Bike Friendly City?

http://www.pnj.com/story/news/crime...-cyclist-wont-face-criminal-charge/379267001/ :cry:
Driver who struck and killed 10-year-old won't face criminal charges
Emma Kennedy Published 1:53 p.m. CT June 8, 2017 | Updated 17 hours ago

The driver who fatally struck a 10-year-old with his car while the girl was riding her bike to school won't face criminal charges.
Escambia County court records show that Frederick Kelly Wilder, 47, was issued a civil citation Tuesday for failing to yield at a stop sign in the May 18 crash that killed Lily Rosa-Clark.
Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Eddie Elmore said the traffic homicide investigator who assessed the details of the crash found no criminal element in Wilder's actions.
FHP's incident report stated the fourth grader had been riding to Hellen Caro Elementary School just after 7 a.m. May 18. She was traveling north on Merlin Road approaching the intersection with Oak View Drive as Wilder was driving along Oak View approaching the same intersection.
The report stated Wilder failed to yield and struck Lily. She was airlifted from the scene to Sacred Heart Hospital, where she died of her injuries later that same day.

Elmore said that in general, to proceed with criminal charges such as vehicular manslaughter, investigators need to find evidence of aggravating factors. Examples would be driving under the influence, speeding excessively or driving recklessly, he said. He said none of those were factors in this case.
In the days after her death, Lily's classmates were fitted with bicycle helmets as part of an outreach program. Elmore confirmed Lily wasn't wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.

Elmore said any time a driver causes serious bodily harm or death in a traffic crash, there is a mandatory court hearing. The penalties for a charge like running a stop sign could be license suspension and fines, he said. According to Wilder's civil citation, his court appearance is scheduled for June 21.
The News Journal could not reach Wilder for comment.
 
https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20170612/chelsea/cyclist-dies-west-26th-street-bus-hit-nypd :cry:
Financier Fatally Struck by Bus in First Citi Bike Death, Police Say
By Trevor Kapp, Aidan Gardiner and Allegra Hobbs | June 12, 2017 1:52pm | Updated June 13, 2017 8:18am
CHELSEA — A financier with a passion for tennis was killed when he fell from his Citi Bike and was fatally struck by a bus on West 26th Street on Monday morning — the first fatality since the inception of the ride-share program four years ago, police and witnesses said.

Dan Hanegby, 36, an Israeli special forces veteran with two kids in Brooklyn Heights, was riding alongside a charter bus on 26th Street near Eighth Avenue when the two collided, police said.
The operator of the bus and Hanegby both swerved at the same time to avoid hitting something, causing them to strike each other, according to a police source. Police could not say which bus company was involved in the incident.
"The back wheels ran over his body," said Luichys Caba, 37, a super for a building on the block.
Others raced over when they heard what happened to the rider, who wore a navy suit, a white shirt and blue tie, witnesses said.

"I heard a loud thump," said Johnnie Gomez, 56, who works for a nearby warehouse.
"The guy was on his back," Gomez added. "He was moving at first, but then it died out. He was unresponsive. The bike was mangled."
Hanegby was pronounced dead at Bellevue about 10:15 a.m., police said.
The bus driver initially kept moving until witnesses flagged it down.
"The bus kept going at first and I ran after it. Then it put on the signal and pulled over," Gomez said.
The bus driver wasn't immediately charged, police said.

Hanegby had been a tennis phenom growing up in Israel and could've avoided the rigorous compulsory military service there when he turned 18, but decided to enlist anyway, according to The Brown Daily Herald.
"Israel was starting to heat up at that time," he told the college newspaper in 2006.
"There were a lot of suicide bombings. Every week we had something. There isn’t a person in Israel who doesn’t know someone who died in a bombing. So I wanted to do something for my country," Hanegby said.

