-intersection, with two-lane roadways in each direction.

Unfortunately, that’s all we know at this time; there’s no word on the identity of the victim or how the crash happened.

Let alone why.

This is at least the 53rd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the tenth that I’m aware of in Riverside County.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his or her loved ones. 

 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , ,

Alleged drunk, speeding driver kills unidentified Redlands bike rider

May 9, 2020 / / 4 comments

Even in the midst of a pandemic, people continue to die on our streets, simply because they’re riding a bicycle.

The latest victim is a man in Redlands, who lost his life at the hands of an accused drunk and speeding driver.

According to the Redlands Daily Facts, the victim was riding his bike at Tennessee Street and San Bernardino Ave around 8 pm Thursday when he was run down by 34-year old Mentone resident Ricardo Angel Aguilar.

The victim was transported to Loma Linda University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, despite the efforts of an off-duty nurse who treated him at the scene.

At last report, investigators were still trying to identify him. However, they suspect he may have been a transient.

There’s no word on how the crash actually occurred, or if the victim had lights on his bike in the deepening darkness.

San Bernardino is a four lane roadway that narrows to two lanes with a 45 mph speed limit at Tennessee, while Tennessee is a two lane road with no posted speed limit; both have narrow painted shoulders.

Aguilar is being held on a quarter-million dollars bail on charges of suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence.

This is at least the 19th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the third that I’m aware of in San Bernardino County.

It’s also the third fatal bike crash in Redlands in little more than a year.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

19-year old Team California cyclist Tate Meintjes killed Tuesday while training for Redlands Classic

March 13, 2019 / / 2 comments

Once again, a competitive cyclist has been killed in a training collision.

And this time, it’s in our own back yard.

According to the Redlands Classic, 19-year old Team California rider Tate Meintjes was killed in a collision while previewing the course for today’s time trial.

Meintjes was riding with his teammates on Sand Canyon Road, just east of Crafton Avenue above Redlands, at 10:52 yesterday morning when the driver of the car he was following made a sudden U-turn directly in front of him.

He was unable to stop in time, slamming into the car and smashing through a window. An emergency room physician happened to be riding nearby, and came to Meintjes aid shortly after the crash.

He was taken to Loma Linda University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

The Reno-based racer had begun his career in mountain biking, before making the jump to road racing last year. Meintjes rode with the U-23 Bear Development Team in 2018, switching to Team California this year.

His Twitter account shows a typical young man enjoying the bicycling lifestyle; the last post was dated just two weeks before he died.

The race will go on today at the urging of his parents; the Redlands Classic will use the hashtag #RideForTate in his honor throughout this year’s race.

This is at least the 12th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the third I’m aware of in San Bernardino County; it’s also the second in just two days in the county.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for TateMeintjes and all his loved ones.

Thanks to Eric Lewis for the heads-up.

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

Redlands bike rider dies two days after crash in Highlands

January 23, 2018 / / One comment

News broke Monday night that a bike rider had suffered life threatening injuries in a Highland crash on Saturday.

Sadly, he didn’t make it.

The San Bernardino Sun reports the victim was struck by a pickup on Palm Avenue south of Third Street around 7:30 pm Saturday; he passed away from his injuries Monday afternoon.

The San Bernardino County coroner identified him as 34-year old Redlands resident Brandon Mayberry.

According to the coroner, the crash occurred as Mayberry was riding north on Palm, and was rear-ended by the driver of the truck.

The driver reportedly stayed at the scene and cooperated with investigators.

A street view shows two lanes in each direction on Palm with a center turn lane, and what appears to be bike lanes on either side.

Anyone with information about the crash is urged to contact Highland Police Department Deputy Kyle Glozer at 909/425-9793.

This is the 4th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the second in San Bernardino County.

My deepest sympathy for Brandon Mayberry and all his loved ones.

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

Motorized bike rider dies after being struck by two drivers in Redlands

July 31, 2017 / / 4 comments

Once again, a bike rider has been left to die street by a heartless coward.

According to the Redlands Daily Facts, a 55-year old San Bernardino man was riding a motorized bicycle south on Alabama Street north of Pioneer Street in Redlands when he was rear-ended by the driver of a Subaru Impreza  around 10:30 pm.

