CORONA DEL MAR TODAY

Fatal Cycling Crash Remains Under Investigation

Newport Beach police investigators continue to ask why a cyclist lost control and collided with a gardener’s truck Thursday morning on Spyglass Hill Road.

“It’s a puzzle,” said Sgt. Steve Burdette. “Everything is speculation.”

Michael William Nine, 43, of Santa Ana, was traveling northbound on Spyglass Hill Road approaching Harbor Ridge Drive just before 8 a.m. He was riding downhill ahead of a pack of cyclists that he regularly rode with, according to police and cycling message boards.

Something then happened that caused Nine’s brakes to lock up, Burdette said. He ended up colliding with a gardener’s truck heading up Spyglass Hill Road. Other cyclists in the group came upon the wreckage, according to messages left on this page and other online message boards. They immediately called for help, tried to assist Nine, and began to direct traffic around the accident.

Nine was pronounced dead upon arrival at Hoag Hospital.

Investigators have interviewed several witnesses, including members of the cycling group, but have a “ton of interviews” more to complete, Burdette said.

The truck driver, a 38-year-old Garden Grove man, was arrested about an hour after the crash because police say he was driving without a license. He remains in custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials because of his “immigration status,” Burdette said. The man currently has not been charged with anything in connection with the crash.

Many members of the cycling group apparently were riding at a slower pace than Nine and did not see the crash, Burdette said. Contrary to information provided earlier from police and published here, the speed limit on that hill is 40 mph. Nine was traveling about 30 to 40 mph, police said.

Whether a motorist cut Nine off, causing him to crash, or whether something else happened, remains a mystery, Burdette said. The crash occurred in the truck’s lane.

Cycling groups regularly use the Spyglass hill for rides, although many riders say they are aware of the blind curves and consequently ride with care.

However Tony Trombino, a security officer for the Harbor Ridge neighborhood, said he sees cyclists racing down the hill on a daily basis.

“I’ve seen many near misses,” he said. “It was an accident waiting to happen.”

Read our earlier stories here and here.

Police ask anyone with information about the crash to call Investigator Todd Bush at (949) 644-3746.