Tag Archive for San Diego County

Update: Ebike rider killed in collision in San Diego’s Barrio Logan neighborhood, police quick to blame the victim

June 21, 2022 / / 9 comments

The bad news just keeps on coming.

The San Diego Union-Tribune is reporting that a 63-year old man riding a “battery-assisted bicycle” has been killed in a collision in San Diego’s Barrio Logan neighborhood.

Evidently, they’ve never heard of an ebike.

According to police, the victim, who has not been publicly identified, was riding west on Harbor Drive near Beardsley Street around 9:30 this morning when he swerved to go around a box truck.

He reportedly struck the right front fender of a Dodge Charger traveling in the left lane, and was thrown across the car’s hood.

He died at the scene.

Police say there’s no evidence of intoxication, even though there’s not a single mention of a driver, as if the Charger was driving itself.

There’s also no word on how fast the driver was going; it seems unlikely that simply crashing into the side of the car would throw the victim over the hood.

There’s also no word on whether the truck was parked in the bike lane on Harbor or traveling in the right lane. And no explanation where the victim was riding prior to the crash.

This is at least the 45th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth that I’m aware of in San Diego County.

He is also the seventh bike rider to die on SoCal streets just this month.

Update: Raw video from the scene shows the car, with a shattered windshield, but no visible damage on the right front side where police say the victim’s bike struck the car. 

I’m not embedding the video because it shows the victim’s body in the roadway covered by a tarp, as well as his broken bicycle. So be sure you really want to see that before you click the link. 

Thanks to T for the link. 

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

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

Woman killed attempting to walk bike across I-5 in San Diego’s Pacific Beach

May 17, 2022 / / 12 comments

Once again, someone with a bike has been killed on a SoCal Freeway.

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, a woman was struck by a driver while attempting to walk her bike across southbound Interstate 5 in San Diego’s Pacific Beach neighborhood.

The crash occurred around 9:30 am Tuesday, after she had been walking her bike on the shoulder of the freeway south of Garnet Ave.

The victim, who has not been publicly identified, died at the scene.

The driver stopped and cooperated with CHP investigators. Neither the driver or her passenger were injured.

No explanation was given for why she was walking her bike on the freeway, or why she tried to cross the freeway.

This is at least the 37th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the third that I’m aware of in San Diego County.

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

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , ,

26-year old man on bicycle killed by ice cream truck driver in San Marcos crash; victim reportedly under the influence

March 24, 2022 / / Comments Off on 26-year old man on bicycle killed by ice cream truck driver in San Marcos crash; victim reportedly under the influence

At least the driver stuck around this time.

Several nearly identical sources are reporting a man riding a bike was killed by the driver of an ice cream truck in San Marcos Wednesday night.

The collision occurred at the intersection of Pico Ave and West Mission Road a little after 8 pm.

According to witnesses, the victim, identified only as a 26-year old man, was riding southwest across the intersection against a red light, when he was struck by the driver turning west onto Mission.

The only way that makes sense is if he was riding south on Pico, and was struck in a left cross when the driver turned with the left arrow, which would mean the driver had a red light.

He died at the scene.

San Diego sheriff’s deputies were quick to blame the victim, suggesting that he may have been under the influence, and said he wasn’t wearing a helmet.

There’s no word on why they suspect he was drunk, however. And as we’ve noted before, whether or not he had a helmet only matters if he died of a head injury, or if the collision might have been survivable with one.

That’s questionable, given that video from the scene shows it was a full-size food truck, rather than a smaller van, that hit him.

Use caution viewing the video, though, since it shows a blurred shot of the covered victim lying in the street next to his bike.

This is at least the 26th bicycling fatality in Southern California already this year, and the second that I’m aware of in San Diego County.

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

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

65-year old man killed in Solana Beach crash when his new ebike fell into traffic ; 1st San Diego County bike death this year

February 27, 2022 / / 2 comments

A man has been killed in a collision after falling off his ebike in Solana Beach Saturday afternoon.

According to multiple, nearly identical sources, the victim was riding north in the bike lane on Highway 101, above Lomas Santa Fe, when he somehow lost control of his ebike.

