LOS ANGELES, CA – An e-bike rider was killed early Sunday after being struck by a white SUV in the Arleta neighborhood of Los Angeles, with police continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the fatal collision.
The crash was reported before 2 a.m. Sept. 13 in the 13000 block of Osborne Street, according to information released after the collision.
Los Angeles police said the white SUV struck the person riding the electric bicycle. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
The victim’s identity, age and gender had not been publicly released in the immediate aftermath of the crash.
Fatal crash reported in Arleta
The collision occurred during the early morning hours in Arleta, a neighborhood in the northern San Fernando Valley.
Emergency personnel responded to the 13000 block of Osborne Street after the collision was reported. The roadway was subsequently cordoned off while investigators examined the scene and documented evidence.
The driver of the SUV remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators, according to information provided by authorities.
Police had not indicated that impairment or excessive speed was a factor at the time of the initial investigation. The circumstances that led to the collision remained unclear.
Information gathered by Street People indicates that investigators had not publicly released a detailed account of how the e-bike rider and SUV came into contact, leaving the cause of the crash undetermined.
Investigation continues
The investigation is being handled by the Los Angeles Police Department, with the Foothill Community Police Station serving the Arleta area.
Investigators are expected to examine the movements of the SUV and the e-bike before the collision, along with roadway conditions and other circumstances that could help establish what happened.
No arrest was reported in connection with the crash in the initial information available.
The fact that the SUV driver remained at the scene is also relevant to the investigation, as police work to establish the sequence of events rather than treating the collision as a hit-and-run.
E-bike riders are covered by California traffic laws
California law generally gives people riding bicycles on public roads the same rights and subjects them to many of the same traffic rules that apply to drivers, with exceptions for provisions that cannot apply to bicycles. The state’s Vehicle Code provisions governing bicycle operation also establish lighting and reflector requirements for bicycles operated at night.
For electric bicycles specifically, California law requires a rear red reflector or qualifying red light at all times. The rules also distinguish between different classes of electric bicycles and establish additional requirements for some riders and vehicles.
The California Department of Transportation’s bicycle safety guidance recommends that cyclists ride with traffic, obey signals, use lights and reflective equipment at night and remain alert for vehicles entering from cross streets and driveways.
Those statewide rules and safety recommendations provide broader context for the type of roadway involved in the Arleta collision, but authorities have not said that a violation by either road user contributed to this particular crash.
Los Angeles continues traffic-safety efforts
The fatal collision comes as Los Angeles continues to address serious traffic crashes involving people walking and riding bicycles.
The Los Angeles Department of Transportation’s Vision Zero program says the city uses crash data to identify dangerous locations and develop safety improvements, including safer crosswalks, traffic signals and intersection projects.
LADOT’s 2024 Vision Zero Safety Study found that bicycle-involved crashes resulting in a death or serious injury were disproportionately concentrated on certain parts of the city’s roadway network. The study identified a bicycle High Injury Network covering about 6.6% of the city’s street network but accounting for 79.4% of bicycle-involved fatal and severe-injury collisions in the data analyzed.
The study also found that about 27% of bicycle-involved fatal and serious-injury collisions in its analysis were hit-and-run crashes.
Those citywide figures do not establish a connection to Sunday’s Arleta crash, but they illustrate the broader traffic-safety challenges facing people who travel by bicycle in Los Angeles.
Victim’s identity has not been released
Authorities had not publicly identified the person killed in the Arleta collision as of the initial reports.
Police also had not released additional details about the victim or explained whether the person was traveling in a bike lane, on the roadway or in another part of Osborne Street when the collision occurred.
The investigation remains active as detectives work to determine what led to the crash.
Anyone with information that could assist investigators is encouraged to contact the Los Angeles Police Department through its traffic-investigation resources.
No further details about the victim or potential contributing factors had been released at the time of the latest information available.
