Ride in Peace, Terri Wolfe Ingalls

This week we were reminded of Leslie Pray who, while riding her bike, was intentionally run down and killed by a driver on Mills Avenue two years ago (3 November 2018). That driver was sentenced to sixteen years in prison on the Tuesday past.

It was, maybe 12:15 and I was on my way home from work this afternoon when the mrs. called and said, "don't take Mills, the police have it completely closed. A bad car crash." She was on her way home from a ride and saw the closure; some kids were sitting on the curb and she asked them "what happened?" Not expecting the answer she received, "someone was murdered," she assumed they were just pulling her leg, joking. Little did she know.

At about the same time, another local cyclist setting out on his ride, noticed the same closure, noting the unusual occurrence on Facebook a few hours later. There was no mention of a cyclist at that time. Little did we know.

It would not be until later in the evening that we would find out a bicyclist was killed on Mills Avenue, here in Claremont this morning (within shouting distance of where Leslie Pray lost her life), and a driver (with speeding a possible factor) arrested on a charge of vehicular manslaughter. The driver, reports say, was overtaking another car. How she was doing that on a street with only one lane in each direction suggests that she was driving recklessly, probably rushing and speeding, passing another driver where there was no legal option to do so. Because of that another local bicyclist has lost her life. 

I am sure I am not the only one to notice the increase in drivers' speeds on Mills lately. With the elementary school out due to the pandemic, the one traffic light between Foothill and Baseline rarely changes to red, and there is nothing but a drivers' common sense (which is not always in good supply) to slow them down, keep their speed in check.

The name of the bicyclist, reported to be a Claremont resident, is yet to be released (Update: Terri Wolfe Ingalls), but I extend my heartfelt condolences to her family and friends.