Talk about keeping a dangerous driver on the road until it’s too late.
According to the Los Angeles Times, 37-year old, Texas-based traveling nurse Nicole Lorraine Linton was involved in 13 prior crashes before she killed six people and injured eight others after allegedly blowing through a red light at up to 90 mph on Thursday.
Yes, you read that right.
Thirteen previous crashes, including a 2020 crash that totaled both vehicles. And yet she was somehow allowed to keep driving, despite demonstrating a clear inability to do so safely.
Either that, or she was plagued by some of the worst luck in the history of driving.
Linton was formally charged with six counts of murder — one for each victim — along with five counts of vehicular homicide. The unborn child of the pregnant woman killed in the crash accounts for the discrepancy; the death of the eight-and-a-half month unborn baby is eligible for a murder charge, but not vehicular homicide.
LA County DA George Gascón concluded her prior crash record indicated she was aware of the risks of driving in a dangerous manner, making her eligible for the murder charges.
Linton faces up to life behind bars upon conviction. She’s currently being held without bail after the previous $9 million bond was revoked.
Thanks to How The West Was Saved for the heads-up.
……….
Meanwhile, the news is not good for Anne Heche.
The actress, who was seriously burned crashing her car into a Mar Vista home at high speed on Friday, is reportedly in extremely critical condition after slipping into a coma.
Police investigators are trying to determine if drugs or alcohol played a role in the fiery crash.
………
I once made the mistake of telling a bikemaker I didn’t see a market for ebikes, because I assumed everyone would want the exercise and health benefits of a standard bike.
Turns out I was wrong about that, too, since studies show ebikes offer the same health benefits as any other bike.
So this is a snapshot of just who is taking up ebikes.
You know, the market I somehow couldn’t picture.
What does research say about e-bikes?
– younger & part-time working women with kids is the fastest growing user group
– retirees are the largest user group & use e-bike for recreation
– the second largest e-bike user group are middle-aged full-time workers who use it to commute https://t.co/B1H7kUJMa6— Dr. Natalia Barbour (@natalia_barbour) August 8, 2022
………
Let’s take a few moments to consider what’s possible when you register your bike with Bike Index.
BIKE RECOVERY: "I got extremely lucky. Someone found my bike dumped in front of their home. The homeowners called me after checking Bike Index and seeing my bike listed stolen. I am so grateful to have my bike back." @iamspecialized @stolenbikessfo pic.twitter.com/B7XPsNjtVb
— Bike Index (@BikeIndex) August 8, 2022
BIKE RECOVERY: "I am so happy that my bike is recovered after just one day! I don't know what to say, but I just want to say thank you for all the help and great favor!" @RadPowerBikes @stolenbikessea pic.twitter.com/5GT7i8dQr9
— Bike Index (@BikeIndex) August 8, 2022
You can get a free, lifetime registration in just minutes.
So if anything happens to your bike, you’ll have all the information you need to add your bike to Bike Index’ nationwide database of stolen bikes. And increase your chances of getting it back, wherever its found.
………
Streets For All is hosting their latest virtual happy hour this evening.
https://twitter.com/streetsforall/status/1557205486327455744
………
Who needs an ebike bike when you can build your very own DIY jet-powered bicycle?
………
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
No bias here. A new San Francisco group demanding the reopening of JFK Drive through Golden Gate Park to cars has issued their full set of demands, including parking on every street, no parking-protected bike lanes, and no bike lanes replacing parking.
A road-raging Dayton, Ohio man faces charges for intentionally running down, then running over, a man riding a bicycle, before getting out with another man and looking at the victim; the attack was apparently in retaliation for the rider throwing a small flashlight at the driver’s car, after someone in the car threw a water bottle at the victim.
A Florida driver is accused of circling back and jumping a curb to intentionally run down a pair of bike riders, then getting out and shooting one of them in the leg
British police interviewed a man accused of “furiously” pushing a man against a wall and throwing his bicycle out into the street, for the crime of riding his bike on the sidewalk.
An Irish road and cyclocross racer is back to riding just two weeks after he suffered four broken ribs and two broken vertebrae, as well as a partially collapsed lung, when someone sabotaged a mountain bike trail with a rope strung across the path; Seán Nolan warns that its only a matter of time before someone gets killed.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A Nebraska man was busted after fleeing from police on his bike when the cops recognized his as having outstanding warrants; he was also carrying meth and drug paraphernalia in his backpack.
A Tulsa, Oklahoma man learns the hard way that if you’re going to stab a man and ride off on his bicycle, make sure it doesn’t have a flat tire first.
Police in Chicago are looking for a bike-riding man who has targeted elderly women in a string of strong-arm robberies, stealing their jewelry before riding off.
………
Local
Dozens of bicyclists and other activists turned out at City Hall on Monday to protest a new ordinance banning outdoor bike chop shops, fearing the law could be used to target low-income people and people of color, rather than cracking down on bike thefts.
Streetsblog reports Venice Blvd will be getting another 4.3 miles of parking protected bike lanes connecting to the .8-mile Mar Vista Great Street project, for a total of 5.1 miles of protected bike lanes.
The LA River Greenway is getting a new Canoga Park entry pavilion designed by acclaimed architect Frank Geary, even though the river is nothing more than an open air concrete culvert at that point. Geary has also proposed hiding lower sections of the concrete channel under elevated parks, rather than returning the channel to a more natural state.