That driver fled the scene, leaving the victim lying in the street, where he was struck by a second driver a few minutes later.

The second driver had the decency to remain at the scene.

The victim, who has not been publicly identified, was pronounced dead at Loma Linda University Medical Center a short time later.

No one will ever know if the victim, who has not been publicly identified, could have survived if the first driver had called for help and stayed at the scene to prevent the second crash.

The 20-year old driver turned himself in to police two hours later.

Which would have given him plenty of time to clear out his text messaging history or hide any other possible evidence of distraction or drug or alcohol use.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Redlands Police Department at 909-798-7681 ext. 1.

This is the 32nd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the seventh in San Bernardino County. And it’s just the second bicycling death in Redlands in the last five years.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.  

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

Redlands bike rider killed in Meade Valley hit-and-run

August 4, 2016 / / One comment

It’s happened again.

Yet another bike rider has been left to die on the side of the road by a murderous coward.

In a story that flew under the radar earlier this week, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reported that an unidentified cyclist had been killed in a hit-and-run Sunday night.

According to the paper, the CHP was attempting to identify the victim, who was apparently struck from behind while riding west on Cajalco Road west of Wood Road in Meade Valley; however, Google Maps places that location in Perris, instead. No word on the time of the collision.

The driver fled the scene without stopping. Police are looking for the driver of a 2008-2014 Ford car with front end damage on the passenger side, with a possible broken headlight.

The victim was identified today as Duane Darling, a member of the Redlands Water Bottle Transit Company, a recreational bike club based in Redlands. He was reportedly on a 60-mile ride when he was killed.

No other information is available at this time.

A street view shows a two lane, undivided highway with a shoulder on each side; there would have been nowhere to go if he had seen or heard the car coming up behind him.

Anyone with information with information is urged to call CHP investigators at 951/901-8401, or the Riverside office at 951/637-8000.

Once they find the driver, he — or she — should face a second-degree murder charge for making a conscious decision to leave the victim to die.

This is the 50th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fifth in Riverside County; that compares with 41 in SoCal this time last year, and four in the County.

If the crash did occur in Perris, it is the fourth fatal bike collision in the city in the last 36 months.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Duane Darling and all his friends and lived ones.

Thanks to Dorothy Wong and Lester Walters for the heads-up.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Hit-and-Run, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , ,

Update: Bike rider mugged on Ballona Creek bike path; Redlands driver attempts to run down cyclists

July 23, 2013 / / 17 comments

Are the Ballona badlands back?

In a crime reminiscent of the bad old days of five years ago, when bike riders were attacked in two separate assaults on the Ballona Creek Bike Path, a cyclist was mugged on the popular bikeway Friday evening.

According to a comment from Mark Neumann, a friend of his was assaulted by three men in an attempt to steal his bike.

On Friday night about 6 pm while riding home from work, a friend of mine got assaulted on his bike riding the Ballona Creek bike path in Culver City on Friday. His words: “He threw his bike into my front wheel as I was about to pass him going about 20 mph. So that dumped me straight onto my shoulder and ribs. I hopped up and the guy was starting to pull my bike away. I told him no and grabbed it back. Wasn’t thinking straight with all the adrenaline cause he pulled it back and started reaching in his pocket. But then he let go and ran off. That’s when I started to feel the injuries and that I couldn’t breathe from the ribs and punctured lung. Feeling better today but the ribs hurt like a mother. Hope to get the chest tube out tomorrow and then get home.” Three guys caused him to crash and tried to steal his bike. He has 5 broken ribs, a broken clavicle, collapsed lung and some good road rash. He is doing well at UCLA but in lots of pain and unable to move.  Be careful on this path.

Unfortunately, things like this are nothing new.

And not restricted to the Ballona bikeway.

An August, 1990 article in the LA Times reports that the Automobile Club of Southern California had warned its bike riding members to avoid Ballona Creek due to dangerous conditions there — a risk made evident when a rider was shot to death on the bike path near Marina del Rey that July.

And it was just two years ago that riders were attacked in at least four separate incidents on the Greenway Trail in Wittier, including a woman who was severely beaten before her attackers ran off without taking anything. Or, thankfully, doing anything other than beating the crap out of her.

