“Accidents”

Early Monday morning, 73 year old Amelia Ordona and her 67 year old sister were crossing the street when a car struck Ordona, felling her.  Then, Ordona was struck at least six more times, and at least five of the drivers of those vehicles just kept driving, never stopping to see whether their car was responsible for Ordona's death.

Local news has been buzzing this morning because a deadly hit and run "van v bike" crash was caught on tape in Compton this morning.  Ovidio Morales, a father of five, was presumably on his way to work.  Morales is separated from his family in Guatemala, whom he was sending money to in hopes they would one day be able to join him.

On May 19, a cyclist, let's call him Roadblock, was riding home late at night on Glendale Boulevard.  Roadblock's bike was lit up with front and rear lights and he was wearing a helmet.  Just a couple of weeks earlier, Roadblock had been part of the "die-in" protesting the street and law enforcement conditions that helped lead to the violent death of cyclists Jesus Castillo.  A couple of blocks from the Ghost Bike memorializing Castillo's passing, a Silver 2009 Jaguar registered to Glenn Gritzner slammed into Roadblock from behind sending the cyclist thirty feet in the air, before crashing to the ground.  The Jaguar sped off while Roadblock lay dazed and bloody in the street.

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Late Wednesday afternoon, after all of the excitement over an anti-harassment ordinance for cyclists, KPCC sent out an email looking for your hit-and-run stories. Presumably, they are just looking for cyclists that were involved, and not drivers, and you can read the full email from KPCC's Sharon McNary below:

Reporting live from the courthouse, Danny Jimenez, aka DJ Wheels, reports that the defense's motion for probation was denied in the case of the Mandeville Canyon Road Rage Doctor.  Dr. Christopher Thompson will receive five years in jail for intentionally causing a crash on July 4th that hospitalized two cyclists.  Thompson received two years for assault with a deadly weapon for his attack on Ron Peterson with a three year enhancement for causing great bodily injury.

 Cyclist Ross Hirsch reports on a hit and run bike crash in the Downtown.

You didn't read that wrong.

Next Monday, District Attorney Mary Stone will file her motion recommending a prison sentence for Dr. Christopher Thompson, the "Road Rage Doctor" who intentionally used his car as a weapon against recreational cyclists on Mandeville Canyon on July 4, 2008. With her motion she'll also hand over a packet of letters of support for stricter sentencing from a community that has been effected by Thompson's aggressive act.