Reader Rant
This was written in response to the headlines and text below at Axios San Diego, Sept. 13.\
Hi Claire Trageser, Axios San Diego
This headline link is totally misleading, irresponsible, and infuriating:
“ Meanwhile, a 14-year-old e-bike rider was hit by a Tesla in Pacific Beach Saturday night and died. (FOX 5 San Diego)”
Here’s the pertinent info from the Fox 5 story:
“According to the San Diego Police Department, the teenager was riding a Zooz e-bike northbound on Olney Street around 9:20 p.m. when he entered the intersection with Balboa Avenue against a red traffic signal.
At the same time, a 38-year-old man was driving a 2023 Tesla Model 3 westbound on Balboa Avenue in the right lane. The vehicle struck the bicyclist in the intersection, police said.”
And here’s the pertinent info from the SDPD Watch Commander’s report, which I assume your news room gets:
“Synopsis:
A 14 year old male was riding his Zooz e-bike northbound on Olney Street and entered the intersection with Balboa Avenue against a red signal light. A 38 year old male was driving a 2023 Tesla Model 3 westbound on Balboa avenue in the #2 lane and struck the bicyclist in the intersection. The bicyclist was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased. Traffic units responded and will be handling. Alcohol was not a factor.”
(The full text of the Watch Commander’s report is included at the end of this statement.)
I don’t have to tell you how politically charged this issue of bike safety and blame/responsibility for collisions and “accidents” has become in San Diego.
Incomplete and misleading reports about responsibility for a “bike v. vehicle” collision overwhelming — and inaccurately — places blame on the motorists, or infers their negligence.
It absolves cyclists (and pedestrians) of their responsibility to obey traffic laws and take proactive actions to reduce their vulnerability and avoid collisions.
It demonizes motorists, who, as in this case, (at least according to this preliminary police report), bear no legal responsibility for the tragic results of this totally avoidable collision.
I’m not inferring any motive on your part for posting this seriously misleading summary. But at the least you could have read the Fox 5 story, and had the common journalistic sense (which I know you have) to include the words “…who ran a red light and…” in your summary. And if you did read it, there’s no excuse of omitting the information about the cyclist’s reported red light violation.
Thank you for keeping these concerns in mind for your future reporting on this issue.
Best,
Paul Krueger
Wow – what a heartless and pointless rant.
A child died.
A driver will have to deal with the trauma of having hit the child who died.
Regardless of the fault, the tragedy is that a child died. The headline focused on exactly that.
Not to mention all the articles DO say he ran a red light.
I’m 68 and still ride my Harley. After many years of riding experience it’s still dangerous out there. I see these kids daily doing knucklehead stuff. Parents get involved before it’s too late.
Sorry, Mel, but “regardless of the fault” misses the point: This tragedy would have been avoided if the teenager had followed the rules of the road. That must be recognized. Cycling activists would rather blame all drivers than admit that unsafe biking habits cause injuries and deaths.
Have you ever come close to hitting a cyclist who ran a red light in front of your car when you were crossing an intersection on a green light? That happened to me. I wrote a Rag post about it (link is below). Please read it.
https://obrag.org/2026/05/framing-the-news-about-bicycling-lets-try-safety-first/comment-page-1/
I have no interest in reading your rant either.
A CHILD DIED – That is the headline.
I feel sorry for anyone who has so little empathy that they think assigning fault is equally important as the fact that a child died and is essential for the headline. And to waste time to write about that to the OB Rag is just pathetic.
Mel,
This post was not heartless. The point here is that adults failed this child and now a child is dead, unnecessarily. That is why people are outraged. No one wants to see this happen. The people who contribute to these tragedies are adults. The parents bought him a bike that was too much for a 14 year old. The adults did not require him take a class of how to follow the rules of the road and get his bike licensed once he passed the test (he was driving on the same road as automobiles and his brain is nowhere near developed). The lack of laws and law enforcement allowed the parents to do that. You say we should not assign blame yet the very parents who bought the bike will sue the driver and blame him/her. That is how it works in society- when you are driving there are rules that need to be followed and fault to be assigned when someone gets injured. That driver should NOT have to live with the experience of killing a child. I know I wouldn’t want to carry that burden. It would crush me. Adults who should know better failed everyone in this scenario.
