Tag Archive for Signal Hill

Police blame the victim after 18-year old Raider Magallanes killed in Signal Hill bicycling collision last week — even though witnesses contradict them

June 26, 2024 / / 4 comments

Nothing like blaming the victim.

A Long Beach boy was killed riding his bike in Signal Hill last week, and the local police were quick to blame him for his own death.

Maybe too quick.

According to the Long Beach Post, 18-year old Raider Magallanes was training with a couple friends around 7:35 pm on Tuesday, June 18th when he “collided into a moving vehicle” at Cherry Ave and Skyline Drive.

There’s no word on whether Magallanes died at the scene, or after being taken to a hospital after the crash.

And yes, the driver stuck around afterwards, as required by law and basic human decency.

Signal Hill police determined that the recent high school graduate ran the red light after descending a steep hill while headed west on Skyline Drive, apparently based on a security cam from a nearby grocery store.

However, according to Velina Velasquez, the boy’s aunt and legal guardian, numerous witnesses have come forward to say Magallanes — not the driver — had the green light. And that the traffic lights couldn’t be seen in the video that captured the crash.

Which raises the question of whether there were any independent witnesses who told police Magallanes ran the red light. Or if they just took the driver’s word for it.

Magallanes had graduated with honors from Long Beach Polytechnic High School just five days before the crash, and was training with friends in anticipation of joining the Marines in August.

His aunt adopted Magallanes and his two brothers when he was eight years old, and raised him as her own.

Velasquez has stayed near the intersection for the past week, talking with anyone who may have seen the crash. During that time, she’s witnessed several near-misses, along with a hit-and-run, and says more needs to be done to improve safety.

“There needs to be a camera here, there should have been a camera here,” Velasquez said.

A crowdfunding campaign has raised less than $7,000 of the $30,000 goal.

This is at least the 26th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the seventh that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.

Magallanes’ death came just four days after another fatal bicycling collision less than four miles away in Long Beach.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Raider Magallanes and all his loved ones.

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

Signal Hill bike rider critical after hit-and-run, Everesting record falls again, and trade your car for an ebike — next year

June 17, 2020 / / One comment

Maybe some day our elected leaders will care enough to stop hit-and-runs.

Unfortunately, that day, if it ever comes, will be too late for a Signal Hill bike rider, who was severely injured in a hit-and-run on Monday.

According to the Press-Telegram, the man is in critical condition after he was struck by a driver while riding on Skyline Drive at Cherry Avenue around 11:55 pm.

He was run down by a southbound SUV while crossing the intersection while riding west on Skyline. Which means either he or the driver ran the red light.

But regardless of who was at fault, the driver is now wanted for felony hit-and-run.

Police are looking for a dark-colored Chevrolet Tahoe. Hopefully they’ll find the heartless coward who was driving it.

And his victim will make a full and fast recovery.

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay.

………

Once again, we have a new record for Everesting, after Aussie pro Lachlan Morton dropped the time required to climb the height of Mt. Everest on a bike to just 7 hours 32 minutes and 54 seconds.

And he set it on a road I grew up riding, on Rist Canyon just outside my Colorado hometown.

Which makes me just one degree of separation from the new world record.

Right?

………

The South Coast Air Quality Management District is finally getting around to implementing a recent state law allowing you to trade in your older car for a new ebike.

But only if you can wait until next year.

I can’t, unfortunately.

………

Local

South LA bike and community advocacy group East Side Riders teamed with the LA Galaxy to feed 600 people in Watts on Tuesday. Or maybe 1,000, depending on whether you believe the headline or the news story.

Pasadena police busted a bike rider who fled from an attempted traffic stop; they found him hiding under some bushes with a gun and ammunition magazine.

 

State

About damn time. San Francisco State Senator Scott Wiener introduced a bill that would exempt transit, bike and pedestrian projects from CEQA reviews, which have been twisted by opponents to delay — or halt — environmentally friendly transportation projects.

Lompoc approves plans to expand the city’s bike network in hopes of promoting it as a bicycling destination. Although as we’ve learned in Los Angeles, approving a new bike plan doesn’t mean you’ll ever see paint on the street.

An 18-year old Mountain View driver faces charges for fleeing the scene after running down a teenage bike rider, who suffered what were described as moderate injuries.

An artist is welcoming the world back from the coronavirus shutdown by adding a bit of beauty to a Sacramento bike path.

 

National

Clean Technica says every ebike and electric car brings $10,000 in social benefits.

How to wear and care for your bike helmet.

Welcome to Portland, where tall bikes were killed by high housing costs.

A Wisconsin bike shop was forced to close for 14 days after an employee was exposed to someone with Covid-19.

Once again, authorities have managed to keep a dangerous driver on the road until it’s too late, as a Wisconsin man was booked for his third drunk driving offense for fleeing the scene after running down a teenage girl riding with her mother.

