1620 5th AvenueA bicyclist was tragically killed by a motorist on June 27 in Santa Cruz, according to SantaCruzWire.com. Noel Hamilton, 31, was riding his bicycle near Soquel High School when he was struck by a car on Monday night. The motorist fled from the scene.
California has seen an increase in fatal bicycle accidents this year—this was the third hit-and-run fatality to claim the life of a cyclist. According to reports, the motorist returned to the scene of the bicycle accident 40 minutes later.
“We are doing a very thorough investigation,” California Highway Patrol spokeswoman Sarah Jackson told reporters. “If someone returns to the scene and…claims to be the driver in an accident like this, we will fully investigate that claim.”
This is a problem that is certainly not going away in Southern California, and needs to be pushed to the forefront of conversation in order for solutions to come to fruition. This is the second fatal bicycle accident in the Santa Cruz area in the month of June. Zachary Parkey, 25, was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver on June 8.
“These incidents are horrible, and a third in February, this is very unsettling,” local cyclist Piet Canin told reporters. “Personally, I’m still struggling to make sense of happened to Zachary, who was left to die on the side of the road.”
While more people are taking to bicycles as an alternative form of transportation in California, safety still needs to be the top priority.
Bonnici Law Group—San Diego bicycle accident attorney.
1620 5th Avenue