Let’s be real Mel. Your outrage is as face as the author’s outrage. Details about what happened DO matter. Time to get over yourself.
This response was meant for Mel.
Fact.
Please watch this heartbreaking video from a friend of his before judging: (You’ll have to watch an annoying advertisement first, sorry about that.)
https://www.nbcsandiego.com/video/videos/pacific-beach-community-mourns-teen-killed-e-bike-crash/4073793/
Thx for posting the NBC7 video. I totally agree that the young man should not– and will not –be defined by his actions that night. It’s a tragedy all around, for everyone involved. But if we don’t all learn a lesson from what happened, we’ll lose a real opportunity of save lives.
I must say I was disappointed — but not shocked — by the boy’s friend’s comment to the effect that “everyone does it” (runs red lights). I commuted for years to an from work, and ran my share of red lights (though I slowed down and only crossed the intersection when then I could clearly judge the absence of on-coming traffic in all directions).
But I was an old man on a pedal-powered bike, not a 14-year-old on an very fast e-bike.
(I also think NBC7’s summary of the story was journalistically sound: “Community members in Pacific Beach are mourning the loss of a 14-year-old boy who died in an e-bike crash this weekend. Police say the teen ran a red light before a car hit him.”)
I wrote that “Reader Rant.”
I think thoughtful, honest discussions about the responsibility we all have — as motorists, cyclists, pedestrians, and parents — are in no way dismissive of the empathy we have for those injured or killed in collisions, regardless of fault.
We can — and should — mourn a child’s (or anyone’s) death, while still addressing the cause(s) of that injury or death, and — perhaps more importantly — discussing strategies for preventing future casualties.
E-bikes can be incredibly dangerous, and are proven deadly way to often.
If just one parent is compelled to read a story because the headline (or first sentence) notes the most important, news worthy aspect of the story (that the teen cyclist was killed because he ran a red light and collided with a car), and that parent takes action to prevent their child from making the same mistake, one — or more lives — can be saved.
Burying that information down in the story does a disservice to everyone involved, and allows those who want to blame everyone — and everything — else (drivers, potholes, street design, lighting) for every cyclist/pedestrian’s injury — to propagate the false narrative that cyclists and pedestrians are never at fault, and bear no responsibility for traffic safety.
Would you have said what you wrote to the boy’s parents or his friends?
He was known by kids in OB. The parents and his friends may read this.
Simply unnecessary.
Yes, I absolutely would have discussed my concerns and opinions with the boy’s parents and friends, had they asked me. But why would they, in their grief, care at all about this debate? And it’s totally besides the point. The issue here is only about the need for accurate and complete reporting and public knowledge of the facts of this accident, so we can we move towards an effective strategy for preventing these needless and tragic casualties.
Obviously a complex and heated topic. That poor kid and his family can’t undo his actions. I feel for his classmates as well. And the woman driving the Tesla. I run red lights on my bike, as Paul stated, but I certainly stop for major roads such as Balboa. I have recently been riding an ebike for my commute and it’s been very positive. But I am lucky to have bike lanes the entire trip. (See? You bike lane haters… people use them.) Would I let my kid ride one of these bikes? Hell no. These new ebikes are so fast and very dangerous. There are some safety features for parents on many models, but they wouldn’t have mattered in this case. Maybe there needs to be a required license to ride these and kids need to pass a course. I hope something positive comes out of this tragedy and that all parties involved can find some peace.
Dr. Jack, nobody “hates” bike lanes. That’s a specious way to dismiss skepticism — you’re either a supporter or a “hater.” Communities are literally seeing sparse traffic in bike lanes that cost tens of millions. That money was supposed to be a climate action investment that would move thousands of commuters out of cars.
But it didn’t happen. Vehicular traffic is worse than ever. And the general public feels duped, not by the lanes or the modest number of cyclists who use them (10 percent of the population?) but by the politicians who scammed us.
Aaand another complaint about under usage of bike lanes.
Sad!!!
Parents – no kid should be out riding a bike at 9:20pm it’s dark, there is traffic, and kids are not smart enough to follow the rules of the road especially when they have an ebike. Take the time to pick up or drop off your kids via your car and hopefully all with be safer.
