Wednesday, November 29, 2006 Bicyclist dies after being struck by car Fountain Valley woman was on Santiago Canyon Road By KIMBERLY EDDS The Orange County Register
A bicyclist died Wednesday afternoon a day after being struck by a car during a twilight ride on Santiago Canyon Road.
Christy Kirkwood, 51, of Fountain Valley, was riding in the bicycle lane near Modjeska Grade about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday when a car veered off the road, knocking her from her bicycle. Authorities airlifted her to Mission Trauma Center in Mission Viejo, where she was pronounced dead at 12:55 p.m. Wednesday.
Kirkwood was riding with her bike headlight when she was hit.
Santiago Canyon Road was shut down for nearly six hours following the crash. The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
That is one of the major rides in the OC. Death count on this road this year: 2
Wow, sorry to hear that. I know that road/area. Been on it when visiting north San Diego County and headed up to OC. I know in my area there are “Share the Road” bike signs all over on popular routes - I don’t remember seeing any around there (despite the bicycle lane). Very sad indeed
Visibility is not the issue here. In this area the bike lane is 10 foot wide. She was taken out in a “safe” area.
On another note just saw on the news that a guy up in LA plowed into a bus stop (killing an 8 year old, with the rest of his family fighting for life). He was “just” looking for his cell phone…
I bet Christy was killed by a negligent driver too.
I hope both guys burn long and slow and will have never-ending nightmares for the rest of their lives.
And I hope everybody else who drives and does answer a hand held device and takes the risk will be held responsible in some way too.
I lost my best friend this way and I couldn’t have stronger words for those low lifes who don’t get it.
And yes, I never use/answer my cell or any other fidgety hand-held “device” while driving. Period! It can’t be that urgent that you don’t have the time to pull over at the next possible spot and call back!
That’s terrible news!!! I know that area quite well. Just breaks my heart when I here news like this
Just two weeks ago, I helped a female rider who was hit by a car in Seal Beach(on PCH). As I’m running to help/treat her, the ASSHOLE is leaving the scene and never got caught.
that is very sad to hear about someone dying on Santiago Canyon Road, the shoulder/bike lane is very wide there for the whole road except for one bridge crossing.
<< It can’t be that urgent that you don’t have the time to pull over at the next possible spot and call back!
how ironic that the one time that I was hit by a car was when the driver was trying to pull over to answer their cell phone. They pulled past me and without looking back cut right into a parking spot off the road and I plowed right into the side of their car. They were trying to do the right thing but didn’t bother to look.
I don’t want to sound cold, but I know Santiago Canyon can sometimes be dangerous, even during the daytime. I ride it often and try not to ride side by side (as this case was), and I NEVER ride after the sun is gone. It’s a tragedy, but sometimes some common sense can avert this kind of tragedies. Let’s train hard but let’s train smart too.
Very sad but having been hit by a car in broad daylight on PCH in Huntington Beach a couple of years ago, shattering my left leg, its car vs bike and you know who is always going to lose. I took advantage of the Slowtwitch discount and bought a trainer earlier this month to avoid cars.
yeah i ride it all the time, and cars go flying by. a few months ago when they had those two accidents pretty close to each other the CHP was out there in full force giving out tickets. But the canyon is out away from the city and i don’t ride my bike at night and i would never ride my bike out at night on Santiago Canyon, it must be pitch black out there at night!!!
My wife just called me at work and told me that my oldest daughter’s 7th grade science teacher was killed yesterday riding her bike. I told her I saw a thread on ST about someone getting killed on Santiago Canyon Road. I asked what her name was. She told me it was Mrs. Kirkwood and that my daughter was pretty upset. She was a well liked teacher and person. It’s a small world.
I often ride that stretch of road on Sunday mornings, when there’s hardly any traffic, but I can see where it would be very scary at 5:30 on a weeknight this time of year (in the dark), with commuter traffic.
