Joseph Robinson
Joseph Robinson
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Age: 21
Location:
Santiago Canyon Road
South of Loma Ridge Road
Irvine , CA
United States
from the OC Register
Cycling gave Irvine man purpose, grieving mom says
Joey
Robinson, 21, was riding on the shoulder of Santiago Canyon Road near
Loma Ridge on Sunday when a driver struck him during an unsafe turn,
according to the California Highway Patrol. The woman officials suspect
was the driver was arrested after fleeing the scene.
ORANGE – Every day before work and school, Joey Robinson was up early riding his bike.
Cycling had been the 21-year-old Irvine resident's passion for the
past few years, said his mother, Valerie DuBois. He found community with
other riders and worked at local bike shops. With the business degree
he was working toward at Irvine Valley College, he hoped to open his own
store one day.
“It all just came together for him,” she said.
Robinson was riding on the shoulder of Santiago Canyon Road near Loma
Ridge around 7 a.m. Sunday when a speeding southbound driver struck him
during an unsafe turn, according to the California Highway Patrol. He
was thrown from his bike and pronounced dead when paramedics arrived.
The driver, identified as 18-year-old Sommer Gonzales, was arrested
after she fled the scene.
On Monday, Jax Bicycle Center in Irvine placed a white “ghost bike”
where Robinson died. He had worked in sales at the shop since November
and had previously been a bike mechanic at a Costa Mesa store. His
co-workers planned a memorial ride for Wednesday.
“He just loved what he did,” DuBois said. “I have to take that with me.”
FINDING THE DRIVER
As the driver of a 2001 Toyota went south on Santiago Canyon Road,
Orange County Fire Authority Battalion Chief Marc Stone was going north
to begin his shift at a Westminster fire station.
He spotted the car’s caved-in, smashed windshield as it passed
Thinking the driver had perhaps hit a deer, he slowed down in case the wounded animal wandered onto the road again.
But this was Stone's regular Sunday morning commute, and he knew bicyclists frequent the scenic road on weekend mornings.
“My gut instinct was just, ‘No one drives with a crunched-up
windshield like that,'” he said. “I kept thinking, ‘Who would keep
driving after hitting a person?'”
He slowed down, and about three minutes later saw tumbleweed against
the guardrail, damaged and smashed as if someone had hit them.
That's when he saw a black bicycling shoe sitting on the road, next to the tumbleweed.
“Please tell me it isn't so,” he said to himself
He stopped, got out of his car, and saw the body on the other side of
the guardrail – out of sight from drivers and other bicyclists on the
road.
Stone checked the man's pulse and called 911, giving a rough description of the car.
MAKING AN ARREST
Information about the damaged Toyota went out to officers in the
area. Not long after, an Orange County sheriff's deputy on patrol
spotted the vehicle in a parking lot at Santa Margarita Parkway and
Plano Trabuco Drive, said Officer Florentino Olivera of the California
Highway Patrol. There, Gonzales had met a friend who was helping her
remove belongings from the Toyota, Olivera said.
Memorial Ride for former IVC student
Ghost Rider Biker Memorial
Photo by Marivel Guzman
The family of Joseph Robinson, a 21-year-old former Irvine Valley
College student, celebrated his life with a Ghost Bike Ride on Wednesday
morning.
Robinson was killed by a motorist on Monday while riding his bicycle on Santiago Canyon Road by Loma Ridge Jeep Trail.
A group of friends, family, neighbors, coworkers, classmates and
community members joined in a ride from Jax Bicycle Center in Irvine,
where Robinson used to work, to the intersection where Robinson lost his
life. South of Santiago Canyon Road, drivers will see the Ghost Bike
attached to the fence in the place where Robinson was struck.
“I’ve always had a concern about [driving through here],” said Eric
Lee, family-friend and Irvine resident. “People drive too crazy fast
over here. I don’t have the balls to drive through Santiago Canyon on a
bicycle. It’s dangerous enough out on the surface streets.”
The Ghost Bike Ride started at 6:30 a.m. from Jax Bicycle Center.
California Highway Patrol and Irvine Police lead the cyclists to the
canyon.
Once the riders entered Santiago Canyon Road, the CHP closed the
roads both ways to allow the cyclists to enter Loma Ridge Jeep Trail,
where the memorial service with more than 200 attendees took place.
This memorial ride was planned by Jax Bicycle Center owner Dave
Hanson and the CHP in coordination with Irvine Police Department
assisted with protecting the riders.
Photo-Marivel Guzman
Ghost Biker Ride organized by Jax Bicycle Center owner, Dave Hanson
“Joey worked for me at Jax Bicycle only three months, but he was in
bicycle business for almost a year-and-a-half,” Hanson said. “He worked
at Two Wheels and a Planet before.”
Mason Cox, a coworker of Robinson’s, said he was quiet, but once you got to know him he was very funny guy.
“Nowadays people are in a such a big rush to go places, they need to
take a big breath, motorists need to be more respectful,” Cox said.
Irvine Police Officer Patrick Peña said the security is enforced on the road on the weekends.
“On the weekends there is a higher volume of traffic up here,”Peña
said. ”Bicycles, cyclers, motorcyclers, pedestrians… we do what we can
to beef up the security up here.”
