Lolita Harper
An unidentified bicyclist died Monday morning after being struck
by a big rig truck as he tried to cross Harbor Boulevard, police
said.
Police said that the man was about 70 years old, but would not
release his name until his family was notified.
An 18-wheeler traveling westbound on Wilson Street made a right on
to Harbor as the man started across the busy street, witnesses told
police. A jumble of blankets, plastic bags and their miscellaneous
contents were strewn across the northbound lane of Harbor at Wilson
Street.
Costa Mesa Police Lt. Dale Birney said witnesses reported the
accident at about 11:20 a.m.
Birney said the driver of the truck, Johnny Cuesta, never saw the
bicyclist and didn't know he had hit him until he was farther down
Harbor. The 31-year-old Cuesta, of Bakersfield, pulled over about 200
yards north of the intersection, Birney said.
Officers found the man in the middle of the intersection with
apparently fatal head injuries, Birney said. Responding paramedics
immediately pronounced him dead at the scene.
The horrible accent strangled the usually bustling activity on
Harbor, as cars and pedestrians slowed and stopped to see what had
happened. Police cars with gleaming lights, bright yellow caution
tape and a large fire engine caused major traffic detours. Cars were
backed up for miles in both directions for the remainder of the day,
officials said.
At 1 p.m., a dark-haired woman sat on the curb near the
intersection with her arms wrapped around her knees. She rocked
slowly, with tears streaming down her face as officers asked her to
describe what she had seen.
Groups of women with strollers and patrons of the nearby Taco Bell
gathered to watch officials clean up the scene and gather details of
what happened.
Rosa Morales, a mother of three, was strolling with her youngest
daughter on the way to Wilson Park when she saw the scene.
"It is so busy here," Morales said in Spanish, adding that she
crosses the congested intersection often.
Morales said many people in the surrounding Westside neighborhood
walk to the bus stop, Harbor Center and the park daily. Not everybody
has a car, and the walks are relatively short and pleasant -- most of
the time, she said. But drivers are in a hurry and don't always pay
attention, she said.
Frustrated drivers drove hastily through the parallel residential
streets to escape the traffic jam on Harbor. The driver of a red
Mercedes barely missed a walking couple when it rolled through a stop
sign on Maple Street.
