Once again, a bike rider appears to have been the tragic collateral damage of someone else’s collision.
According to KTLA-5, a woman in her 40s, whose identity has not been publicly released, was riding her bike on the 7100 block of North Shoup Ave just below Sherman Way around 4 pm, when she was somehow involved in a collision with two motor vehicles.
Details are still very sketchy; the best clue to what happened comes from a fire department spokesperson who described it as “a two-car accident also involving a bicyclist.”
The rider was killed at the scene; at least one other person was taken to a nearby hospital with critical injuries.
An aerial photo showed the victim covered by a tarp on the sidewalk, her mangled bike resting against the curb in front of the two vehicles that were apparently involved, one of which ended up on the sidewalk.
This is the 53rd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 21st in the County of Los Angeles. She is also the 7th bike rider to lose her life in the City of Los Angeles this year.
Update: A writer for the Huffington Post who lives in the neighborhood fills in some of the missing details.
Linda Milazzo reports seeing news of the collision on her Twitter feed, then driving to the collision site after seeing a helicopter hovering overhead.
According to Milazzo, the victim was standing on the sidewalk next to her bike when a northbound car turning left onto Sherman Way collided with a car driving south on Shoup; the second car went onto the sidewalk where it struck the victim, who suffered “multiple traumatic injuries to her face and body.”
The victim wasn’t wearing a helmet; Milazzo was told no when she asked an investigator for the Coroner’s office if that could have made a difference.
And this is why you should always carry ID when you ride. The victim, identified only as a woman around 40 years old, didn’t have any with her. While authorities think they know who she is, final identification will have to wait for confirmation from fingerprints or dental records next week.
Update 2: The LAPD Valley Traffic Division reports that it was a DUI collision. And while the victim has not yet been publicly identified, a comment from Jocelyne below says she knew the victim, who was most likely standing on the corner waiting for a bus; suggesting that the bike may not have been hers.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and her loved ones.
Thanks to Melissa Pamer for the heads-up.
