James Laing, 46, was killed by a hit and run driver around 3:45 pm on a Saturday afternoon while bicycling on Augora Road in Augora Hills, California. Laing, a resident of West Hills, was traveling eastbound in the bike lane, just east of Liberty Canyon Road when a car, also eastbound, hit Laing on his bicycle, causing him to be thrown into the road where he suffered fatal injuries. Laing was pronounced dead by Los Angeles County Fire Department paramedics at the scene.
Witnesses followed the car to a nearby parking lot and alerted police to the location of the hit and run driver. The female driver was subsequently arrested by the California Highway Patrol on suspicion of driving under the influence, hit-and-run, and gross vehicular manslaughter.
Laing taught English as a Second Language at the ESL Language Centers at California Lutheran University. Laing is survived by his wife, of 13 years, Lulu. Lulu says her husband loved to bike in the canyons near their home and “he is the most wonderful man in the world. A wonderful husband. A wonderful son. A wonderful brother.”
Bicycle advocates say that Laing is the 13th cyclist in the greater Los Angeles area to be killed by a motorist since August.
At Callahan & Blaine, our success in litigating and negotiating personal injury cases comes from our uncommon approach; we handle each personal injury case as though it were a complex business litigation case, attacking it from every angle possible. While our firm is located in Orange County, California, we handle serious personal injury, wrongful death and product liability cases nationwide.
In a similar case, this approach allowed us to negotiate a $7 million settlement for a cyclist who was left with a traumatic brain injury after being struck by a newspaper delivery truck.
If you or someone you know has suffered a catastrophic injury or died as the result of a hit and run accident, please contact our Orange County, California law firm for expert legal counsel.