Bicyclist Killed in Hit-and-Run After Falling off Bike

Photo by HenrikBolin via Shutterstock

A 24-year-old Oregon woman and her boyfriend were riding bicycles shortly after 1am on Sunday in the 200 block of Los Robles Avenue in Pasadena when the woman fell off of her bicycle. While lying on the street, she was struck by a vehicle. The driver failed to stop.

A witness followed the hit-and-run vehicle to Alhambra and called the police. The 21-year-old driver, Nicholas Avila of Alhambra, was arrested on suspicion of hit-and-run and driving under the influence, said Pasadena police Lt. Pete Hettema. Avila was being held at Pasadena police jail in lieu of $100,000 bail.

The woman later died of her injuries at a local hospital.

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By Lauren Lloyd in News on September 20, 2011 11:20 AM

Comments [rss]

Paul

http://www.pasadenastarnews.co... has a little more info - and mentions the victim was returning from a local bar.

jennix

That is such an irrelevant point. It really wouldn't matter if you were in the throes of a meth- & absinthe-fueled vomit session, there's no excuse for running over someone who's already laying in the street.

Automotively-biased people always give other drivers the benefit of the doubt when someone is killed with a car. "They might have run out in front" or "They were drunk and fell down in front of me" because they're afraid they'll kill someone themselves with a car one day, and they want to make sure they go free as well.

While there are a microscopic set of circumstances in which a (drunk) driver might not be responsible for manslaughter for driving over someone, my personal bias will be with the victim in this case.

Paul

Interesting, being that I ride my bike, the train and walk just about everywhere (I do have a car, but I rarely use it) - I'm always quick to fault a driver.

With that said, we're talking about someone who was lying on the street in a not-so well lighted area (I'm familiar with this area) at 1:30AM.

As a bicyclist myself - I specifically do not ride after sundown because cars go fast, while I do not - plus, if I'm out at 1:30AM, I'm most likely drinking, and I'm not riding a bike because you could get a DUI / CUI.

So I think 2 possible drunk drivers is an interesting point and somewhat relevant on the accident part itself - but I do realize it does not make a difference on the hit and run portion of it.

So I'm just curious to see what exactly he gets charged for.