Hanegby served with the Israeli special forces for three years until he was dismissed in 2002, the Herald reported.
"No tennis win can compare to that feeling of knowing you helped to stop the next suicide bomber. I would definitely do it again," Hanegby told the Brown newspaper.
Hanegby then enrolled at Binghamton University before transferring to Brown where he played on their varsity tennis team, the Herald reported.
After graduation, Hanegby went into finance, first working at Morgan Stanley and then Credit Suisse, according to the company and his social media.
A 2014 Business Insider Australia article dubbed him one of the 53 "most serious tennis players in finance."

Citi Bike said it was the first rider fatality in more than 43 million trips since the program began 2013.
"Together with the City of New York, we wish to express our heartfelt condolences to the rider's family and loved ones on this terrible tragedy,” Citi Bike spokeswoman Dani Simons said in a statement.
 
http://kxan.com/2017/06/12/group-of-cyclists-mowed-down-by-driver-in-southeast-austin/
A man and woman are both behind bars accused of hitting a group of bicyclists in southeast Austin Saturday morning.

Austin police say the crash happened around 7:30 a.m. at South Pleasant Valley Road and Elmont Drive. A witness told police, as he was sitting at a traffic light, he saw a white Buick strike several bicyclists. According to an arrest affidavit, 25-year-old Devin Rodriguez told police he hit four bicyclists because he had “fallen asleep.” The affidavit also stated that the scattering of injured people and bike parts spread over three blocks.

Kimberlee Anderson, one of the people injured explained that the group of six cyclists had embarked on an 83-mile ride.

“It’s really a miracle we are still here,” she said.

According to court records, when the crash happened, a witness said he jumped out of his Jeep and went to tend to the injured bicyclists. As he was doing so, he saw the driver of the Buick get out of the car and walk over to a woman, later identified as 32-year-old Amanda Florez, and hand her something. The witness said that’s when he saw the woman jump into his Jeep and drive away.

The witness said he ran after his Jeep and managed to catch up to it as a responding officer made it to the scene. Florez was charged with felony theft of property, violation of city ordinances and possession of a controlled substance. Authorities found crystal methamphetamine in her bra during an inspection.

Police discovered Rodriguez was driving the Buick with a suspended license and no insurance.

The injured bicyclists were taken to the hospital with various injuries; one had bleeding inside of her brain.

As of Monday afternoon, two of the cyclists from this crash remained at Dell Seton Medical Center. Terrance Lockett was listed in good condition and his wife Jeanette was listed in fair condition.

Wendy Meyer was the fourth cyclist hit, she explained that the impact forced her on top of the car. Meyer said that Rodriguez continued to drive across the intersection, then parked the car and ran toward the Jeep, not acknowledging her. Meyer said she saw Florez on scene and noted it was suspicious that Florez sped off in the Jeep shortly after Rodrguez went to speak with her

“[Meyer was] on top of the car, and he continues to drive another hundred feet with her on top of the car, and there were so many witnesses standing around there,” said Kimberlee Anderson who watched as Meyer was hit. “I think he was trying to get away then he realized she was on top of the car so he stopped.”

Meyer and Anderson both want the people responsible for this crash charged with at least vehicular assault, they say there need to be strong consequences to deter other people from causing so much harm.

“We thought about this, there was nothing we could have done to avoid this– zero. All the conditions were right, it was quiet, there was plenty of space to go around, we were safe, we had lights on,” Meyer explained.

“This crash illustrates the need for protected bike lanes, especially on major streets like Pleasant Valley Road, to keep everyone out of each other’s way, and out of harm’s way.” said Mercedes Feris, executive director of Bike Austin.

“Moreover, while we understand that the investigation is still under way, we are concerned that the driver was only issued a ticket for driving with an invalid license. When reckless driving is a contributing factor in a crash, more serious charges should be leveled.”
 
http://fitness.blog.austin360.com/2...river-who-hit-four-cyclists-not-harsh-enough/ :x
Bike Austin: Charges against driver who hit four cyclists not harsh enough
Pam LeBlanc
UpdatedJune 13, 2017 Filed in Uncategorized.
The relatively minor charges filed against the driver of a car that crashed into a group of cyclists over the weekend send the wrong message, according to officials with a non-profit organization that promotes cycling.

