Southern California Accident News

Tustin: Marco Acuapan Died from Injuries Sustained in Hit-and-Run Bicycle Accident

After spending more than four months in a coma from the injuries he sustained in a hit-and-run bicycle accident in Tustin, 22-year-old Marco Acuapan died last week. On November 17^th, 65-year-old Renato Demartino struck Acuapan with his red Ford Mustang while he was riding in the bike lane of Walnut Avenue near Browning Avenue. Demartino did not stop to administer aid to Acuapan, who suffered serious head trauma from the impact, instead fleeing the scene and abandoning his vehicle in a nearby neighborhood. In late November, he pleaded not guilty to charges of hit and run with permanent and serious injury, making an unsafe turn or lane change, and failing to use his headlamps at night, explains an Orange County injury lawyer. 

In 2009, Tustin accounted for 25 of the 1,437 bicyclists killed or injured in Orange County, according to the California Office of Traffic Safety. Nationwide, 630 bicyclists were killed and 51,000 injured in traffic accidents, a 12 percent decline from the previous year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That year, a majority of the fatal accidents occurred in urban areas, at non-intersection locations, and during the daytime. 

All of us at Allen, Flatt, Ballidis, and Leslie would like to offer our condolences to the family of Marco Acuapan, the bicyclist who died last week from the injuries he sustained in a hit-and-run accident.

The Orange County Register originally reported this story.

Resources for accident victims and their families, including books and articles on the injury and wrongful death claims process, are available to the public free of charge.

If you would like to request one of these free resources, or to speak with an Orange County injury lawyer, feel free to call 866-981-5596. 

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