A few days a go a woman was hit by a car in the middle of Orangethorpe Avenue. She died at the scene. Here’s the dispassionate police department version of events.
Notice that there is mention of a bicycle, however, the now deceased woman wasn’t riding it, but walking it across the street for some reason, presumably to get to the other side.
Now here’s how the same press release appeared in the Kennedy Sister’s Fullerton Observer, purveyors of independent “journalism.”
Notice how the FPD is credited with verbiage that isn’t in their press release. It has obviously been re-written. But by whom?
The dead woman is identified in the Observer headline as a bicyclist even though she wasn’t riding it when killed. We can already see where this is going, since we know that her possession of a bike at the time of her death is irrelevant regarding the facts of the incident.
And the comments in the Observer are part of the inevitable plot development.
Phil M.
That is usually the case and there were also bike lanes here too. The person in question was not going anywhere else but going to the other side of Orangethorpe. It is a foolish risky mistake lots of jaywalkers and “jaybikers” make without using an intersection with traffic lights.
EDITOR NOTE: According to police the bicyclist was walking her bike in the number one eastbound lane which is a designated bike lane when she was hit by the car.
Responding to a previous commenter, Phil M reminds us that there are bike lanes in Orangethorpe and addresses the jaywalking issue. the unnamed “Editor Note” says the victim was in the “designated bike lane” when hit.
So Phil M. responds with some facts and addresses some obviously erroneous conclusions made by “Editor.”
Phil M.
TO THE EDITOR: The number 1 lane is the lane closest to the center of the street. The lane for bicyclists is the ‘bike lane’ obviously, which the one closest to the sidewalk. Are you telling me that this person was riding their bicycle in the center of the street for travel?
EDITOR: Oh! You are absolutely right about that. The number one lane is the one closest to centerline. Thank you for that correction. So she was walking her bike across Orangethorpe when the car and truck hit her.
So “Editor” has finally clued in to the facts of the situation, (or is pretending to) but of course “Editor” will not observe that this is not a bike safety issue at all.
But in the meantime, Sharon Kennedy has chimed in by name, with the usual handwringing, still unaware, that as usual, she doesn’t know what the Hell she’s talking about.
Sharon K
Condolences to her family for this tragic loss.
This is another good reason to make a dedicated bike lane all across Orangethorpe. Reduce cars to the other three lanes. Let’s name the new bike lane after her. Other cities are creating safe bike lanes – why can’t we?
- Phil M.If you look on Google Maps in Street View, there are in fact bike lanes on both sides of Orangethorpe in that section. The person who crossed the street was NOT using the bike line to go east to west or west to east. They were crossing at a place without traffic lights get to the other side of Orangethorpe. Lots of people foolishly risk their lives to jaywalk and “jaybike” all the time in places like these quite often.
As we see, Phil M. is now well-aware of what he is dealing with – an emotional, fact-creating ideologue, and he feels constrained to point out real facts to Kennedy.
There are dedicated bike lanes on both sides of Orangethorpe already. There is no need for a “new” one and even less reason to name it after somebody who wasn’t riding a bike or even obeying traffic laws when she died. It would make just as much sense to name it after the poor guy from Westminster who gets to carry this avoidable death with him for life.
And of course there is the perfect comment by one of the few people still permitted or interested in commenting on the Observer blog: “Amy.”
Amy
This is absolutely horrible and I am so saddened for this person and their family. No one deserves to die in such a senseless way. Please Fullerton, let’s build proper bike infrastructure so this never has to happen again.
Poor Amy had reflexively swallowed the bait the morning of the post, to pursue the obvious bike propaganda slant. Needless to say, she hasn’t yet returned to explain how this “senseless” accident could have been avoided by building “proper” bike infrastructure.