Devin Donnel Rodriguez, 25, was charged with driving with an invalid license after the the Buick sedan he was driving hit and injured four cyclists riding near South Pleasant Valley Road and Elmont Drive early Saturday. All four cyclists were taken to Dell Seton Medical Center. One was bleeding inside her brain, according to a police affidavit.
Rodriguez told police he fell asleep at the wheel before the crash, the affidavit said. He remained at the scene to talk with authorities after the incident.
“While we understand that the investigation is still under way, we are concerned that the driver was only issued a ticket for driving with an invalid license,” said Mercedes Feris, executive director of Bike Austin, a non-profit organization that works to encourage cycling in the Austin area. “When reckless driving is a contributing factor in a crash, more serious charges should be leveled – or the Austin Police Department and media outlets should at least mention that other charges may be pending. It sends a dangerous signal to other drivers when the only punishment after a serious crash is a slap on the wrist.”

A passenger in Rodriguez’s vehicle, Amanda Sanchez Flores, 32, fled the scene, police said. According to her arrest affidavit, she stole a Jeep Grand Cherokee from a man who had stopped to help the injured cyclists. She was later arrested on South Pleasant Valley Road.
Flores was charged with auto theft and possession of a controlled substance. She is being held at the Travis County Jail with bail set at $25,000. Rodriguez is also in the Travis County Jail with bail set at $7,500.

Feris said she hoped all the injured cyclists recovered quickly from their injuries.
“This crash illustrates the need for protected bike lanes, especially on major streets like Pleasant Valley Road, to keep everyone out of each other’s way, and out of harm’s way,” she said.
“The incident is also a reminder of the grave responsibility every Austinite shoulders when they get behind the wheel. The driver, who claims to have fallen asleep while driving, was clearly too drowsy to be driving. Drowsy driving is dangerous driving, and it shouldn’t be attempted under any circumstances.”
 
More sorry news from Austin:

http://kxan.com/2017/06/15/cyclist-hit-by-shotgun-blast-in-random-austin-drive-by-has-pellets-in-brain/

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Nurses told Austin police a cyclist hit by a random shotgun blast on June 7 might not survive due to pellets that entered his brain stem, causing concern for hospital staff.

According to a police affidavit, the cyclist was found by a citizen who began performing CPR on him around 11:52 p.m. at 6305 East Riverside Dr. Austin-Travis County EMS transported the victim with then unknown injuries to his back, shoulder and head. When officers arrived they found a small puddle of the victim’s blood and a ‘shotgun wad.’

On June 8, detectives working a family violence case informed the officers working the shooting case that their cases might be related. A man had informed police that he was driving around with Merrick Isaacks, 19, who needed to ‘blow off steam’ after assaulting and threatening to shoot his girlfriend with a shotgun. The man also told the family violence investigators that Isaacks fired a shotgun out the window of the vehicle they were in on East Riverside Drive around the same time the cyclist was hit.

During a police interview, the driver said Isaacks first directed him to stop at a red light at the intersection of Montopolis Drive and East Riverside because he “wanted to shoot or kill someone standing at the bus stop.” The witness told police there were several homeless people at the stop so he continued driving through the intersection, telling Isaacks that the light had turned green and they couldn’t stop.

According to the affidavit, the driver passed a Shell station 250 feet down the road from the intersection when they saw a bicycle travelling in the same direction. The driver told police Isaacks didn’t say anything and fired the shotgun one time out the passenger side window.

The driver said that after they left the area Isaacks, who he had only known for about four months, forced him to drive around most of the night as he fired the shotgun several times in different locations.

Isaacks is currently in the Travis County Jail on an Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon charge and is being held on a combined $250,000 bond.
.

I am amused by that turn of phrase: "random shotgun blast". It makes about as much sense as "automobile accident" used in place of "negligent homicide". In fact, the cyclist was picked randomly, but the shotgun blast was purely intentional. Nothing random about it.

In the meantime, the state legislature is in a special session not to help protect people from death by guns and cars, but to reverse Austin's local protection of big old trees. They already rolled back our rules holding Uber drivers to the same standards as everybody else in the business.
 
