CORONA DEL MAR TODAY

Fire Truck Knocks Bicyclist Onto PCH; City Pays Claim

A Laguna Niguel man was riding along East Coast Highway when a Newport Beach fire truck clipped him, knocking him to the ground and nearly running over him, according to a claim filed against the city.

James Moro, 26, filed a claim seeking $6,000 to cover medical and bike repair costs; he settled this week for $3,900, he said.

“I’ve been waiting on the check til I consider it official,” he said. He hoped to get the full amount but said he needed the money. “Oh well, I’m tired of waiting,” he said. The city factored in the bike’s depreciation, he said.

The accident occurred at 6:05 p.m. May 6, when Moro was on one of his regular bike routes along East Coast Highway. “I was cycling…as far to the edge of the road as possible when I was clipped by the mirror of a Newport Beach Fire Department truck,” he wrote in his claim. “He violated my space.”

Moro suffered road rash, an abrasion to his shoulder, legs and back of his arms, and his bicycle frame was ruined, his claim stated. He also stated the fire truck nearly ran him over.

Police reports stated that the fire engine was driving west on East Coast Highway at Fernleaf Avenue in the right lane when it hit the bicyclist riding in the same direction.

” It was determined that the driver of the firetruck was at fault for the collision,” said Sgt. Evan Sailor. “The rider of the bicycle was knocked to the ground after being struck by the right side mirror of the fire truck.”

The police investigation determined that the fire truck driver passed the bicyclist in an unsafe manner, Sailor said.

Moro said he rides 150 to 200 miles a week and knows how to ride safely. “I was going straight,” he said in an interview. “I was riding sitting up and all of a sudden, something came and smacked me on the back of my head. My helmet actually popped off.”