A 41 year old bicyclist was killed in a Ventura County bicycle accident on Sunday. The bike accident occurred in Piru, California, which is located in Ventura County. The victim of the bike accident was Jose Jimenez Cervantes, who is from Fillmore, California. According to the Ventura County Star, the victim was struck by a pick up truck driven by Alberto Velgara, who is from Piru.
The Ventura bike accident apparently occurred around 6:30pm on California Highway 126. The California Highway Patrol is investigating the cause of the bike crash. The CHP has said that the victim was not wearing protective lighting equipment or a helmet. The pickup struck Mr. Cervantes from behind, while he was riding on Highway 126. The highway had to be closed for about 90 minutes after the Piru bike accident, for the CHP to conduct its investigation. The findings of the investigation have not yet been released.
California bike accidents occur all too frequently, and many can be prevented. It is very important that car and truck drivers not just pay attention to other vehicles on the road, but also watch out for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists. We have seen many incidences where motorists stopped at a stop sign or red light do not look to the right before making a right turn. These motorists mistakenly think that looking to the left for oncoming vehicles is enough. In other incidences, a car may accidentally veer to the right and hit a bicyclist in a bike lane.
These bicycle accident injury cases often present many difficult challenges. Many times the police report will blame the bicyclist, often for traveling in the opposite direction of traffic, without mentioning that the bicyclist may have been doing so for his or her own protection, as that may have been a safer route. Auto insurance companies will often deny the bicyclist’s injury claims in many of these situations. For this reason, it is important to have an experienced California bicycle accident lawyer representing you in your bike accident injury case. In this Ventura County case, the family of the victim should hire a Ventura County wrongful death lawyer to investigate whether a wrongful death claim should be made against the driver of the truck.
Our Ventura personal injury lawyers handle bicycle accident injury and bike accident wrongful death claims throughout Ventura County and Los Angeles County and we can be reached any time for a free consultation.