It’s a fear that leads many riders, especially women, to avoid off-road bikeways, particularly after dark or when other riders aren’t likely to be present. And may have contributed to the hit-and-run death of Erin Galligan in Santa Monica last year, as she chose to ride through a dangerous construction area on PCH rather than take her chances on the dark, secluded beachfront bike path just a few feet away.

It’s not that bike paths are inherently dangerous. It’s the fact that assaults like this are relatively rare that makes them so shocking.

But it’s an inherent problem with virtually any off-road pathway that while they offer protection from motor vehicles, large sections of the paths are likely to be out of public view and rarely, if ever, patrolled by the police, providing a secluded location for anyone with evil intent.

In fact, in the 2008 assaults, it became clear that the LAPD didn’t even know there was a Ballona Creek bike path, let alone where it was. A problem compounded by the three separate police agencies — LAPD, Culver City PD and LA Sheriff’s Department — responsible for various sections of the bikeway.

None of whom I have ever seen patrol the pathway while riding there myself.

That lack of police protection means it’s up to you keep an eye out for dangerous situations and people or circumstances that just don’t look right. Just as it would be if you were walking or riding through a secluded alley or parking garage, or any other place where an assault could be hidden from public view.

Though how you avoid someone throwing a bike at you is beyond me.

Update: Neumann forwards another report from a friend showing the long history of violence on the bikeway, this one dating back more than 20 years.

Flashback to: Wed Nov 27, 1991 Ballona Creek bike path. Back then there was no fence between the projects and the bike path. I was attacked by a gang while riding home from my office in Beverly Hills. They pulled me off the bike. One of them cold cocked me. I took off running. They caught me. Struck me on the side of the head (with a bike helmet on – no less) with either a gun or a pipe. While on the ground that night I thoroughly believed it was going to be my last day on this planet. But, they grabbed my backpack and ran away. (They got my wallet and a Rolex.) I was in shock. I had a fractured zygomatic (temple) arch. They never caught the culprits. My doctor failed to diagnose my fracture. It healed broken. I had to have corrective surgery which resulted in an infection/abscess. More surgery. A week in Torrance Memorial on 24 hour IV antibiotics. Lost 20 pounds. Necrosis to my jaw bone. Followed up with corrective surgery and bone removal. I have permanent limited opening of my jaw. I never thought anything could rattle me but I could not walk down a street without looking over my shoulder for over a year. I refused to ride that stretch of Ballona Creek for over 15 years. I will only ride it now if I am with others. A couple of weeks after I was assaulted a guy was shot and killed on his bike in the same stretch. I knew him. He worked at that corner mini-mart up from the MB Pier (where Skechers is now). Anyhow, I hope your friend is OK. Truly.

Update 2: The victim of the assault has been identified as Manhattan Beach school board member Bill Fournell; he was released from the hospital after five days with a broken collarbone, broken ribs and punctured lungs. 

Manhattan Beach Patch places the assault at around 6 pm on July 19th, between the Higuera and Dusquesne bridges.

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Maybe they really are out to get us.

According to multiple reports, a Redlands man is under arrest for deliberately aiming his car at number of bike riders in a string of attacks this past weekend.

Redlands police arrested 26-year old John McDonald on charges of assault with a deadly weapon after he repeatedly attempted to ram bicyclists along Sunset Drive with his Honda Civic. In at least one case, he swerved across the roadway in an effort to hit a cyclist riding in the opposite direction, forcing the rider off the road.

More frightening, police responded to similar calls throughout the weekend, including two on Sunday, suggesting that the attacks continued over at least a two-day period.

Under the circumstances, it seems like a miracle that no one was seriously injured.

Or worse.

And yet, when they finally did arrest him, McDonald was held on just a $50,000 bond. I guess trying to kill someone with your car isn’t considered all that serious unless you succeed.

Anyone with information is urged to call Redlands police at (909) 798-7681.

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Finally, police are looking for the hit-and-run driver who plowed into a group of cyclists at the monthly San Jose Bike Party, injuring two riders and leaving one with a broken hip and skull.

Clearly, hit-and-runs are not just an LA problem.

They seem to occur with frequency wherever motor vehicles come in contact with soft and breakable flesh.