Also, this:
http://kxan.com/2017/06/15/cyclist-hit-during-6th-st-crash-receives-life-threatening-injuries/

How soon can we stop the madness and say that self-serving callous and oblivious people (i.e. car drivers) don't get to drive cars around other people?
 
Chalo said:
How soon can we stop the madness and say that self-serving callous and oblivious people (i.e. car drivers) don't get to drive cars around other people?
Probably around the same time we tell oblivious and clueless bikers that they can't bike anywhere there are people that could be hit.
 
billvon said:
Chalo said:
How soon can we stop the madness and say that self-serving callous and oblivious people (i.e. car drivers) don't get to drive cars around other people?
Probably around the same time we tell oblivious and clueless bikers that they can't bike anywhere there are people that could be hit.

To the nearest approximation, people never get killed when hit by cyclists. But cars?
 
Chalo said:
To the nearest approximation, people never get killed when hit by cyclists.
From the NY Post:
======================
Tarlov died Monday morning because one of the park’s racing cyclists hit her as she crossed the street.

A witness told The Post that cyclist Jason Marshall was “speeding. It didn’t look like he tried to stop. He was yelling for her to get out of the way.”

Last month, Irving Schachter (a cyclist himself) died in a similar fashion, also in the park. Either a 17-year-old cyclist or a pedicab driver, or both, failed to realize that sometimes the safe speed is zero.

The cyclist swerved into the walking lane to avoid the pedicab and hit Schachter, who was jogging.
=====================

When will we tell oblivious and clueless bikers that they can't bike anywhere there are people that could be hit? When will the deaths end?
 
In this country, we lose about 100 people per day, on average, to cars. Over 3500 per day worldwide.

We probably lose more peds to collisions with other peds than we do to bicycles. It's simply not statistically significant.

You're perpetuating the pro-car propaganda bullshit when you pull out this sort of straw man.
 
http://gothamist.com/2017/06/15/citi_bike_video_hanegby.php :cry:
Video Contradicts Reports That Citi Bike Rider Swerved Into Bus Before Deadly Crash

No video, just a description of what the video shows.


http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/bicyclist-deaths-police-response-article-1.3248055 :twisted:

Bicyclist deaths & police response: The NYPD should change its tactics in light after fatalities
BY Doug Gordon
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Thursday, June 15, 2017, 5:00 AM
In April 2016, Lauren Davis, 34, was killed by a driver on Classon Ave. in Brooklyn. Initial NYPD statements said she was biking in the wrong direction when the crash occurred.
Yet less than two weeks later, a witness came forward to say that Davis was riding legally in the direction of traffic when the driver turned into her, an account that directly contradicted the police.

That same month, James Gregg, 33, was killed while riding his bike on Brooklyn’s Sixth Ave. when he was run over by a semitruck driver. Officers at the scene said that Gregg was intentionally holding the truck’s side as if to hitch a ride when he fell under the rear wheel of the trailer. Police later changed the story to say that “wind force” had sucked Gregg under the truck.

This April , a turning truck driver killed Kelly Hurley, 31, at First Ave. and Ninth St. on the Lower East Side. An NYPD detective told The Village Voice that Hurley, a SoulCycle instructor, “slipped off her bike” and “slid under the truck as he (the driver) made the turn.” Yet in the same story, the detective said that the truck driver turned left from the right-most lane before striking Hurley. That would be a moving violation.

One factually inaccurate report can be chalked up to the chaotic nature of crash scenes and conflicting eyewitness reports. Multiple inaccurate reports form a disturbing pattern, one that suggests that the NYPD sees New Yorkers who bike as somehow inviting injury or even death for daring to share the roads with drivers.
That pattern may have just played out again.

On Monday, Dan Hanegby, 36, was riding a Citi Bike on W. 26th St. when he was run over by a charter bus driver. Police told the press that Hanegby, an accomplished tennis player and former staff sergeant with the Israeli Defense Forces, swerved to go around a parked van, struck the bus, and then fell under its rear tires.
It’s a thin account that leaves open the possibility that the bus driver — who may not have been legally permitted to operate an oversize vehicle on W. 26th St. — passed Hanegby too closely and caused him to fall. Only a thorough investigation will tell.