He fell into the traffic lane, and was struck by the driver of a slow-moving truck.

He did after being transported to Scripps Hospital in La Jolla.

The victim, publicly identified only as a 65-year old man, was reportedly attempting to pass a slower bike rider when his bike began to wobble. Fox-5 suggests it may have been his first ride on the newly purchased ebike.

There’s no word on why he may have struggled to control his bike. However, Phillip Young reports that the pavement has been pushed up by tree roots in some sections of the narrow painted bike lane, which could have destabilized his bike.

It’s also possible that he may have bumped or swerved to avoid the rider he was passing. Or could have simply lost control due to unfamiliarity with the new ebike.

The reports also don’t mention whether it a ped-assist or throttle controlled ebike, or his speed at the time of the crash, which also could have played a role.

Anyone with information is urged to call the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department at 858/565-5200.

This is at least the 18th bicycling fatality in Southern California already this year. Remarkably, though, it appears to be the first in San Diego County.

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

Thanks to Phillip Young for the heads-up.

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

At least 83 people killed riding bikes in SoCal last year, no more “car oopsies,” and Sartre and Hackman are one of us

January 11, 2022 / / 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

Let’s start with a followup to yesterday’s news.

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.

And likely more.

Maybe many more, when we finally see the official government totals in a few years.

Photo by Ted McDonald from Pixabay.

………

The older term was more accurate.

………

Gene Hackman is one of us.

And boy do I want to be like him when I grow up.

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A soaked Sartre on a foldie.

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Those vintage ice bikes we shared with you yesterday?

They’re still a thing, if somewhat more stable now.

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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.

https://twitter.com/yitgordon/status/1480610900444778496

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.

Reminiscent of the infamous Crimanimalz ride on LA’s Santa Monica Freeway more than a decade ago, over 100 people taking part in a Berkeley ride out took over the right lanes of the I-80 Freeway on Sunday, before they were escorted off by a CHP officer. As someone else pointed out, despite their scofflaw behavior, fewer people are killed by bicycle ride outs than everyday motor vehicle traffic. Thanks to Keith Johnson for the heads-up.

………

Local

No news is good news, right?

 

State

Huh? A San Diego letter writer criticizes the Union-Tribune for using the widow of a fallen bicyclist to illustrate the need for safer bikeways, saying that safety was never raised as a reason for bike lanes on 30th Street, because everyone knows it was too dangerous to ride a bike there.

A 20-year old Merced woman is under arrest after she was found with a man’s stolen bicycle, which was taken when the man was smashed in the head with a hard object; her alleged partner in crime is still on the run.

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.

 

National

How not to bonk on your next mountain bike ride.

E-pickup maker Rivian has applied for an ebike trademark, suggesting a foray into bikemaking could be in their future.

A Houston paper says the local bike lanes in the auto-centric city are an “absolute joke and incredibly dangerous to any cyclist who decides to risk it and ride in them.” So, it’s like most other major cities, then.

A writer for Chicago Streetsblog questions who we should really be building bike lanes for, concluding that they should be for inexperienced bicyclists who’d like to ride more, rather than more confident, experienced riders.

 

International

UK GQ recommends stylish and practical panniers for your bike. I’ll take the bright yellow leather ones, thank you very much. 

That feeling when a drunk Irishman breaks into your home and demands an ebike charger. Probably for the e-scooter he just stole to carry your television out on.

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.

Life is cheap in Israel, where a professional soccer player was given early release for good behavior after serving just two years for the hit-and-run death of a 17-year old ebike rider.

Popular Bangladeshi actor Bappy Chowdhury is one of us, taking a spill after losing his balance while filming a scene on a bicycle.

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.

Most of Japan’s abandoned and second-hand bicycles end up in Cambodia’s thriving used bike market.

 

Competitive Cycling

A team of Bangladeshi bicyclists set a new Guinness record for a relay team by riding 1,037 miles in just 48 hours.

VeloNews says UCI is disrespecting women’s cycling by banning team kits, while disrespecting women’s cycling themselves by hiding the editorial behind a paywall.