Paul, Dr. Jack, Kate and Deb… Very well said all of you. My heart goes out to the friends and family of this young man. Parents need to inform and re-inform their e-bike rider kids of the dangers if they don’t ride safely. A tragedy indeed. I can’t began to imagine the heartbreak of the parents.
I think media frequently slants the headline to infer the cause of cyclists/peds vs vehicle accidents towards the vehicle driver. I’m glad one got called out.
I have a friend that is a Dr. working at UCSD Medical and he’s frequently talked about the high percentage of e-bike riders vs vehicle accents.
Be safe and observant everyone.
thx so much for your thoughtful comment, Pats. If my “rant”, and more importantly, this civil conversation in the comments section can raise awareness of e-bike dangers, and get parents and kids talking, we will have accomplished a common goal, and maybe, hopefully, prevented an collision, and saved a life.
Every article I’ve read about this DID say the e-biker ran the red light. Regardless of what’s in the immediate headlines, once you fully read into the various articles about this incident, their IS mention the kid ran the red light. This quote: “and entered the intersection with Balboa Avenue against a red signal light”. What do you think that means? Other articles like this spell it out: https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/14-year-old-e-bike-rider-struck-killed-in-pacific-beach/509-6f9efec9-2a45-4601-ac85-e7bf0a7c4567. The author is being disingenuous and expressing fake outrage.
I’ve been a journalist for 50 years. It’s our job to understand and properly amplify the most pertinent facts in a story. The highlighting and placement of those facts is an important part of our job. Readers often don’t make it past the headline or first sentence, and form a judgement or opinion based on that incomplete reading.
Granted, this is my analysis and opinion. Others can disagree.
I wrote this “rant” first and foremost as a journalist, secondly as a concerned citizen, and thirdly as a (former) dedicated cyclist.
And it’s both unfortunate and puzzling that you would dismiss my legitimate and sincere opinions and concerns as “fake outrage.”
Paul, I totally thank you for pointing out the author of the story had seemingly used the story as bait, to attract more readers. I’m glad you called the author out on the inaccuracy of the headline. Hopefully more authors, certainly the professional writers/reporters, will not write a story that leans towards accusations that are not factual especially on such a tragic story.
The dismissive part was (the way I interpreted) you made it seem like there’s no mention of the fact the kid did in fact run the ride light. Ok so it’s not in the headline. If readers can’t take the time to read further, that’s on them.
So you found that information in multiple places. What if a reader only read the piece with this misleading headline, or, even more likely today, only read the headline?
As I said, that speaks about the reader.
That speaks about a whole lot of readers today. And, as Paul says, journalists are taught to put the most pertinent information up front in a headline or a lead in order to attract readers.
When I was a kid in elementary school in El Cajon we had a bicycle training event call “Bicycle Rodeo.” They taught you the rules of the road and made it fun with prizes. Kids I see riding bikes and ebikes these days seem to have no knowledge of these basic rules. With the speed of these ebikes let’s have a licensing process, for lets say starting a thirteen. Attend training and pass a test and then and only then could a young person ride an ebike.
The loss of a child is a profound heartbreak and it is devastating to see a young life cut short in such a preventable way.
It is deeply concerning that children can operate motorized vehicles on public streets with no regulatory oversight beyond the wearing of a helmet. California needs comprehensive, common-sense legislation requiring licensure for any motorized vehicle operated on public roads.
The law must then be backed by active, strict enforcement. Passing regulations alone is not enough. Law enforcement needs the tools and commitment to ensure these rules are followed so we can prevent further tragedy.
I hope some good can come from this tragedy.
Paul, I wrote a piece in September of 2021 analyzing 13 cycling deaths the cycling community was using for their cause. It caused an outrage in the cycling community, all the way to LA from a guy named Flak. They have a big problem with the truth.
https://obrag.org/2021/09/the-politics-of-fear-bicycling-deaths-crosswalks-and-dog-bites/
This was the follow up on March 2021.
https://obrag.org/2022/03/bicycle-accidents-and-the-new-bike-counter-on-30th-street/