A bicyclist struck and killed by a vehicle in Martinez on Thursday has been identified by the Contra Costa County coroner’s office as 65-year-old Russell Lee Hofeling.
Martinez police responded around 8 a.m. Thursday to the collision reported in the 1800 block of Arnold Drive and arrived to find Hofeling, a Martinez resident who succumbed to his injuries after being taken to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek.
Police said impairment is not suspected to be a factor in the collision. No other details about the vehicle or driver were immediately available.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Martinez Police Cpl. Craig Schnabel at cschnabel@cityofmartinez.org or (925) 494-8085.
14 comments
Did the driver stop and render aid? Criminals — such as illegal aliens or vehicles containing illegal aliens — rarely stop to help. They almost always flee.
Compare the rate of hit-and-runs 40 years ago to today.
Hit-and-run fatalities increased 60% in California between 2006 and 2016.
Pedestrian deaths in LA almost doubled between 2015 and 2017.
This is actually very true!
Politically incorrect to say these days…… But so very true!
At between 3 or 4pm there was also another incident that happened on that same road on that same day. This other incident happened near 1875 Arnold Dr where the Electrical Workers Union is located and that section of road was closed to traffic. Weird how there was nothing posted regarding that on the Martinez Police Dept blog.
Drugs and alcohol may not have been a factor but it is possible speed or impatience played a factor! That is a 35mph speed LIMIT zone yet cars fly through there at no less than 45 and even 65. A lot of people coming from the IBEW are in such a rush to get back that they cut across oncoming traffic. That road was always backed up before Covid hit.
This is also not the first time a driver has hit a bicyclist or pedestrian on that road. What can we expect the police to do regarding speeders on that stretch of road? NOTHING!!!
I didn’t know Mr. Hofeling but condolences to his family. This could have been prevented if people weren’t allowed to speed on that stretch of road, or any other road for that matter.
Well, that bicycle “lane” on Arnold is a JOKE. What is it…like 18 inches???
Maybe the city council can Stop with the BALONEY fake racism task force and do things which actually BENEFIT the cities residents.
I am careful always and more so near bicyclists. I see bicyclists going the wrong way, even in bike lanes with a directional arrow.
I only ever see bikes swerving in and out of the road, ignoring stop signs, using crosswalks when they don’t want to wait for a red, and generally just behaving like they own the roads. It appears that most of the time when a bike is involved in a collision with a car the blame almost always solely lies with the bike rider.
Cant stand these road bikers, they give all bikers a bad rep. They blow thru so many stop signs and red lights.
A lot of drivers don’t know how to look in the mirror or over their shoulder before turning which it says to do in the DMV book. They also don’t come to complete stops before turning on a red and look both ways before going.
Both are at faults really but its much easier for someone in a airconditioned / heated vehicle sitting down to push the break / gas than someone on a bike to stop and go. Lots of drivers are fat lazy people that couldn’t last more than 10 minutes on a bike so they would never understand though…
Why do people insist on riding bicycles on city streets. It is just too dangerous. One of these days we will wake up and realize that roads were not made to be shared with bicycles. Perhaps we could build cities in the future that do not have cars but plenty of segways, motorized skate boards etc. But as it is now, we really depend on our cars. Maybe autonomous vehicles will save us.
I agree about it being too dangerous. It’s bad enough in a car!
Rest in peace Russell
❤️
Perhaps they use the roads because that takes them where they are going? It has taken 175 years to build out most of what we have in California now, and we are not going to have new infrastructure for “modern” modes of motion for another 100…..despite the Infrastructure plans.
Per the app “The Photographer’s Ephemeris”, a motorist traveling eastbound on Arnold Drive on that day around that time of day would have been staring directly into the rising sun… especially as they completed the left-hand curve between Eastgate and Sundance (the 1800 block). At Sundance and Arnold at 7:30 (call came in around 8am-ish) they would have been looking directly into a sun less than 9 degrees above the horizon.
we have a great invention made years ago called sun glass’s and your vehicles sun visor…. Some people really should try using them instead of staring at the sun like a deer in headlights… Derp.
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