Another way to judge the seriousness with which the NYPD values the lives of New Yorkers who bike is by looking at the department’s enforcement priorities in the wake of such tragedies. On Tuesday morning, 24 hours after Hanegby was killed, officers with the 10th Precinct were on 26th St. issuing citations to bicycle riders. In response to Kelly Hurley’s death, officers of the 9th Precinct ticketed cyclists on First Ave. And after two cyclists were killed at the same Sunnyside, Queens, intersection in two days — one by a drunken, unlicensed driver who fled the scene — the 108th Precinct was out ticketing people on bikes.
So what can be done?

The first step would be to erect what some have called a “blue wall of silence” until an investigation is complete. While the press and the public have a right to know what’s happening, misinformation can actively harm investigations and prevent grieving families from achieving justice. Police should refrain from divulging all but the most basic details until the circumstances of a crash are known.

The second step would be for the police to target behavior that is known to lead to crashes. Spot checks of permits could prevent oversize vehicles from heading down streets where they don’t belong. Failure-to-yield stings — in which cops ticket drivers who do not slow down and stop for pedestrians and bicyclists with the right of way — could be effective if they were conducted in known problem areas.

The third step involves trust and cooperation. If we are to take NYPD reports at their word and believe that some crashes are simply unavoidable accidents, then design solutions from the Department of Transportation are required. W. 26th St., where Hanegby was killed, is wide enough for a protected bicycle lane. There had been a plan to put bike lanes on Classon Ave. before Lauren Davis was killed, but community board obstruction caused DOT to shelve it.
Our city has come a long way when it comes to saving lives, yet there’s work to be done. It will involve an understanding from our police department that the truth matters and that no New Yorker who chooses to get around by bike deserves to die because of another person’s mistake.
 
http://www.10news.com/news/woman-badly-hurt-after-flipping-bike-on-pothole :x
Woman badly hurt after flipping bike on pothole
By: Anthony Pura
Posted: 11:18 PM, Jun 16, 2017

LEMON GROVE (KGTV) – A Lemon Grove mother got broken ribs and chipped teeth after a violent bike crash along 69th Street.
Rosie Vazquez says she was riding her bike down a hill near Dartmoor Drive on May 21 when she hit a pothole and flipped her bike.
She says it happened as cars began passing her.
“A car passed and another car passed, as I looked back to clear my path I didn’t anticipate bumping into this pothole,” Vazquez said.
There were a few potholes on the street, so she wasn’t sure which one hit her bike. Nearly a month later, she says her medical bills are adding up and thinks she needs to be compensated.
“Pain and suffering, damage to myself, time off from work,” she said listing all the reasons why she hired an attorney.

Her Attorney, Evan Walker, says this is not the first time someone has gotten hurt from a pothole. Many have come to him with similar stories, asking to help them file a claim.
“I would think that would be proper for the city to upgrade its infrastructure instead of paying out,” Walker said.

The thing is, it’s not immediately clear which city maintains the road - because 69th Street falls right on the city lines of San Diego and Lemon Grove.
Lemon Grove’s Assistant City Manager and Public Works Director responded to 10News via email. The statement reads in part:
“69th Street is a street that is located between the City of San Diego and the City of Lemon Grove. The City has, in the past, maintained portions of 69th Street.
However, without being able to access the City’s past project information at this time, I cannot speak to this actual location and if the City of Lemon Grove has treated it. “

10News also reached out to the city of San Diego, asking whether there is a joint effort in maintaining 69th Street. A spokeswoman said “it is possible” but they would have to check with an engineer for more details.
Walker plans to file a claim with both cities next week.
“It shouldn’t be like this,” Vazquez said, referring to the condition of the road.
 
Chalo said:
You're perpetuating the pro-car propaganda bullshit when you pull out this sort of straw man.
A straw man is a made up position. I posted an article describing two people killed by bikes, to rebut your claim that that effectively never happened.

