Teen Bicyclist in Hit-And-Run With Car? Cops Say Celina Pangburn Was In It For Cash
Bicycle rights advocates, ever a vocal and Portlandia-esque bunch, have made a lot of wind over alleged cases of motorists' hit-and-run collisions against their ilk.
Przemek Siemion
Often their argument is that local police don't investigate the crashes as they would a car-on-car accident because the whole world, of course, is allied against them.
Well, the victim has become the teacher because ...
... cops say a bicycle rider was the hit-and-run artist this time. And not just any hit-and-run artist, but one who was allegedly in it for a potential payoff.
The suspect, 18-year-old Celina Pangburn of Azusa, was allegedly trying to hit cars in Covina all day Monday in order to claim she was struck so she could try to collect cash, police allege.
But when she "crawled" from underneath a victim's vehicle at 6:30 p.m. yesterday at East Arrow Highway and South Azusa Avenue, the driver wasn't having any of her alleged scheme, Covina police Sgt. Ray Marquez told the Weekly.
Pangburn had allegedly tried the same thing at 2:30 p.m. a few blocks east at Hollenbeck Avenue, cops told us. Marquez:
She had been seen attempting to get involved in a traffic collision with a vehicle. She would ask the drivers for money.
This time the motorist called police, and the teenager fled, he said. But officers found the bike-rider, with scratches to arms and legs, just north of the intersection, Marquez said.
Pangburn was treated by paramedics at the scene and sent home with a citation for alleged hit-and-run, the sergeant said.
Was she homeless, drunk or high? Nope, Marquez said. She lived within biking distance.
The case is going to be referred to the L.A. County District Attorney's office for possible prosecution, he said.
See, four wheelers are the only ones who hit 'em and quit 'em around here.
[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]
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