Adding insult to injury
Stealing from the grave
No honor among thieves
Any one of those dreary cliches applies, at least somewhat, to what I'm about to report.
In Fullerton, California a 65-year-old woman was walking her bicycle across Brookhurst Street, just south of Valencia Drive (one of the area's main corridors), the other morning. A 2015 black Mazda sedan was traveling southbound on Brookhurst and had just crossed Valencia when it smacked into the woman.
To her credit, the driver--a 26-year-old woman--has cooperated with investigators. She did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. And, in her defense, looking at a map and street view lead me to believe eyewitness and police accounts that say the woman with the bicycle wasn't in a crosswalk when she tried to get to the other side of Brookhurst from the Fullerton Armory.
Here is where the story gets considerably murkier: When police and paramedics arrived, the bicycle was missing. According to police Sergeant John Radus, it was stolen. He says that his department wants it for evidence.
Of course, being the skeptical New Yorker that I am, I have to ask: When, exactly, was it stolen? Did the driver--who remained at the scene--see the theft or, more to the point, the thief?
Since it seems unlikely, to say the least, that the bike simply vanished, I would believe that it was stolen by somebody.
That woman with the bicycle was was crossing just after 6 am: when residents of the Armory, which is a homeless shelter, are required to leave. If that woman was homeless--as seems likely--she may not have had much else besides that bike.
Could this be a new low in bike theft?
Stealing from the grave
No honor among thieves
Any one of those dreary cliches applies, at least somewhat, to what I'm about to report.
In Fullerton, California a 65-year-old woman was walking her bicycle across Brookhurst Street, just south of Valencia Drive (one of the area's main corridors), the other morning. A 2015 black Mazda sedan was traveling southbound on Brookhurst and had just crossed Valencia when it smacked into the woman.
To her credit, the driver--a 26-year-old woman--has cooperated with investigators. She did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. And, in her defense, looking at a map and street view lead me to believe eyewitness and police accounts that say the woman with the bicycle wasn't in a crosswalk when she tried to get to the other side of Brookhurst from the Fullerton Armory.
Here is where the story gets considerably murkier: When police and paramedics arrived, the bicycle was missing. According to police Sergeant John Radus, it was stolen. He says that his department wants it for evidence.
Of course, being the skeptical New Yorker that I am, I have to ask: When, exactly, was it stolen? Did the driver--who remained at the scene--see the theft or, more to the point, the thief?
Since it seems unlikely, to say the least, that the bike simply vanished, I would believe that it was stolen by somebody.
That woman with the bicycle was was crossing just after 6 am: when residents of the Armory, which is a homeless shelter, are required to leave. If that woman was homeless--as seems likely--she may not have had much else besides that bike.
Could this be a new low in bike theft?
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