Photo-Marivel Guzman
Ghost Bike Riders ready to part for the memorial
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Age: 21
Location:
Santiago Canyon Road
South of Loma Ridge Road
Irvine , CA
United States
from the OC Register
Cycling gave Irvine man purpose, grieving mom says
Joey
Robinson, 21, was riding on the shoulder of Santiago Canyon Road near
Loma Ridge on Sunday when a driver struck him during an unsafe turn,
according to the California Highway Patrol. The woman officials suspect
was the driver was arrested after fleeing the scene.
ORANGE – Every day before work and school, Joey Robinson was up early riding his bike.
Cycling had been the 21-year-old Irvine resident's passion for the
past few years, said his mother, Valerie DuBois. He found community with
other riders and worked at local bike shops. With the business degree
he was working toward at Irvine Valley College, he hoped to open his own
store one day.
“It all just came together for him,” she said.
Robinson was riding on the shoulder of Santiago Canyon Road near Loma
Ridge around 7 a.m. Sunday when a speeding southbound driver struck him
during an unsafe turn, according to the California Highway Patrol. He
was thrown from his bike and pronounced dead when paramedics arrived.
The driver, identified as 18-year-old Sommer Gonzales, was arrested
after she fled the scene.
On Monday, Jax Bicycle Center in Irvine placed a white “ghost bike”
where Robinson died. He had worked in sales at the shop since November
and had previously been a bike mechanic at a Costa Mesa store. His
co-workers planned a memorial ride for Wednesday.
“He just loved what he did,” DuBois said. “I have to take that with me.”
FINDING THE DRIVER
As the driver of a 2001 Toyota went south on Santiago Canyon Road,
Orange County Fire Authority Battalion Chief Marc Stone was going north
to begin his shift at a Westminster fire station.
He spotted the car’s caved-in, smashed windshield as it passed
Thinking the driver had perhaps hit a deer, he slowed down in case the wounded animal wandered onto the road again.
But this was Stone's regular Sunday morning commute, and he knew bicyclists frequent the scenic road on weekend mornings.
“My gut instinct was just, ‘No one drives with a crunched-up
windshield like that,'” he said. “I kept thinking, ‘Who would keep
driving after hitting a person?'”
He slowed down, and about three minutes later saw tumbleweed against
the guardrail, damaged and smashed as if someone had hit them.
That's when he saw a black bicycling shoe sitting on the road, next to the tumbleweed.
“Please tell me it isn't so,” he said to himself
He stopped, got out of his car, and saw the body on the other side of
the guardrail – out of sight from drivers and other bicyclists on the
road.
Stone checked the man's pulse and called 911, giving a rough description of the car.
MAKING AN ARREST
Information about the damaged Toyota went out to officers in the
area. Not long after, an Orange County sheriff's deputy on patrol
spotted the vehicle in a parking lot at Santa Margarita Parkway and
Plano Trabuco Drive, said Officer Florentino Olivera of the California
Highway Patrol. There, Gonzales had met a friend who was helping her
remove belongings from the Toyota, Olivera said.
Memorial Ride for former IVC student
Ghost Rider Biker Memorial
Photo by Marivel Guzman
The family of Joseph Robinson, a 21-year-old former Irvine Valley
College student, celebrated his life with a Ghost Bike Ride on Wednesday
morning.
Robinson was killed by a motorist on Monday while riding his bicycle on Santiago Canyon Road by Loma Ridge Jeep Trail.
A group of friends, family, neighbors, coworkers, classmates and
community members joined in a ride from Jax Bicycle Center in Irvine,
where Robinson used to work, to the intersection where Robinson lost his
life. South of Santiago Canyon Road, drivers will see the Ghost Bike
attached to the fence in the place where Robinson was struck.
“I’ve always had a concern about [driving through here],” said Eric
Lee, family-friend and Irvine resident. “People drive too crazy fast
over here. I don’t have the balls to drive through Santiago Canyon on a
bicycle. It’s dangerous enough out on the surface streets.”
The Ghost Bike Ride started at 6:30 a.m. from Jax Bicycle Center.
California Highway Patrol and Irvine Police lead the cyclists to the
canyon.
Once the riders entered Santiago Canyon Road, the CHP closed the
roads both ways to allow the cyclists to enter Loma Ridge Jeep Trail,
where the memorial service with more than 200 attendees took place.
This memorial ride was planned by Jax Bicycle Center owner Dave
Hanson and the CHP in coordination with Irvine Police Department
assisted with protecting the riders.
Photo-Marivel Guzman
Ghost Biker Ride organized by Jax Bicycle Center owner, Dave Hanson
“Joey worked for me at Jax Bicycle only three months, but he was in
bicycle business for almost a year-and-a-half,” Hanson said. “He worked
at Two Wheels and a Planet before.”
Mason Cox, a coworker of Robinson’s, said he was quiet, but once you got to know him he was very funny guy.
“Nowadays people are in a such a big rush to go places, they need to
take a big breath, motorists need to be more respectful,” Cox said.
Irvine Police Officer Patrick Peña said the security is enforced on the road on the weekends.
“On the weekends there is a higher volume of traffic up here,”Peña
said. ”Bicycles, cyclers, motorcyclers, pedestrians… we do what we can
to beef up the security up here.”
Photo-Marivel Guzman
Ghost Bike Riders ready to part for the memorial