Back-to-Back Bicycle Deaths Shine Spotlight on City’s Fatality Record
As family and friends prepare to lay bicyclists Catherine “Kit” Campion-Ritz and Sarah Leaf to rest, the community of Newport Beach is trying to figure out how to move forward.
The back-to-back deaths of Campion-Ritz, 57, a beloved Newport Beach physician, and Leaf, 29, a nutritionist from Corona del Mar, have devastated residents. Since 2006, nine cyclists have been killed in Newport Beach, and the latest tragedies force the community’s cycling safety record into the spotlight.
Mayor Nancy Gardner said the deaths of Leaf and Campion-Ritz have shone a bright light on the work that needs to be done to pave a safer relationship between cyclists and drivers.
“Bikes and cars are a difficult mix, particularly when we are so car-centric. We have work to do,” Gardner said. “That said, until these two incidents, our accident statistics were down from the previous year.”
“It saddens all of us that Sara and Catherine were killed this way and we will do what we can, working with the community to try and prevent this from happening again,” Kathy Lowe, spokeswoman for the Newport Beach Police Department, added. “The unfortunate part about all of this is that these tragedies involve human error. No one wanted this to happen, but it did.”
Leaf, who was an Arizona native, lost her life in a bicycle collision on the morning of Friday, Sept. 14 when she was cycling on Pacific Coast Highway and the driver of a stake bed truck turned right onto Bayside Drive. No arrests or citations have been made as a result of Leaf’s death.
“I loved Sarah, she was like my little sister,” said Renee Sampedro. “I am still in shock and denial. I can’t believe the world has lost such a beautiful, vibrant young woman.”
Mike McCarthy, who rented a room to Leaf, says everyone involved in the tragic accident will be damaged forever.
“I told Sarah biking on the street was far too dangerous for the exercise and enjoyment derived from it,” McCarthy said. “How many times have all of us made a right turn without looking for a biker passing us? I would dare say everyone is guilty of that. No fine or even prison sentence would be as punishing to him as that memory haunting him the rest of his life.”
Campion, a doctor who treated patients in Newport Beach for close to 30 years, was killed during a fatal hit-and-run on Saturday as she
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