LA area: driver runs over cyclist from behind, then stabs him to death

Feb 2, 23 20:07

Post #1 of 22 (3647 views)

https://www.cbsnews.com/...on-pch-in-dana-point

Quote:

A Lexus driver struck a bicyclist on Pacific Coast Highway in Dana Point Wednesday afternoon, then got out and stabbed the cyclist. The driver was held by Good Samaritans until officers arrived. The cyclist died in the hospital.

According to the Orange County Sheriff's Department, the incident occurred at around 3 p.m., when a white Lexus sedan hit a bicyclist riding northbound along PCH at the Crown Valley Parkway intersection.

The OCSD said the cyclist was riding in the bike lane and stopped at a red light when he was struck from behind. The driver intentionally struck the cyclist, officials said.
The Lexus driver then got out of the car and stabbed the cyclist.
The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

On Thursday, he was identified as Michael Mammone, 58, a local emergency room physician at Providence Mission Hospital in Laguna Beach. The incident occurred about a mile from his workplace.
The driver was held at the scene by citizens until law enforcement arrived and arrested him.
"There were actually locals that were able to detain him until police arrived," said OCSD Sergeant Mike Woodruff. "As far as relationship or motive, we have no idea at this time."

The Orange County District Attorney's Office identified the suspect Thursday morning as 39-year-old Long Beach resident Vanroy Evan Smith. Smith was held without bail and was scheduled to appear in court on Friday.
Witnesses say that Smith was also holding a BB gun when he approached Mammone, who was lying on the street in critical condition on Wednesday.

Footage from the scene showed the victim's mangled mountain bike and the shattered windshield and front-end damage of the Lexus.
It was unclear if the cyclist and the driver knew each other, or if it was a road-rage incident.
Providence Mission Hospital released a statement following the news of Mammone's death, which read:
"We are stunned by this devastating tragedy. The entire Mission Hospital family is grieving over the loss of an incredible physician and friend."

Last edited by: synthetic: Feb 2, 23 20:09

Re: LA area: driver runs over cyclist from behind, then stabs him to death [synthetic] [ In reply to ]

Feb 2, 23 20:47

Post #2 of 22 (3592 views)

Jesus that's awful

But pedantically not LA area.

Re: LA area: driver runs over cyclist from behind, then stabs him to death [synthetic] [ In reply to ]

Feb 3, 23 9:08

Post #3 of 22 (3292 views)

This one hits close to home for me, and not just geographically. This guy was an LA county lifeguard who worked summers here, and a lot of the folks I used to work with knew him pretty well. This came across my lifeguard feed before I saw it anywhere else, really sad about this and feel for the family..

So now to wonder, was this a deliberate hit? Seems so after seeing the stabbing afterwards, or just a real bad case of road rage.

Re: LA area: driver runs over cyclist from behind, then stabs him to death [monty] [ In reply to ]

Feb 3, 23 10:50

Post #4 of 22 (3160 views)

His last strava post Jan 24th, seems like he rode this area a lot, so sad, r.i.p.
https://www.strava.com/athletes/1003559

Re: LA area: driver runs over cyclist from behind, then stabs him to death [synthetic] [ In reply to ]

Feb 3, 23 11:45

Post #5 of 22 (3068 views)

this is the craziest story. when i first heard, i assumed there must be a previous relationship. but seems he was just pissed the cyclist was in his way. i have been on that section of PCH quite a bit and have always felt safe since there is a pretty wide dedicated bike lane. if someone is going to drive that reckless, there is nothing you can do. just feel awful for that guys family. this driver better get charged with murder vs. vehicular manslaughter.

Re: LA area: driver runs over cyclist from behind, then stabs him to death [steve25] [ In reply to ]

Feb 3, 23 11:54

Post #6 of 22 (3048 views)

I know courts aren't always kind to cyclists but how on earth could this person NOT be charged for murder?? This is way different than your classic cyclist vs. car incident...

