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A 20-year-old man (inset) was arrested for a hit-and-run bicycle crash at Salinas High School. (Photo: KSBW)

Police arrested a 20-year-old man Monday for a hit-and-run accident involving a 16-year-old Salinas High School student last week.

•   A high school student was walking his bicycle in a crosswalk when he was hit by a Ford Bronco.

•   The Bronco fled the scene.

•   A week later, police found the Bronco at another school. The driver confessed to the earlier hit-and-run accident and was arrested.

The bicycle accident occurred on Monday, April 29, according to a KSBW News report.

Salinas Police Officer Gerard Ross said the student, whose identity was not released, was walking his bicycle in a crosswalk on South Main Street near Acacia Street when he was struck by a Ford Bronco that fled the scene.

The student was hospitalized with multiple injuries on his body and face, Ross said.

Several witnesses called police to report that a Bronco that matched the description of the hit-and-run vehicle — it had a distinct red passenger door — was seen dropping off children at Mission Park School on the Friday following the accident.

On Monday, police saw the Bronco pull up at Mission Park School and questioned the driver, 20-year-old Brent Adams (pictured). Adams confessed that he was the driver in the hit-and-run accident involving the Salinas High School student.

Adams was arrested and booked into Monterey County Jail.

Monterey Hit-and-Run Accident Lawyers

A 78-year-old man was killed in a bicycle accident in Moorpark.

A 78-year-old bicyclist was killed Thursday in a hit-and-run accident on Tierra Rejada Road near Highway 23 in Moorpark. The driver initially fled the scene.

•    An elderly bicyclist was riding on the shoulder of the road when he was hit from behind by a 20-year-old driver.

•   The bicyclist died at the scene.

•    The driver fled the scene but turned around and came back.

•    The driver was arrested on felony hit-and-run charges.

The fatal bicycle accident occurred at around 1:20 p.m., according to a Moorpark Patch news report.

California Highway Patrol officers said 78-year-old Simi Valley resident Bernard Cooper was riding a bicycle eastbound on the shoulder of Tierra Rejada Road when he was struck from behind.

Cooper died at the scene.

The driver of the vehicle — 20-year-old Nicolas Santiago of Ridgecrest – fled the scene but stopped about a mile and a half down the road, turned around, and returned to the accident site.

CHP officers arrested Santiago on charges of felony hit and run, according to a Ventura County Star report. Alcohol was not believed to be a factor in the accident.

Bicycle Accident Statistics

More than 600 cyclists were killed and an additional 52,000 were injured in motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2010, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The vast majority (72 percent) of pedalcyclist fatalities occur in urban areas; 67 percent of those fatalities occur at non-intersections.

Share the Road

Drivers of motor vehicles need to share the road with bicyclists.

The NHTSA urges motorists to be courteous—allow at least three feet clearance when passing a bicyclist on the road, look for cyclists before opening a car door or pulling out from a parking space, and yield to cyclists at intersections and as directed by signs and signals.

Be especially watchful for cyclists when making turns, either left or right.

Ride Safe

Bicyclists should increase their visibility to drivers by wearing fluorescent or brightly colored clothing during the day, dawn, and dusk.

To be noticed when riding at night, use a front light and a red reflector or flashing rear light, and use retro-reflective tape or markings on equipment or clothing.

Moorpark Bicycle Accident Lawyers

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have successfully represented bicycle accident victims and their families for 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

Police arrested a teen driver for a hit-and-run accident that killed another teen in Rancho Santa Fe (San Diego County).

A 19-year-old driver was arrested Sunday night for a hit-and-run accident that killed an 18-year-old bicyclist Friday morning in the North San Diego community of Rancho Santa Fe.

•   A 19-year-old driver drifted off the side of the road into the bike lane and struck an 18-year-old bicyclist. 

•   The bicyclist died. The driver fled the scene.

•   Neighbors alerted police to the car with damage matching the description of the accident, and police arrested the 19-year-old.

The fatal bicycle accident occurred at about 1 a.m., according to a report in the North County Times.

California Highway Patrol Officer Chris Parent told the Times that 18-year-old Angel Bojorquez of Escondido was riding his bicycle northbound on Via de la Valle toward Paseo Delicias when a vehicle drove up behind him, drifted onto the right shoulder (the bike lane) and struck him.

Bojorquez had been riding home from his job as a grocery clerk at an Albertson’s grocery store in Del Mar. The driver of the vehicle that fatally struck Bojorquez fled the scene and left him to die. A private Rancho Santa Fe security officer discovered Bojorquez’s body at about 2 a.m. by the side of the road.

