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Community Corner

Los Angeles Bicycling Groups Demand Safer Streets

Bicyclists held a conference at City Hall in Los Angeles Thursday morning to demand a thorough investigation into the collision June 16 that injured several cyclists near the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook.

Bicycling groups from around Los Angeles gathered Thursday morning to demand Culver City Police Department to conduct a “thorough and unbiased investigation” of an incident two weeks ago involving a group of bicyclists dubbed the “Midnight Ridazz” and an alleged drunk driver. 

“We want safe streets,” chanted about 50 bicyclists at City Hall in downtown Los Angeles Thursday morning. 

“I don’t want to be a victim of unspeakable tragedy,” said Ross Hirsch, a Los Angeles attorney. “Over 30,000 people die as a result of car accidents every year. This was totally preventable, but from that incident there is a silver lining.” He went on to say that the incident should help to facilitate safer streets for drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians.

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Joe Linton, a representative of Ciclavia, said Los Angeles has a broken system that is dangerous and unsafe for everyone. Alex Thompson, the president of Bikeside LA, said they want the District Attorney’s office to convict the driver, Christine Dahab, of a felony DUI. To do that, the DA needs to prove that she was “under the influence, driving erratically,” that she broke a law and that the incident caused harm. 

“Drunk driving was the cause of the accident, not pedestrians in the road,” Thompson said. 

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He added that his group would like to be updated throughout the investigation and for the Culver City Police Department, which has taken over the case, to speak with all the witnesses to aid the investigation. They also want Culver City Police to check the line of sight because the LAPD allegedly said the bicyclists were standing in a blind curve. 

“An LAPD officer at the scene disseminated irresponsible rumors to the media about the riders themselves, as if to imply that they somehow deserved to get hit because of what they may or may not have been doing before the incident,” said Don Ward, a representative of Safer Streets Northridge. Thompson said drivers must yield to pedestrians wherever they are.

When Patch contacted the Los Angeles Police Department's Media Relations division late Thursday, spokeswoman Sarah Faden said that a statement has not yet been released in response to the allegations from the cycling groups. There is no definite time frame for its release, she said.

During the question and answer period, Thompson said the Los Angeles Police Department gave the primary cause of the accident as pedestrians being in the roadway, but the victims and witnesses June 16 reported that they were in the parking lane when they were hit.

Bruce Dobb, who has participated in bike rides over the past 15 years, said he thinks it is important to recognize the financial burden the victims now have due to medical bills. In light of the added financial burden, Dobb and a few others handed out fliers for a carwash fundraiser July 8 and 9 from 10a.m to 5 p.m. at Manny’s Carwash on Valley Blvd in Los Angeles.

All the proceeds will go to the victims.

“Motorists on the road are not focused on sharing the road with bicyclists,” he said. “The victims are young people who don’t have jobs and can’t get disability. The most important thing is the fundraiser.”

Only one of the victims was able to attend. Dora, who would not provide her last name, but sustained a major head injury as a result of the collision, said “she (Dahab) basically rendered me under house arrest.”

“I went from 25 mph to nothing,” she said.   

Hirsch said the criminal investigation is currently ongoing and that after, if any of the victims would like to pursue a lawsuit, they can then. 

Other bicyclist groups in attendance included the LA County Bicycle Coalition, Culver City Bicyclist Coalition, the Midnight Ridazz, LA Ecovillage and BikinginLA.

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