I don't have any "pro-car propaganda." People drive cars. As long as they operate them safely, I don't have much of a problem with that. People ride bikes. As long as they operate them safely, I don't have much of a problem with that. Personally, I do both.
 
billvon said:
People drive cars. As long as they operate them safely, I don't have much of a problem with that. People ride bikes. As long as they operate them safely, I don't have much of a problem with that. Personally, I do both.

Well, your countrymen don't. That's why cars cost us more lives than a 9/11 every single month.

Bikes? Not so much.
 
http://www.vvng.com/man-dies-hit-bicycle-hesperia/ :cry:
Man Dies After Being Hit on Bicycle in Hesperia
By VVNG Staff -
June 18, 2017
HESPERIA, Calif. (VVNG.com) A 47-year-old resident of Hesperia died at a trauma center after he was struck while riding a bike along Ranchero Road Friday night.
Ryan Dennis Angus was riding his bicycle along Ranchero Road near Lassen Street when he was hit by a westbound truck at approximately 8:27 pm, on June 16, 2017.
“(Angus) was struck in the head from behind by the protruding side-view mirror of a passing vehicle,” the San Bernardino County Coroner’s office confirmed.
Angus was flown to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead the following morning, Saturday, June 17th, at 10:00 am, officials stated.
The driver of the utility pickup truck remained at the scene and cooperated with authorities.
Less than twenty minutes apart and three miles away, another pedestrian was struck by a vehicle just north of Ranchero Road. That person was airlifted and his condition remains unknown.
The accident is being investigated by the California Highway Patrol.
 
Thanks for all the negative stories that discourage people from bicycling.. perfect content for an ebike forum, i'd say.. :lol:
 
http://www.pe.com/2017/06/19/bicyclist-injured-in-collision-with-suspected-menifee-dui-driver/ :x License suspended but keeps driving anyway. About 10 miles from where we are moving.

Bicyclist injured in collision with suspected Menifee DUI driver
By Gail Wesson | gwesson@scng.com | The Press-Enterprise
PUBLISHED: June 19, 2017 at 10:42 pm | UPDATED: June 19, 2017 at 10:45 pm
A 37-year-old Menifee driver with a history of DUI arrests was arrested on suspicion of felony DUI after his vehicle collided with a bicyclist near the 30000 block of San Rafael Street in Menifee Monday, June 19, according to a Riverside County Sheriff’s news release.
Justin Badger was driving his Jeep Cherokee on a suspended driver’s license, the release stated. He remained in custody at Southwest Detention Center in lieu of posting $50,000 bail, according to jail records.
The male bicyclist sustained severe, but non-life threatening, injuries to his head and lower extremities and was taken to a hospital after the 2 p.m. incident, according to the news release. The bicyclist was not identified by name.
 
Chalo said:
Well, your countrymen don't. That's why cars cost us more lives than a 9/11 every single month.
Yep. And obesity (caused largely by fast food in the US) kills 300,000 people every year - a lot more than cars do. Is the answer to advocate for a food ban? Or a restaurant ban?

Or is it to educate people so they can make better decisions about what they eat?

And (perhaps an even more important question) - which will do more to reduce deaths from obesity?
 
billvon said:
And (perhaps an even more important question) - which will do more to reduce deaths from obesity?

Prying lazy, callously indifferent people out of their cars would probably be most effective.
 
Chalo said:
Prying lazy, callously indifferent people out of their cars would probably be most effective.
And shooting criminals that attempt such "prying" would be both effective to get them to stop - and perfectly legal in most places. (And would reduce traffic a bit.)

