Did Blakespear’s Bollards Cause Leucadia Cyclist’s Death?

Shortly before noon on Saturday, November 28, 2020, a PODS delivery truck and a westbound cyclist collided as the truck turned right from Leucadia Boulevard into Moonstone Court. Bystanders aided the cyclist as they awaited EMS. Paramedics treated the victim during transport to Scripps Hospital La Jolla, where he died of his injuries.

The cyclist was Jennings Worley, 62, a Ph.D. physiologist. According to Physics Today, “Jennings was a collaborative and influential scientist with over 30 peer-reviewed publications who translated his deep understanding of ion channel biophysics and pharmacology to drug discovery.” 

The publication added that despite his accomplishments, “what people will likely remember most about Jennings is that he was wonderfully kind, humorous, and dedicated to science and the people around him. He only celebrated others’ successes, never his own.”

According to his obituary in the San Diego Union-Tribune, “Jennings was a beloved father, husband, son, brother, friend, scientist, but most of all he was an exemplary man and human being.” Jennings' most recent work was in discovering life-saving treatments for cystic fibrosis.

As part of Mayor Catherine Blakespear’s focus on increasing bicycling safety in Encinitas, the city had installed bollards — hollow green plastic posts about 3 feet tall — between the right traffic lane along Leucadia Boulevard and the bike lane next to the curb. The gaps between the bollards were about 10 feet. At Moonstone Court, the row of bollards extended close to the street’s corner.

Some cyclists commented that the bollard close to the corner forced the truck driver to make what cyclists call a “right hook turn.” That angle made it impossible for the driver to see Worley in his right-side mirrors. Photos taken at the scene shortly after the accident (see below) appear to show that the driver turned into Worley’s path, giving him no escape and causing him to fatally crash into the truck’s side.

Without bollards or had they stopped farther east of the intersection, the driver would have been able to see Worley in his right-side mirrors and to judge whether to slow and let him pass or to turn right ahead of him.

Other cyclists said the bollards were not a factor. The collision would have happened with or without them.

Since the tragic accident, two or three bollards east of the Moonstone Court intersection have been removed and the road striping across the intersection has been altered or removed. That seems to say the city acknowledged the bollard placement was at fault.