• 05
  • March
    2010

Los Angeles bikers are in an uproar over the LAPD's decision not to file hit-and-run charges against a female driver who rear-ended a bicyclist in early January.

On the morning of the sixth, Ed Magos was riding his bicycle to work when he was struck from behind by the driver of a Porsche Cayenne. The driver stopped, briefly, got out of her vehicle, yelled for someone to "call 911," and then sped off.

She turned herself in later that day.

Since the driver initially stopped at the scene, police determined that she was not guilty of a hit-and-run car accident. Still, as many have pointed out, this doesn't exactly correlate with California law regarding such incidents.

Under state law, any driver involved in an accident resulting in injury is required to stop - immediately. If the accident resulted in an injury - and Ed Magos was seriously injured - then the driver is required to give a name, current address, vehicle registration number and wait for the police to arrive.

A driver in this situation is also required to give "reasonable assistance" to the injured party.

It seems like quite a stretch to say that briefly stopping and yelling for someone to call 911 constitutes reasonable assistance. In addition, this doesn't even take into account the fact that the driver who struck Magos gave no personal information and, obviously, did not wait for police to arrive.

This isn't the first time the LAPD has fended off public outcry from bicyclists. Last year, a biker was swiped by a man driving a Hummer, who then sped away, running over several more bikes as he escaped. The police department ruled that hit-and-run an "accident" and, in the end, laid most of the responsibility on the bikers.

California bicycle advocates have continued to press city officials, across the state, to institute more accommodation for the large number of bike riders. California consistently ranks near the top of all states for bicyclist injuries and fatalities.

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