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Nine cyclists in hospital after car ploughs into Los Angeles midnight ride

Two riders in critical condition, four serious, with motorist suspected of drunken driving

Nine cyclists participating in a regular night-time bike ride in Los Angeles were hospitalised, two of them in a critical condition, after a suspected drunken driver ploughed into the 50-strong group they were riding with on Wednesday night. Four of the cyclists were reported to have suffered serious injuries, while the other three were less seriously hurt in the incident.

The driver, 27-year-old Christine Elisabeth Dahab, was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving and was held overnight at the Los Angeles Police Department’s 77th Street Division Jail before being released yesterday morning, reports the Culver City Patch website.

The cyclists, belonging to the group Midnight Ridazz, were taking part in the weekly Kushtown Wednesdays group ride when the car, a Honda Civic, crashed into them while they were stopped at the side of the road at the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook, according to one witness.

Cyclist Nathaniel Arias said that the driver “went right through the crowd. People were flying and bikes were destroyed.”

Another, Jose San Juan stated: “I feel this big emotion, I feel like crying. I saw everything, I have that whole picture in my mind when everyone was splatting. I just can’t believe it.”

LAPD officer Lyle Knight said that enquiries were in a "very fluid" state, adding that investigators were trying to establish whether the accident could be attributable in part to the cyclists blocking the road.

The aftermath of the crash was caught in the following AP video news report. According to that report, one of the cyclists, not two, was in a critical condition but was expected to pull through, and the motorist was said to have been using a mobile phone before she hit the group of cyclists.

 

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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9 comments

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skippy | 12 years ago
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Using a hand held device whilst driving has been since the mid 80's a source of distraction and yet more and more we see it being the cause of suffering!

Laws are introduced to prevent this scourge to road safety yet DAILY we all see people continuing to ignore these laws and even police officers IGNORING THOSE alongside them breaking these laws !

Society really does not care about others UNTIL it is them that suffer !

TIME TO ACT and make HANDHELD DEVICES ILLEGAL AND SUBJECT TO CONFISCATION as well as cash penalties !

Help Para athletes by visiting @skippydetour and www.parrabuddy.blogspot.com and signing on to win some " Goodies" from Continental Tyres !

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stewieatb replied to skippy | 12 years ago
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skippy wrote:

TIME TO ACT and make HANDHELD DEVICES ILLEGAL AND SUBJECT TO CONFISCATION as well as cash penalties !

Eh?

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mrchrispy | 12 years ago
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LAPD officer Lyle Knight said that enquiries were in a "very fluid" state, adding that investigators were trying to establish whether the accident could be attributable in part to the cyclists blocking the road.

LAPD officer Lyle Knight said that enquiries were in a "very fluid" state, adding that investigators were trying to establish whether the 'rape' could be attributable in part to the 'woman wearing a short skirt'.

Doubt they get away with having this approach but it seem okay when bikes and cars are involved!!  14

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Michael5 | 12 years ago
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Why are we surprised? Its always the cyclists fault... A few of them might have taken their helmets off too.

Any fule kno that's tantamount to asking for a drunken telephonist driving a defective motor vehicle to plough into them. Without a helmet on, the injuries that result are their own fault, of course.

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thereverent | 12 years ago
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LAPD officer Lyle Knight said that enquiries were in a "very fluid" state, adding that investigators were trying to establish whether the accident could be attributable in part to the cyclists blocking the road.

So it was a drunk driver on a mobile phone, and the Police still try and find a way of blaming the cyclists!

Sounds like the Police in the UK.

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OldRidgeback | 12 years ago
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Let's hope the injured pull through, while the drunken idiot behind the wheel gets a healthy fine, a jail sentence and a lengthy licence suspension.

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Aidan | 12 years ago
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Wonder if being drunk and using a mobile phone was partly to blame too  29

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farrell | 12 years ago
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"adding that investigators were trying to establish whether the accident could be attributable in part to the cyclists blocking the road"

Really?

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stewieatb replied to farrell | 12 years ago
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Yeah, I'm a little worried about that too.

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