Re: LA area: driver runs over cyclist from behind, then stabs him to death [synthetic] [ In reply to ]

Feb 3, 23 12:07

Post #7 of 22 (3009 views)

It seems the murderer was a former bike racer

https://heavy.com/...nroy-evan-smith/amp/

Re: LA area: driver runs over cyclist from behind, then stabs him to death [MrTri123] [ In reply to ]

Feb 3, 23 13:31

Post #8 of 22 (2895 views)

MrTri123 wrote:

It seems the murderer was a former bike racer

https://heavy.com/...nroy-evan-smith/amp/

Whoa, can we get a hate crime investigation going? Given the mentions of the white privilege and all that?

Next races on the schedule: none at the moment

Re: LA area: driver runs over cyclist from behind, then stabs him to death [MrTri123] [ In reply to ]

Feb 3, 23 13:52

Post #9 of 22 (2852 views)

Wow. What a terrible tragedy. The assailant should be charged with murder. No plea deals either.

Re: LA area: driver runs over cyclist from behind, then stabs him to death [synthetic] [ In reply to ]

Feb 4, 23 1:43

Post #10 of 22 (2560 views)

Very sad. Hope he gets the chair.

Re: LA area: driver runs over cyclist from behind, then stabs him to death [alex_korr] [ In reply to ]

Feb 4, 23 6:52

Post #11 of 22 (2394 views)

alex_korr wrote:

MrTri123 wrote:

It seems the murderer was a former bike racer

https://heavy.com/...nroy-evan-smith/amp/

Whoa, can we get a hate crime investigation going? Given the mentions of the white privilege and all that?

Go back to being a d-bag in the LR, not here. Please don’t litter ST with that garbage.

Thanks.

Re: LA area: driver runs over cyclist from behind, then stabs him to death [thin_concrete] [ In reply to ]

Feb 4, 23 7:26

Post #12 of 22 (2358 views)

thin_concrete wrote:

Wow. What a terrible tragedy. The assailant should be charged with murder. No plea deals either.

Ya, he clearly hit the cyclist on purpose, just rammed right into him at maybe 40 mph, just rammed the sheet out of him. I watched the first 10 sec of that video about 10-12 times and the cyclist and his bike just flew up in the air over the top of the car, then the guy was separated from the bike and they ended up in separate places on the ground. It appeared that the guy flew up about 30 ft into the air before crashing down, and then the driver goes over and stabs him??? And the driver claims to be a Christian??? What an idiot.

"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

Re: LA area: driver runs over cyclist from behind, then stabs him to death [burnthesheep] [ In reply to ]

Feb 4, 23 9:41

Post #13 of 22 (2216 views)

burnthesheep wrote:

alex_korr wrote:

MrTri123 wrote:

It seems the murderer was a former bike racer

https://heavy.com/...nroy-evan-smith/amp/

Whoa, can we get a hate crime investigation going? Given the mentions of the white privilege and all that?

Go back to being a d-bag in the LR, not here. Please don’t litter ST with that garbage.

Thanks.

Not sure if he is being a d-bag or not. But given the allegations of an unprovoked murder while yelling "white privilege" accusations on a guy simply riding his bicycle, don't you think it calls for an investigation on a hate motive?

Re: LA area: driver runs over cyclist from behind, then stabs him to death [synthetic] [ In reply to ]

Feb 4, 23 10:18

Post #14 of 22 (2183 views)

synthetic wrote:

The OCSD said the cyclist was riding in the bike lane and stopped at a red light when he was struck from behind.

That reads like the rider was in the bike lane when hit, but he was actually in the second right turn lane from the curb.

Road rage seems most likely at this point. Motorist is on a short fuse and snaps because he doesn't like something the cyclist is doing. Sadly, plenty of people in the US will empathize with his reaction. Probably thousands of drivers a day flirt with that line, but few cross it.

Re: LA area: driver runs over cyclist from behind, then stabs him to death [burnthesheep] [ In reply to ]

Feb 4, 23 10:24

Post #15 of 22 (2176 views)

burnthesheep wrote:

alex_korr wrote:

MrTri123 wrote:

It seems the murderer was a former bike racer

https://heavy.com/...nroy-evan-smith/amp/

Whoa, can we get a hate crime investigation going? Given the mentions of the white privilege and all that?