Category: Bikes & the Law, Violence & Crime / Tags: , , , , ,

Four months after a bike rider was fatally injured in a hit-and-run, Redlands police say it never happened

February 26, 2013 / / 4 comments

Something smells a little fishy here.

Last week I wrote about a Redlands bike rider who tragically died months after she was critically injured in an October hit-and-run.

Laura Lee Jones was reportedly hit from behind by a car traveling at an estimated 45 to 55 miles an hour; police asked the public to be on the alert for a newer black sedan with damage to the front bumper, windshield and roof.

Now they say it didn’t happen.

I’ll let a Redlands resident take up the story in an email I received Tuesday evening.

Thought I should send this your way as a follow up to your Feb 19 post about Laura Lee Jones, who passed away after an apparent hit-and-run in Redlands last October.  This is from the Redlands Police Department Facebook update this afternoon.

Fatal October accident determined not to be hit-and-runAn October traffic collision that resulted in the death of woman earlier this month was determined not to be a hit-and-run accident as initially believed.The collision occurred in the eastbound lanes of Lugonia Avenue at Grove Street at about 6:45 p.m. Friday, Oct. 26. The victim, 51-year-old Laura Lee Jones, was critically injured. She died Feb. 3 of injuries sustained in the accident. Early witness reports described a black vehicle that initially struck Jones and left the scene before she was struck by another vehicle which did stop. Police conducted an investigation, examining physical evidence at the scene and reinterviewing witnesses, and determined that the first vehicle was not involved in the accident. The driver of the vehicle that struck Jones was determined not at fault and no charges have been filed.Anyone with additional information is asked to contact Redlands Police Dispatch at (909) 798-7681. Anonymous tips can be provided by texting 274637 using the keyword “REDTIP.” Certain non-emergency crimes may also be reported online using the Redlands Police Department’s CopLogic reporting system at

http://ci.redlands.ca.us/police/coplogic/start-report.html.

I’m really trying to be reasonable here. This accident happened less than 2 miles from my home. Yes, it is a busy street, and yes, it was dark.

Initial reports stated that witnesses reported that a black vehicle had hit the victim and fled east toward Mentone without stopping. I didn’t ever see a report that talked about the second car hitting her at that time. Now that she’s dead, they re-interview witnesses and decide that the black car didn’t hit her after all? The car that supposedly had front end, windshield and roof damage didn’t even hit her?  Did the second car that stopped have damage, because if it’s the only car that hit her, it should have. The second car isn’t even mentioned until updates this month after the vigil her friends held for her at the site where she was hit.

http://www.redlandsdailyfacts.com/news/ci_21871792/hit-and-run-vehicle-injures-cyclist-redlands-police

http://www.sbsun.com/ci_21871792/hit-and-run-vehicle-injures-cyclist-redlands-police?IADID=Search-www.sbsun.com-www.sbsun.com

Regardless of who hit her, she was nailed from behind and she died. Some driver should face a charge of some sort. Name the driver that hit her so there is at least a squinch of accountability.

Funny how the story changes completely only after the victim died.

Suddenly she was killed by a second car that hadn’t existed in the press or police reports in more than three months before Jones died. And the first car, which supposedly sustained extensive front end damage, never touched her.

Not that that strains credibility or anything.

It’s possible, of course. By now, we should all know that a speeding car can cause a rider to fall without ever actually making contact. Yet that doesn’t make the driver any less at fault.

In this case, though, police apparently ignore witness statements to conclude it’s just another case of harm, but no foul.

So maybe it’s just a case of exceptionally bad PR.

Maybe if the Redlands police had updated the investigation as they went on, rather than doing a complete 180 after Jones death, it might not strain their credibility to such a degree.

Maybe if they’d announced publicly that they’d found the driver and determined he wasn’t at fault months ago, it might be more believable.

Or maybe if they’d even mentioned the mere existence of the second vehicle, it might not seem like they’d pulled it out of their… well, hats.

Maybe they’ve just done an incredibly bad job of keeping the public informed. Or maybe there’s something else going on here.

Speaking strictly for myself, I’d like to know who was driving that black sedan.

Because something certainly seems rotten in the state of Redlands.

Category: Bikes & the Law, Injuries and Fatalities, Law Enforcement, Legal Cases / Tags: , , , , ,
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