Walk Bike Glendale offers action alerts on proposed makeovers of North Brand Blvd and La Crescenta Ave, as well as plans for a feeder ride to the Meet the Hollywoods CicLAvia on August 21st.
State
Sen. Scott Wiener’s SB 922 passed the state Assembly with almost unanimous support; the bill expedited bike, pedestrian, light rail, and rapid bus projects by exempting them from the California Environmental Quality Act, aka CEQA. It now goes back to the Senate for a final vote before going to the governor’s desk for a signature.
Encinitas-based bikemaker Electra continues to stick close to its roots, keeping its focus on cruiser bikes on the eve of its 30th birthday.
San Diego’s newly revised Climate Action Plan doubles down on efforts to get people out of their cars, including a shift to more Class IV protected bike lanes.
Santa Barbara’s Parks and Recreation Commission approved the removal of 34 trees to build a bike path on the city’s Modoc Road, which will require moving the roadway 12 feet so the path won’t go through sensitive wildlife habitat near Arroyo Burro Creek; the project is less controversial than another one along Modoc Road in Santa Barbara County, which will require removing 40 to 61 trees.
Streetsblog calls on San Francisco officials to fix a street grate in Golden Gate Park that could grab a narrow bike tire and bring down the rider. And did. Call it Golden Gate Grate-gate.
Oakland wants to use a $1 million state grant to buy 500 ebikes to open an ebike library for low-income neighborhoods.
After hundreds of bike-riding teens swarmed the lower deck of the San Francisco Bay Bridge Saturday afternoon, they’re accused of burglarizing businesses and throwing things at people in Oakland.
A man was sentenced to a well-deserved 17 years behind bars for trying to rape a woman on a Davis bike path.
National
Streetsblog offers advice on how to access federal funding from the new Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program, offering a cool $1 billion a year for the next five years for “meaningful, community-led Vision Zero projects.”
Even with federal incentives of up to $7,500, electric cars remain outside the reach of many Americans. Yet the new climate bill fails to mention far more affordable bicycles, let alone ebikes.
The Verge says the ebike tax credit is only mostly dead, as supporters plot the next steps to revive it.
Add this one to your bike bucket list. Take a cog railway train to the summit of Colorado’s 14,115-foot Pikes Peak, then bike 13 miles and 5,000 feet back down.
A 49-year old Durango, Colorado fire fighter was killed when his bike was rear-ended by a driver; his death came just two weeks after a 60-year old member of the same department died of a heart condition while riding bikes with his son.
A 68-year old Sierra City, California man was killed when he was rear-ended by a semi driver and knocked into a ditch while riding in Kansas.
Great idea. While Houston is in the midst of a years-long commitment to build 1,800 miles of high-comfort bike lanes, the city is reserving 10% of the funding for smaller “strategic” projects suggested by members of the bicycling community.
Police arrested a 26-year old man for yelling and chucking rocks at people using a Madison, Wisconsin bike path.
A Detroit website says more pedestrians are getting killed as trucks and SUVs keep getting bigger, with some models now exceeding the size of a WWII tank.
The woman accused of killing two men participating in a Michigan Make-A-Wish fundraising ride while driving under the influence is due back in court for a prelim next week; the crash left nine kids without their fathers.
The bighearted employees of a Maine company pitched in to buy a new bicycle for a 19-year old coworker, after the bike he used to ride to work was stolen.
Boston Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale is one of us, after he suffered a broken wrist falling off his bike to end his season; a Texas website offers an incomplete list of other major league bike incidents, although they include motorcycles as well as bicycles.
New York saw a 33 percent jump in weekday bicycling trips during the deepest, darkest days of the pandemic in 2020. Meanwhile, the latest official figures for Los Angeles show a 22 percent increase — in 2019, before the pandemic and subsequent bike boom.
New Yorkers want more, and more secure, bike parking. Then again, doesn’t everyone?
DC has a new bicycle awareness specialty license plate, even if it does misspell “taxation.”
New Orleans police arrested a 16-year old boy, accusing him of stealing a bicycle from an off-duty cop in a French Quarter strong-arm robbery.
International
A Suffolk, England woman is credited with helping save a man’s life after he rode his bike into a river; now she’s raising funds to support the medical charity that helped his rehabilitation.
British police failed to arrest a single bike thief in 87% of neighborhoods with at least one bike theft. And usually a lot more.
A German company has introduced what they call the world’s smartest bike helmet, including a full face air bag, 360° surround safety system, LED lights and a breathable, 3D-knitted liner.
NPR says many Sri Lankans have switched to bicycles due to the country’s economic crisis.
The pandemic is fueling a sports bicycling boom in China, a country more noted for utilitarian and proletarian bikes; meanwhile, the country’s surviving bikeshare companies are raising their prices in an effort to finally turn a profit. Thanks to Steven Hallett for the link.
Competitive Cycling
Indianapolis Monthly takes readers to school, explaining what a crit is.
A new documentary captures Pittsburgh’s Frigid Bitch alleycat bike race.
Finally…
That feeling when you find driving stressful when you’re not going 186 mph. Try not to back your motorbike into a pit.
And this is who we share the road with.
https://twitter.com/ChadBlue83/status/1556435695635517440
………
Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin, too.