Go back to being a d-bag in the LR, not here. Please don’t litter ST with that garbage.

Thanks.

Anonymous user insults another user giving a good faith argument and believes it's the other user that's the d-bag.

Professional interests in Genomics, Bioinformatics, Hardware/Software interfaces, sports interests are running from 800 to half marathon, sprint tri to half iron, cycling road races

https://brave.com/ - A safer and faster way to browse the web
https://www.strava.com/athletes/3757906

Re: LA area: driver runs over cyclist from behind, then stabs him to death [adaykin] [ In reply to ]

Feb 4, 23 11:41

Post #16 of 22 (2117 views)

adaykin wrote:

burnthesheep wrote:

alex_korr wrote:

MrTri123 wrote:

It seems the murderer was a former bike racer

https://heavy.com/...nroy-evan-smith/amp/

Whoa, can we get a hate crime investigation going? Given the mentions of the white privilege and all that?

Go back to being a d-bag in the LR, not here. Please don’t litter ST with that garbage.

Thanks.

Anonymous user insults another user giving a good faith argument and believes it's the other user that's the d-bag.

Go visit the LR. It’s their MO. It is NOT good faith if you pay attention to the user’s post history. If they’re changing their mind about that there’s a dozen or so topics in LR they should revisit with all of us to clarify the switch.

The politics of it are obvious if so and don’t belong in the ST forum. But feel free to in LR. It’s refreshing to keep ST low stress politics free.

Example post 14 here:
https://forum.slowtwitch.com/...ost=7312938#p7312938

Last edited by: burnthesheep: Feb 4, 23 11:47

Re: LA area: driver runs over cyclist from behind, then stabs him to death [burnthesheep] [ In reply to ]

Feb 4, 23 12:38

Post #17 of 22 (2051 views)

burnthesheep wrote:

adaykin wrote:

burnthesheep wrote:

alex_korr wrote:

MrTri123 wrote:

It seems the murderer was a former bike racer

https://heavy.com/...nroy-evan-smith/amp/

Whoa, can we get a hate crime investigation going? Given the mentions of the white privilege and all that?

Go back to being a d-bag in the LR, not here. Please don’t litter ST with that garbage.

Thanks.

Anonymous user insults another user giving a good faith argument and believes it's the other user that's the d-bag.

Go visit the LR. It’s their MO. It is NOT good faith if you pay attention to the user’s post history. If they’re changing their mind about that there’s a dozen or so topics in LR they should revisit with all of us to clarify the switch.

The politics of it are obvious if so and don’t belong in the ST forum. But feel free to in LR. It’s refreshing to keep ST low stress politics free.

Example post 14 here:
https://forum.slowtwitch.com/...ost=7312938#p7312938

Not sure where you live, but I live in SoCal and ride in the Palos Verdes area often, so this hits home. Knowing that I could be targeted by some rando psychotic who's out to get some whitey would not necessarily be a comforting thought or a good thing. Politics or not.

Next races on the schedule: none at the moment

Re: LA area: driver runs over cyclist from behind, then stabs him to death [burnthesheep] [ In reply to ]

Feb 4, 23 13:03

Post #18 of 22 (2030 views)

It seems the murderer was a former bike racer

https://heavy.com/...nroy-evan-smith/amp/
Whoa, can we get a hate crime investigation going? Given the mentions of the white privilege and all that?
Go back to being a d-bag in the LR, not here. Please don’t litter ST with that garbage.

Thanks.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Perhaps people should be more upset about the driver who murdered the doctor who was the cyclist, first by running him down then getting out stabbing him to death all the while shouting about white privilege, the majority of us ride bikes on the street, we are all susceptible to being hit by someone but then to have that person get out and murder you with a knife, that is unbelievable if the murderer did this because of the doctors color then sure it should be a hate crime on top of murder.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11711897/Mixed-race-accountant-accused-killing-California-doctor-58-wrote-rambling-posts-ethnicity.html

Last edited by: hercules: Feb 4, 23 15:33

Re: LA area: driver runs over cyclist from behind, then stabs him to death [burnthesheep] [ In reply to ]

Feb 4, 23 14:26

Post #19 of 22 (1940 views)

burnthesheep wrote:

alex_korr wrote:

MrTri123 wrote:

It seems the murderer was a former bike racer

https://heavy.com/...nroy-evan-smith/amp/

Whoa, can we get a hate crime investigation going? Given the mentions of the white privilege and all that?