But perhaps avoiding both such outcomes would be a better choice, even if you find it pleasant to imagine such things.
 
http://abc30.com/news/man-on-motorized-bicycle-killed-after-colliding-with-van/2126597/ :cry:


And:
http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/06/21/san-jose-bicyclist-killed-in-vehicle-collision/ :cry:
San Jose: Bicyclist killed in vehicle collision
Tully Road crash Tuesday marks second traffic death on that roadway in as many days
By Robert Salonga | rsalonga@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: June 21, 2017 at 11:57 am | UPDATED: June 21, 2017 at 4:13 pm
SAN JOSE — A bicyclist was killed in a collision with a car on Tully Road on Tuesday night, marking the second traffic death in the area in as many days, according to San Jose police.
The crash was reported about 10:13 p.m. on Tully Road near La Ragione Avenue, involving the cyclist and a westbound gray Mazda 3, police said. Responding police and emergency personnel pronounced the man dead at the scene.
The victim’s identity was not immediately released pending notification of his next of kin.
Police said the Mazda driver stopped and cooperated with investigators, who have generally ruled out alcohol or drug use as factors in the collision.
It marked the city’s 23rd traffic fatality of the year, a day after a motorcyclist was killed by a driver in a stolen car reportedly fleeing a traffic stop about a mile east of Tuesday’s collision. There were 19 roadway deaths in San Jose by the same point in 2016.
Anyone with information about the case can contact traffic Detective Kevin McMillin at 408-277-4654.

Also:
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Bicyclist-hit-killed-by-car-in-San-Francisco-11236410.php :cry:
Bicyclist hit, killed by car in San Francisco
By Filipa Ioannou
Updated 4:11 pm, Wednesday, June 21, 2017
A cyclist died after being struck by a car near the Excelsior neighborhood of San Francisco on Tuesday, officials said.
The man, Moises Chavez, 51, was biking near the intersection of Alemany Boulevard and Silver Avenue about 5:34 p.m. when he was involved in a collision with a car, according to the San Francisco Police Department.
The man was taken to a hospital, where he died, police said.
The driver of the car involved remained on the scene and cooperated with investigators, according to police.
The incident marked the second cyclist death of the year in San Francisco, according to the city’s Vision Zero statistics.
Gashaw Clark, a 25-year-old cyclist, was struck by a car May 1 in Mission Bay and later died from his injuries, according to police.

http://sf.streetsblog.org/2017/06/21/cyclist-killed-at-alemany-boulevard-and-silver-avenue/
Hoodline is reporting that a cyclist was killed yesterday at around 5:30 p.m. in a collision with a car at the intersection of Silver and Alemany Boulevard. The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition says the victim’s name was Moises Chavez, a 51-year-old man. “Our hearts are heavy this morning and our thoughts are with family and friends of the victim,” they wrote on their Twitter feed.

“Alemany is a high-injury corridor–one of the 12 percent of city streets that account for 70 percent of severe and fatal crashes. So this tragic death is not an ‘accident’–it’s a predictable result of a dangerous transportation system,” said Cathy DeLuca, Interim Executive Director of Walk San Francisco. “To prevent future tragedies like this one, the City must build streets that protect everyone–especially people biking and walking, who are the most vulnerable in crashes.”

Streetsblog went to the intersection to survey it. There’s construction going on. The bike lanes are pretty much scraped away, covered, discontinuous; there’s gravel all about. But at this ‘black spot,’ as the Dutch call an intersection where someone is killed, there’s no sign of an investigation. In fact, there’s no sign of what happened at all, except perhaps for some leftover police tape (as seen in the lead image), a few surgical gloves blowing around that may be from the first responders, and just south of the intersection, there are some spots of what looks like dried blood.

Unfortunately, the work crews’ shift ended yesterday about an hour before the crash occurred. It’s a quiet residential area, without much pedestrian activity; no sign of security cameras or anyone who might have seen what happened. The driver of the car, it’s reported, remained at the scene.
But Russell Ibrahim Blank summed it up perfectly when he posted on the San Francisco Bike Ride Crew Facebook page “Damn, look at that intersection. It was designed for cars to speed through, not with pedestrian safety (or, in this case, a person on a bike) in mind.” Or as Nathan Woody posted: “Terrifying looking intersection. How many is that this year?”
It’s the second cyclist killed this year. The first was Gashaw Clark, 25, killed on April 28 in Mission Bay.