A Chicago man was an accidental victim of gun violence, after he was killed by a stray bullet while riding his bike past a street shooting.

A Maine bicycle coalition is launching a campaign to make it socially acceptable for drivers to slow down and drive the speed limit. Good luck with that.

A New Jersey kid made a troubling discovery when he found a dead body on the side of the road while riding his bike.

Rhode Island restaurant and beverage workers hit a local trail on their bikes, raising $8,000 for bartenders, bars, restaurants and hospitality nonprofit organizations.

New Orleans bike riders rode through the city to demand name changes to streets named after Confederate leaders.

This is the cost of traffic violence. The son of a Miami rabbi, who was a star high school soccer player, died after clinging to life for nearly two months when he was struck by a driver while riding his bike.

 

International

Covid-19 is keeping students in Bolivia out of school. So a bike-riding teacher is bringing school to them.

Police dispatchers in an Ontario, Canada town pitched in to buy a four-year old girl a new bicycle, after some jerk stole the Frozen-themed bike she’d just learned to ride on.

Gordon Ramsey’s one-year old son is one of us now.

The next bike from British motorcycle maker Triumph will have pedals. And be electric.

The coronavirus bike boom has hit Paris, too.

Five-time Tour de France winner Bernard Hinault is leading an effort to rescue Mavic, the financially troubled French bike component maker.

Model turned Bollywood actress Aisha Sharma is one of us, too.

The Philippine president may be just this side of a dictator, but at least he’s expanding bike lanes.

 

Competitive Cycling

This year’s mountain bike nationals could take the form of a trail time trial in an effort to maintain social distancing. If it happens, which is a big if at this point.

 

Finally…

Yes, you can get an e-foldie for under seven hundred bucks. Your next spokes could be made of plastic.

And Everesting is even harder when there aren’t any hills around.

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already. 

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

Important meetings on Main St road diet and Verdugo Ave bike lanes tonight, and bike safety in Signal Hill

September 20, 2011 / / Comments Off on Important meetings on Main St road diet and Verdugo Ave bike lanes tonight, and bike safety in Signal Hill

Just a few quick notes before I get back to work.

First up, the Venice Neighborhood Council meets tonight to discuss the planned Main Street Road diet, among other issues.

While I strongly support the plans to make the street safer and more inviting for everyone, a work deadline is going to keep me home slaving over a hot laptop long into the night.

But if you’re free this evening, I strongly urge you to attend the meeting to show your support.

Here’s what long-time bike advocate and former fellow LACBC board member Kent Strumpell has to say on the subject:

SUPPORT MAIN ST. BIKE LANE PROPOSAL AT SEPT. 20TH VENICE NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL MEETING

The City of Los Angeles proposes to extend the bicycle lanes on Main Street in Santa Monica to the Windward Circle in Venice.  This project will be on the agenda for the VNC Board of Directors to consider supporting at their Sept. 20th meeting.  Please come show your support for this important bikeway improvement.  You can also email the Board (see below).

LADOT counted 730 cyclists on Main St. in Venice in a 6 hour period earlier this year, making it one of the most important bicycle routes in Venice.  Providing bike lanes on Main Street from Navy to Windward Circle will create a “Complete Main Street”. The proposed bike lanes will rebalance the street and provide more safety for all road users whether they be on bicycle, foot, or in a car.  Creating a complete Main Street will require removing a travel lane in each direction in order to accommodate the bike lanes and a two-way left turn lane in the center of the road. All on-street parking will remain.

This reconfiguration of Main Street will provide better bicycle connectivity to nearby areas, help achieve more sustainable transportation in our beach community and encourage a more bike-able, and walkable Venice!

Proposed changes for Main Street in Venice

PROJECT BENEFITS

1. Encourages more bicycling and walking in Venice and fewer car trips

2. More trips by bicycle means less demand for parking

3. Businesses can benefit: increased customer access by bike and foot traffic, reduced demand for parking, calmer traffic allows more people to notice businesses

4. Deters speeding, increasing safety for all road users

5. Provides a dedicated center lane for left turns, decreasing rear-end and side-swipe collisions

6. Improves visibility for motorists exiting driveways or turning onto Main Street

7. Provides dedicated space and enhanced safety for bicycles on Main Street

8. Provides better visibility of and for pedestrians crossing Main Street

ACTION

Attend the Venice Neighborhood Council meeting and speak in support.  Fill out a speaker card for the Main St. agenda item when you arrive.
When:  Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2011, 7PM
Where: Westminster Elementary, 1010 Abbot Kinney (just south of Main).