Go back to being a d-bag in the LR, not here. Please don’t litter ST with that garbage.

Thanks.

It's a perfectly valid point. The witnesses stated that the alleged assailant was shouting "White Privilege" while stabbing the victim. That's not douchebagery...well you calling him one certainly is. It doesn't matter the melanin content of your skin, you can still commit a hate crime.

Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

Re: LA area: driver runs over cyclist from behind, then stabs him to death [TheStroBro] [ In reply to ]

Feb 4, 23 15:24

Post #20 of 22 (1895 views)

TheStroBro wrote:

burnthesheep wrote:

alex_korr wrote:

MrTri123 wrote:

It seems the murderer was a former bike racer

https://heavy.com/...nroy-evan-smith/amp/

Whoa, can we get a hate crime investigation going? Given the mentions of the white privilege and all that?

Go back to being a d-bag in the LR, not here. Please don’t litter ST with that garbage.

Thanks.

It's a perfectly valid point. The witnesses stated that the alleged assailant was shouting "White Privilege" while stabbing the victim. That's not douchebagery...well you calling him one certainly is. It doesn't matter the melanin content of your skin, you can still commit a hate crime.

Did you read the linked post above?

I wouldn’t have had an issue at all with the post if it wasn’t that poster. To be blunt, it was like being an ambulance chaser on a forum topic. Whether it happened nearby or not. Because it specifically was then.

Whatever, I stand by feeling it was awful convenient. You won’t change my mind and I’m taking my ball back to LR where that kind of posting strategy belongs.

Re: LA area: driver runs over cyclist from behind, then stabs him to death [burnthesheep] [ In reply to ]

Feb 4, 23 19:22

Post #21 of 22 (1735 views)

burnthesheep wrote:

TheStroBro wrote:

burnthesheep wrote:

alex_korr wrote:

MrTri123 wrote:

It seems the murderer was a former bike racer

https://heavy.com/...nroy-evan-smith/amp/

Whoa, can we get a hate crime investigation going? Given the mentions of the white privilege and all that?

Go back to being a d-bag in the LR, not here. Please don’t litter ST with that garbage.

Thanks.

It's a perfectly valid point. The witnesses stated that the alleged assailant was shouting "White Privilege" while stabbing the victim. That's not douchebagery...well you calling him one certainly is. It doesn't matter the melanin content of your skin, you can still commit a hate crime.

Did you read the linked post above?

I wouldn’t have had an issue at all with the post if it wasn’t that poster. To be blunt, it was like being an ambulance chaser on a forum topic. Whether it happened nearby or not. Because it specifically was then.

Whatever, I stand by feeling it was awful convenient. You won’t change my mind and I’m taking my ball back to LR where that kind of posting strategy belongs.

The fact that you probably read through a dozen pages of my posts history in order to dig up this bit from 2020 (and parade it around like it actually has any bearing on anything) is effing astonishing. Cyber stalk much? Do you happen to be an ex-girlfriend of mine with a revenge motive? What a nutter. Get help.

Next races on the schedule: none at the moment

Re: LA area: driver runs over cyclist from behind, then stabs him to death [synthetic] [ In reply to ]

Feb 10, 23 19:15

Post #22 of 22 (1317 views)

So got this today on the perp, seems like there were so many red flags, but of course just kept getting kicked down the road. Until the final snap, and truly a horrendous outcome, on someone he never even met or knew. I got an invite to the funeral next week, apparently his wife is also a guard at my old dept..

I'm not really sure how to feel about this whole thing, completely random but somewhat targeted to the cyclist part of the guys rage. Dude really needed some help, but was just not to be in his world...

https://www.latimes.com/...bbing-mental-illness

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