Streetsblog is familiar with this intersection and it’s an absolute travesty that this is what passes for bicycle infrastructure. There’s the aforementioned striped door-zone lane on a street designed for high speeds. But even that bike striping ends as cyclists enter the intersection–where they are most vulnerable. This publication could call on SFMTA again to fix these intersections with planters and safe hit posts or old railway ties or even toilet plungers or whatever they can find as soon as humanly possible, but what would be the point? Let’s just study it some more.

It’s worth noting that this death took place almost exactly a year from the deaths of Heather Miller and Kate Slattery. Their deaths on the same night in June of last year galvanized a city, albeit briefly. But the danger on our streets didn’t start and end that night. It’s about a broader problem–it’s about attitudes that prioritize parking, car throughput, and personal convenience over life and limb. That attitude is displayed by the actions of the very people charged with keeping us safe. And by the managers and politicians who maintain a culture where safety, despite the rhetoric, is very definitely not the highest concern. Otherwise, why isn’t the city doing what the Dutch would do–declare that intersection a black spot, close it, and get all the relevant city agencies there to investigate it. And then fix it.

“The City has the tools to save lives. They just need the guts to put them in the ground quickly, no matter the obstacles,” said DeLuca.
Maybe the guerrilla safety group SFMTrA can help on Alemany?
Streetsblog will aggregate more details on yesterday’s death as they become available.
 
billvon said:
Chalo said:
Prying lazy, callously indifferent people out of their cars would probably be most effective.
And shooting criminals that attempt such "prying" would be both effective to get them to stop - and perfectly legal in most places. (And would reduce traffic a bit.)

But perhaps avoiding both such outcomes would be a better choice, even if you find it pleasant to imagine such things.

What I like to imagine is living in a city that bans cars from its center, so that if lazy useless car drivers want to go there, they have to stand up like human beings. That's the prying action I was talking about, and one possibly effective remedy for poor health.
 
Chalo said:
What I like to imagine is living in a city that bans cars from its center, so that if lazy useless car drivers want to go there, they have to stand up like human beings.
So no recumbents, people in wheelchairs or infants? Seems mean.

I like what cities like San Diego, Boulder and Portland are doing - separate paths for pedestrians, bikes and cars.
 
http://www.dailynews.com/general-ne...-death-across-from-the-plant-in-panorama-city :cry:
A 27-year-old man from North Hills was shot to death in a McDonald’s parking lot in Panorama City on Wednesday, and Los Angeles police are looking for answers.

Francisco Fuentes died at a hospital, according to the coroner’s office and the Los Angeles Police Department.

The shooting was reported around 3 p.m. Wednesday in the 7900 block of Van Nuys Boulevard, the Los Angeles Police Department said. The fast-food restaurant is across the street from the Plant shopping center.

When patrol officers responded, police said, they found the man on the ground next to a bicycle in the entrance of a parking lot of McDonald’s.

The man suffered a gunshot wound to the upper torso.

The Los Angeles Fire Department transported the man to a local hospital, where he died from his injuries.

Homicide detectives responded to the scene, where it appeared that the man was riding his bicycle or was next to it when the shooting happened, authorities said.

LAPD Detective Steve Castro said when the fire department arrived at the scene, they quickly put the bike to the side, making it difficult to determine if the man was on it or next to it.

“It’s hard to say,” Castro explained.

There were no witnesses at the time of the shooting, Castro added.

“A surveillance camera was not functioning, and we’re just having a hard time with it,” Castro said.

There is no suspect description, but it’s possible the shooting is gang-related, officials concluded.

“Let’s just say we’re looking at the gang angle,” Castro said. “I don’t want to say.”

On June 2, in a separate incident, another man was shot and wounded in a parking lot next to a McDonald’s on the 7900 block of Foothill Boulevard in Sunland.

If anyone has information on the Wednesday shooting, they are asked to contact LAPD Detective Steve Castro at 818-374-1925. During non-business hours or weekends, people are asked to contact 877-527-3247.

City News Service contributed to this report.
 
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