It’s time to head to Austria and get your snow bike racing on.

 

Finally…

That feeling when your toddler arrives in a bike trailer like an aristocrat. Stop your kid’s balance bike by remote control.

And can we have these on every street?

Please?

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

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

Bike rider allegedly murdered by driver while trespassing on San Diego horse ranch; 16th bike death in SD County

October 9, 2021 / / 5 comments

Horrific news from San Diego, where a man on a bike died up to a week after he was intentionally run down with an SUV.

The victim was reportedly trespassing on a horse ranch near the Mexican border on Monday, September 27th, when the owner’s adult son used his car as a weapon to slam into him with enough force to shatter his bicycle.

Allegedly, of course.

According to OnScene TV, the victim was a former worker on the Tijuana Valley ranch, who had reportedly been barred from the property.

The son gave chase in a Kia SUV, crashing into him at a high rate of speed, before losing control and smashing into bollards on the side of the dirt road.

The victim, who has not been publicly identified, was rushed to Mercy Hospital with major injuries, where he died sometime on or before October 5th.

The driver also suffered serious injuries, and had to be extricated from his vehicle.

Video from the scene suggests the crash occurred on Rancho La Palma, at 2325 Hollister Street in San Diego.

This is at least the 54th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 16th that I’m aware of in San Diego County.

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

Warning, this video shows the driver being removed from the SUV and placed on a backboard. So be sure you want to see that before clicking on it. 

 

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

62-year old man killed walking bicycle in Fallbrook; 15th bike death in San Diego County this year

October 5, 2021 / / One comment

It’s being reported as a pedestrian killed in a collision.

But he was one of us.

According to multiple sources, a 62-year old man was walking his bicycle when he was killed by a driver in Fallbrook Saturday night.

The San Diego Union-Tribune places the collision at 9:10 pm on Ammunition Road west of Alturas Street, near the entrance to Camp Pendleton.

The victim, who has not been publicly identified, was struck by 25-year old man from Washington state who was driving west on Ammunition.

He died at the scene.

Police do not suspect drug or alcohol use played a roll in the crash.

There’s no word on how the crash occurred, though it’s most likely the victim was walking along the right hand side of the roadway when he was run down.

There’s also no word on why he was apparently walking in the street, though it is possible he was on the sidewalk. However, the sidewalk appears to end a short distance west of Alturas, which could have forced him into the street.

No explanation has been given for why he was walking his bike. It’s possible he had just gotten off for some reason, or had a flat or some other mechanical issue. Or he may have just felt more comfortable walking after dark instead of riding.

But unless he just happened to find the bicycle on the side of the road, he died as one of us. And should have had the same right to remain safe walking a bicycle as riding one.

Anyone with information is urged to call the CHP at 760/643-3400.

This is at least the 53rd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 15th that I’m aware of in San Diego County.

However, it will more likely be counted as a pedestrian death in official statistics.

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

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

Man riding road bike killed by wrong way driver in San Diego; 14th bicycling death in San Diego County this year

September 16, 2021 / / 3 comments

Let’s see someone blame the victim this time.

It was just over a week ago that an Ocean Beach writer penned a truly awful piece blaming the victims of this year’s 13 bicycling fatalities in San Diego County for contributing, if not causing, their own deaths.

Make that 14 now.

But this time, the victim appears to be as blameless as humanly possible.

According to multiple, nearly identical stories, a man was riding his bicycle in the westbound bike lane on Camino Del Rio South in East Mission Valley Tuesday night, when he was hit head-on by a wrong way driver traveling east in the westbound lane.

Authorities place the crash west of Texas street, around 8:50 pm Tuesday.

The victim, publicly identified only as a 42-year old man, died at the scene.

Raw video from the crash site shows a crumpled red road bike in the tall weeds on the shoulder of the roadway, next to debris from the driver’s car, separated by a chainlink fence from the busy 8 Freeway.

The rear flasher on his bike continued to strobe on the broken bicycle, long after the crash.

The 25-year old driver’s car was stopped nearby, the windshield shattered over the steering wheel. Which means she had to see him in the bike lane directly in front of her if she was paying any attention to the road in front of her.