Email the Venice Neighborhood Council board to express your support and why you think it is needed.  Please send a email even if you plan to attend, to: board@venicenc.org

More info at:  LADOT’s blog post – https://ladotbikeblog.wordpress.com/2011/08/24/main-street-bike-lanes-need-your-support/#more-4279

Damien offers more on the story on Streetsblog, and Gary Kavanagh offers his support after initially opposing the plan.

And on a somewhat related note, Joe Linton looks at LADOT’s approach to the proposed 4th Street Bike Boulevard, and foresees a forthcoming failure snatched from the jaws of apparent victory.

……..

In another important bike-related meeting on a busy Tuesday, the Burbank City Council will consider making the bike lanes on Verdugo Avenue permanent.

As you may recall, a road diet was installed on Verdugo over a year ago; after complaints from some motorists, the city council voted to keep the lanes in place on a trial basis.

Today, that trial comes to an end.

If you ride in the area, you’re urged to attend the council meeting tonight starting at 6 pm at 275 E. Olive Ave in Burbank. Or if you can’t attend in person, the LACBC offers a sample email you can send to express your support.

……..

The Signal Hill Police Department has kicked off a campaign to increase bike and pedestrian safety — which usually translates into a crackdown on bad bike behavior, rather than dangerous practices by drivers that have the potential to kill or injure cyclists, law abiding or otherwise.

However, they say the right things, for the most part, offering valid advice to cyclists and pedestrians on how to remain safe, and advising motorists on how not to kill someone.

Although nothing in state law requires cyclists to ride single file, particularly in substandard lanes where it can actually be safer to ride two or more abreast in order to hold the lane and prevent unsafe passing. And the law is quite specific that slow moving vehicles — which includes bikes — aren’t illegally blocking traffic unless there are five or more vehicles following behind and unable to go around.

But good luck arguing that point with a traffic cop who may not be as well verses in bike law as well as you are.

And I wouldn’t exactly take comfort in this comment from Signal Hill PD Traffic Department Supervisor Sgt. Chris Nunley:

“Unfortunately some people forget that the roadways are primarily for vehicle traffic and walk or run four deep across lanes of traffic.”

Actually, roadways are intended for all legal road users, which includes cyclists and pedestrians. And everyone is entitled to use the roads in a safe and legal manner, with no preference given to mode of travel.

In other words, bikes have as much right to the road as motor vehicles, though no one has the right to needlessly block the roadway.

The program is intended to start with an educational campaign before moving to an enforcement phase.

It remains to be seen whether it will be targeted equally towards all road users in a genuine attempt to increase safety, or simple be used as an excuse to crack down on cyclists.

Read more at the Signal Tribune (scroll to page 9); thanks to Nate Baird for the heads-up. (Note — all comments are mine, so don’t blame Nate; he just pointed out the story.)

……..

A new study from a Dutch consulting group shows that the benefits of properly constructed biking infrastructure significantly outweighs the cost.

In fact, the return in improved travel times, better health and environmental benefits outweigh costs by margin of 44% — increasing to a whopping 358% if ebikes continue to gain in popularity.

It would be interesting to see if the results could be duplicated on this side of the Atlantic.

Thanks to @bplusradsport for the tip.

……..

Much has been made of a report released over the weekend showing that roughly 1,000 pedestrians are injured badly enough by bicyclists to require hospitalization in New York State every year; roughly 500 of those are in New York City.

While that sounds damning, the report fails to note who was at fault in those collisions, merely that they occurred. And also fails to note how many cyclists were injured, as well.

So instead of suggesting, as the authors seem to imply, that it is the result of out-of-control scofflaw cyclists riding rampant on sidewalks and blowing through crosswalks, the collisions could just as easily be the result of pedestrians walking illegally in bike lanes or stepping into the path of riders.

And even that surprisingly large number pales in comparison to the roughly 15,000 New York pedestrians injured by motor vehicles each year. Yet no one seems to be calling for a crackdown on dangerous scofflaw drivers.

It should also be noted that the number of pedestrians injured in bike collisions is trending downward, despite a dramatic increase in ridership in recent years.

Testament, perhaps, to the efforts of that crazy NYDOT director Janette Sadik-Khan to make NYC streets safer for everyone.

Including cyclists and pedestrians.

Note: While I largely dismiss the results of this study, it’s important to remember that pedestrians are the only road users more vulnerable than cyclists. So it’s up to you to concede the right-of-way to pedestrians — even when they’re wrong. And never, ever ride through a crosswalk when someone is using it.

……..

Finally, a timely reminder from L.A. cyclist, bike advocate and attorney Rosh Hirsch that if riding your bike doesn’t make you smile, you’re not doing it right.

My smile wasn’t quite that big when I was riding yesterday, but it was there.

Third grade student Tristan Hirsch demonstrates proper cycling technique, starting with the huge smile; photo by proud papa Ross Hirsch

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , ,
 
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