Wrench_Whore
10-14-2003, 09:34 PM
ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST -- The county is considering closing Glendora Mountain Road following a recent traffic fatality, officials said.
Supervisor Michael Antonovich opened an investigation into accidents and deaths on the 15-mile-long mountain road, after 17-year-old Johnny Diaz of Azusa was killed Sept. 21.
‘‘When the supervisor has all the information and recommendations, he will make a decision in the interest of public safety,'' said Tony Bell, Antonovich's communications director.
Diaz was a passenger in a Honda driven by another 17-year-old when the car veered off the road and plunged 380 feet down a canyon 9.8 miles above the Valley around midnight.
Since about 1980, at least 13 deaths and more than 60 accidents have been reported on the road, which travels north into the Angeles National Forest from Sierra Madre Boulevard near Valley Center Avenue in Glendora.
In the past two months, four cars have gone off the road, said David Smail, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Search and Rescue coordinator.
The road has been closed at least twice before, once in 1986 due to complaints of reckless driving and during repairs after the September 2002 Curve Fire.
Bell said county public works and law enforcement are assessing the road to determine what could contribute to a high level of accidents on it.
Diaz's mother, Lourdes Diaz, said the road should be closed on weekends to protect teens who want to drive it.
‘‘That will be the least that we would want, if not close it permanently,'' she said.
California Highway Patrol Sgt. Mark Worthington said the CHP would accommodate the county's investigation.
‘‘Obviously, the Highway Patrol is concerned with the engineering of our highways to make sure they are as safe as possible for the motoring public,'' Worthington said.
CHP officials have said any problems on Glendora Mountain Road are typically the result of poor driver behavior, not the road, and such problems happen on all mountainous, curved roads.
But Glendora resident Ed Knapp calls the road a veritable raceway.
Knapp, who runs with the Glendora Ridge Runners club, said motorcyclists ‘‘buzz'' the group and often speed along.
Nearly 200 motorcycles flooded the road the first day it was reopened in August, he said. ‘‘We were really, really scared. We have seen so much carnage up there -- kids down on motorcycles ... skid marks ... it's pathetic. On weekends, it's a three-ring circus up there,'' Knapp said.
Diana L. Roemer can be reached at (626) 962-8811, Ext. 2105, or by e-mail at diana.roemer@sgvn.com.
Supervisor Michael Antonovich opened an investigation into accidents and deaths on the 15-mile-long mountain road, after 17-year-old Johnny Diaz of Azusa was killed Sept. 21.
‘‘When the supervisor has all the information and recommendations, he will make a decision in the interest of public safety,'' said Tony Bell, Antonovich's communications director.
Diaz was a passenger in a Honda driven by another 17-year-old when the car veered off the road and plunged 380 feet down a canyon 9.8 miles above the Valley around midnight.
Since about 1980, at least 13 deaths and more than 60 accidents have been reported on the road, which travels north into the Angeles National Forest from Sierra Madre Boulevard near Valley Center Avenue in Glendora.
In the past two months, four cars have gone off the road, said David Smail, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Search and Rescue coordinator.
The road has been closed at least twice before, once in 1986 due to complaints of reckless driving and during repairs after the September 2002 Curve Fire.
Bell said county public works and law enforcement are assessing the road to determine what could contribute to a high level of accidents on it.
Diaz's mother, Lourdes Diaz, said the road should be closed on weekends to protect teens who want to drive it.
‘‘That will be the least that we would want, if not close it permanently,'' she said.
California Highway Patrol Sgt. Mark Worthington said the CHP would accommodate the county's investigation.
‘‘Obviously, the Highway Patrol is concerned with the engineering of our highways to make sure they are as safe as possible for the motoring public,'' Worthington said.
CHP officials have said any problems on Glendora Mountain Road are typically the result of poor driver behavior, not the road, and such problems happen on all mountainous, curved roads.
But Glendora resident Ed Knapp calls the road a veritable raceway.
Knapp, who runs with the Glendora Ridge Runners club, said motorcyclists ‘‘buzz'' the group and often speed along.
Nearly 200 motorcycles flooded the road the first day it was reopened in August, he said. ‘‘We were really, really scared. We have seen so much carnage up there -- kids down on motorcycles ... skid marks ... it's pathetic. On weekends, it's a three-ring circus up there,'' Knapp said.
Diana L. Roemer can be reached at (626) 962-8811, Ext. 2105, or by e-mail at diana.roemer@sgvn.com.