Tag Archive for Yucca Valley

Yucca Valley bike rider killed in rear-end collision yesterday; 50th SoCal bicycling death this year

It should be safe to ride a bike on the shoulder of a roadway in broad daylight.

But that wasn’t the case yesterday morning, when a man was killed while riding his bike next to Twentynine Palms Highway in Yucca Valley.

According to Z107.7 News, 52-year old David Delorisses Rodriguez was riding on the eastbound shoulder just east of Prescott Ave when he was rear-ended by a driver around 10:31 am.

Rodriguez was taken to Hi-Desert Medical Center in Joshua Tree in full cardiac arrest, where he died of his injuries.

The driver remained at the scene.

A street view shows a 4-lane desert highway with a crumbling paved shoulder. The roadway has a 50 mph speed limit; California drivers typically exceed such limits by 10 to 15 mph.

This is the 50th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 10th in San Bernardino County. That compares to 61 in SoCal this time last year, and seven in the county.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for David Delorisses Rodriguez and all his loved ones.

 

Update: 54-year old bike rider killed in Yucca Valley

This is not the news we wanted to start the weekend.

According to the Hi-Dessert Star, a Yucca Valley man was killed Thursday night trying to cross a busy highway.

Fifty-four year old Timothy Kraig Settles was leaving the Elks Lodge on his bike around 6:30 pm when he rode through a parking lot, then attempted to cross Twentynine Palms Highway near Bannock Trail. He was hit by a westbound 2000 Dodge Ram pickup; rescuers attempted to revive Settles, but he died at the scene.

The driver remained at the scene, and as usual, was uninjured in the collision.

This is the 14th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, compared to 11 this time last year. It’s also the first in San Bernardino County since the first of the year.

My sympathy and prayers Timothy Settles and his loved ones. 

Update: A comment from JL below points out that Settles was not the first bicycling fatality in San Bernardino County after all. Fifty-six year old Kevin Olin was killed in a rear-end collision while riding in an Apple Valley bike lane on March 1st. That makes Settles death the 15th SoCal bike death this year, and the second in San Bernardino County.