Neighbors of 19-year-old San Diego resident Jin Jyuk Byun tipped off police that Byun’s car, a black 2008 Chevy Avalanche, had damage consistent with reports of the deadly hit-and-run crash.

Parent said an investigator spoke with Byun at his home on Sunday night, but he refused to cooperate. Officers obtained a  search warrant, arrested him on felony hit-and-run charges, and booked him into the county jail.

UPDATE:

At Byun’s arraignment on Wednesday, prosecutors said that Byun pulled off the road after he hit Bojorquez and tried to hide evidence, according to a Fox 5 News report. Prosecutors further alleged that Byun tried to cover up some of the damage to his Chevy Avalanche and then drove to his parents’ house on a flat tire and tried to hide the Avalanche in their garage.

Byun pleaded not guilty. His bail was set at $1 million.

San Diego Hit-and-Run Accident Lawyers

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have successfully represented hit-and-run accident victims and their families for 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

A cyclist remains in critical condition after being struck by a hit-and-run driver in Sonoma County.

Hit-and-run accident: A 68-year-old driver who fled the scene after he hit a cyclist in Penngrove late last week appeared in Sonoma County Superior Court Wednesday to postpone his arraignment. The victim remains hospitalized in critical condition.

•   A pickup truck swerved off the roadway, hit a cyclist on the paved shoulder, and didn’t stop or even slow down.

•   The cyclist was critically injured and remains in a coma.

•   The hit-and-run driver was later arrested on felony hit-and-run charges. 

The bicycle crash occurred last Friday, shortly after 8:30 a.m., according to a report in the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat.

California Highway Patrol Officer Eric Hill said that 68-year-old Steve Norwick, a retired Sonoma State University environmental studies professor, was riding his bicycle southbound on the paved right shoulder of Petaluma Hill Road when he was struck from behind near East Railroad Avenue.

Based on physical evidence and witnesses’ statements, CHP investigators believe that 68-year-old Robert Cowart of Rohnert Park was driving his Dodge Ram pickup truck when he drifted onto the shoulder, hit Norwick, and kept driving without stopping.

Norwick was riding with his friend Rolfe Erickson, a retired geology professor. Erickson was about 10 feet ahead of Norwick when the accident happened. He said the truck never even slowed down, and had to veer back onto the roadway to avoid hitting him as well.

The impact knocked Norwick down an embankment and into a drainage ditch. He was unresponsive when firefighters arrived, according to Rancho Adobe Fire Captain Pete Albini.

Norwick suffered life-threatening catastrophic injuries to his head, spine, and kidneys, CHP officer Kerri Post told ABC News. He remains in a coma at the Intensive Care Unit at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

The collision left telltale damage to the truck, according to the Press-Democrat:

The impact sheared off the truck’s right side mirror and knocked out its front right headlight, leaving evidence at the scene that helped investigators piece together a description of the suspect’s vehicle.

CHP investigators said there was absolutely no way that the driver would not be aware that he hit someone, but Cowart did not come forward. Later that day, two off-duty law enforcement officers who live in Cowart’s neighborhood — CHP Officer Robert Powers and Rohnert Park Public Safety Sgt. Jeff Nicks –saw him drive up to his home in the damaged truck.

Nicks said Cowart “spoke matter of factly” about having hit a cyclist on the way to work but he said the cyclist was not hurt. He said the cyclist had been riding in the middle of the road when he hit him. He also said he stopped to check on the cyclist and thought he was OK.

The officers, who already were familiar with some of the details of the accident, initiated an arrest on charges of felony hit-and-run. Later Cowart changed his story and admitted that “he never stopped,” because he was late for work, Hill said. He was booked into jail and released on $30,000 bail.

When Cowart appeared in court Wednesday, he was in a wheelchair and appeared frail and unsteady, according to updated reports in the Press-Democrat, the Community Voice, and CBS News. His attorney said he had recently had a stroke and an aneurysm that may be impairing blood flow in his brain.

Deputy District Attorney Troye Shaffer said Cowart had three prior DUI arrests — two in 1989 and one in 2005 — and asked the judge to raise bail to $100,000. The arraignment will resume on Monday.

Regardless of what happens in Cowart’s criminal trial, the victim and his family will retain the legal right to be compensated for his injuries.

Sonoma County Bicycle Accident Lawyers

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have successfully represented bicycle accident victims and their families for 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.