Placentia : Bicyclist Killed in Collision With Car

An Anaheim man was killed Saturday afternoon when his bicycle collided head-on with a car on East Orangethorpe Avenue in Placentia.

Coroner’s deputies have not yet identified the victim, who died of multiple injuries at the accident scene. He was described as a Latino between 18 and 20 years old whose family is said to live in Mexico.

Police Lt. Robert J. Jones said the bicyclist was riding against traffic and heading eastbound along Orangethorpe when he was struck. Traffic investigators are trying to determine whether the bicyclist was traveling on the sidewalk or in the roadway when the accident occurred, Jones said.

Joe P. Martinez, 66, of Placentia--the driver of the car that hit the bicyclist--was not cited, Jones said. Apparently neither the bicyclist nor Martinez saw each other until moments before they struck, Jones said.

Also, he said, just before the accident occurred, another car pulled away from a mobile home park at 161 E. Orangethorpe. That car did not enter the roadway, but it may have partially blocked the sidewalk, forcing the bicyclist into the street and into the oncoming car, Jones said. The name of the driver of that car was not available Saturday night, but that driver was not cited either, Jones said.