Police do not suspect intoxication; however, there’s no mention of whether she may have been distracted. Remarkably, though, she doesn’t seem to have been arrested, or even ticketed, at the scene.

Given that she was on the wrong side of the roadway, and somehow unaware of a grown man on a bicycle right in front of her car, it’s hard to imagine that she wouldn’t be criminally liable.

If nothing else, the presence of the bike lane to her left should have been a clue that there might be someone on a bicycle there, let alone that she was driving the wrong way.

Although these days, I suppose we should give her credit just for sticking around.

But the simple fact is the man on the bike was exactly where he was supposed to be, doing exactly what he was supposed to do, and lost his life to the plague of traffic violence — and an apparently negligent, if not distracted, driver — anyway.

This is at least the 48th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 14th that I’m aware of in San Diego County, which is suffering through an exceptionally bloody year.

Update: The victim has been identified as 42-year old San Diego resident Matthew Peter Keenan. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Matthew Peter Keenan and all his loved ones.

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Due to the time spent researching and writing this piece, and the late hour, there will be no Morning Links today. We’ll be back as usual on Friday to catch up on what we missed. 

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

Man riding bicycle killed in collision on Escondido freeway; 13th San Diego County bike death this year

August 22, 2021 / / Comments Off on Man riding bicycle killed in collision on Escondido freeway; 13th San Diego County bike death this year

Once again, someone has been killed riding a bicycle on a Southern California freeway.

And once again, with no explanation for why he was there.

According to multiple sources, a man was apparently attempting to cross eastbound State Route 78 near Centre City Parkway in Escondido when he was struck by a driver Saturday night.

Authorities place the time of the crash just after 9 pm.

A witness reports the victim was riding from the center divider to the right shoulder when he was hit. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

He has not been publicly identified yet. However, a crowdfunding page identifies him as Escondido resident Jerry Torres.

His brother-in-law describes Torres this way —

Jerry was a good man, he and Sue had started a new life together, he had his struggles but was working on overcoming them – he had a good heart, and was a friend to all who met him, he had a great smile that warmed a room.

So far, it’s raised just $100 of the $5,000 goal for funeral expenses.

This is at least the 45th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 13th that I’m aware of in San Diego County, which is already two to three times a normal year.

It’s also the third SoCal bike death that’s become public in the last three days.

Update: The San Diego Union-Tribune confirms the identity of the victim as 53-year old Escondido resident Jerry Torres.

The driver was reportedly doing 55 mph at the time of the collision.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Jerry Torres and all his loved ones.

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

More blood on the streets of San Diego; unidentified man killed riding motorized bicycle in North Clairemont

July 23, 2021 / / 3 comments

The carnage continues on the streets of San Diego.

Just three days after 57-year old Laura Shinn was killed while riding her bike in Balboa Park, by a driver alleged to be high on meth, another bike rider has lost his life riding in the Clairemont neighborhood.

According to multiple sources, the victim, described only as a man in his 60s, was struck while riding his bike at the intersection of Genesee Ave, Chickasaw Court and Saulk Ave around 5:31 Friday evening.

He died after being transported to a local hospital.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports the victim, who was riding some sort of motorized bicycle, had just turned right from Sauk Ave onto northbound Genesee, most likely into the bike lane on Genesee. He then allegedly swerved left in front of the driver of a high-powered Mercedes SUV.

However, that seems unlikely if he saw the car bearing down on him as he turned, unless the driver may have been exceeding the 40 mph speed limit and closed the distance faster than expected.

It’s also questionable why he would have swerved into the left lane as the paper describes, when there is nowhere to turn left on the the divided roadway.

Which is not to say it didn’t happen that way, but it does raise a number of questions.

The 30-year old driver stayed at the scene, and was reportedly cooperating with police.

The paper also reports the victim wasn’t carrying ID with him, hampering efforts to identify him.

This is at least the 37th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 12th that I’m aware of already this year in San Diego County.

That’s one more than Los Angeles County, which has roughly three times the population.

If you’re not mad down there yet, maybe you should be.

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

 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,
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